She continued to write successful science fiction novels, including The Truce at Bakura, which reached the New York Times bestseller list.
Tyers continued to contribute to the Star Wars universe with additional novels and short stories.
Kathy Tyers Gillin (née Moore) was born and raised in Long Beach, California.
In 1979, she retired from teaching to start a family; her son Matthew was born in 1981, and she began writing in earnest two years later.
During this period she also authored a nonfiction travel book and, with her husband, released two CDs of folk music, Leave Her, Johnny and The Very Best Dreams on which she played flute and Irish harp.
In 2006, she entered Regent College in Vancouver, British Columbia, and after earning a Master of Christian Studies degree, she lived in Bellingham, Washington for a year before returning to Montana.