About Shawn & FAQ

I love creating characters and places my fans want to return to again and again. (I’ve lost track of how many times readers have told me they wished they could move to Whispering Pines. I do too!) I choose topics for my mysteries I’m curious about. This not only makes research even more fun, it also satisfies my desire to always be learning something.

Okay, let’s answer the big question I get asked all the time: am I Wiccan. I’m not but I sometimes think I could be. The reverence for nature, doing everything with intention, and then there’s following the phases of the moon … I mean, what’s not to love about getting a do-over every 29.5 days?

When not writing or reading, I enjoy traveling (which sometimes simply means a long motorcycle ride with my husband), going on long walks, doing yoga, baking, watching British television mysteries, and nibbling really dark chocolate.

Writing has been a passion since I was a kid, but I never thought it could be a career until later in life. To this day, I have no idea how I thought all those books got onto the shelves in libraries and bookstores! Until I figured out that “author” could be my career, I worked at a pizza parlor, department store, as a receptionist, a fast-food manager, a fabric store manager, and a payroll manager. My best job ever, aside from being an author, was stay-at-home mom to my two now-grown sons.

I graduated from Concordia College in Moorhead, Minnesota, with a degree in English Writing and Business. I published my first book, STICKS AND STONES, in 2014. That means, yes, I’m actually using my degree!

I was born in San Antonio, Texas and grew up in Winona, Minnesota, a beautiful Mississippi River town. After graduating college, I moved to the Milwaukee area of Wisconsin, where I lived for over twenty years, was then blessed to live in gorgeous Colorado for ten years. Now I’m back in Wisconsin, again near the Mississippi River, where I live with my husband.

That depends on which phase of the process I’m in. Studies show that changing location uses a different part of your brain. Outlining and brainstorming absolutely use a different part of my brain than writing does. So, brainstorming is done in my office in the glider rocker that I read to my sons in when they were little (good book juju there!) or in my comfy reading chair in our loft. I start with a white board where all ideas, no matter how crazy, are jotted down. Those ideas that stand out to me get transferred to the series journal.

First drafts must be done in my office, at my desk, on a Word doc. I don’t believe in writer’s block. If I get stuck while writing that means I’ve got a plot problem. So I go outside and walk until I have the answer. Once I have a first draft, I print the manuscript and scribble notes in the margins as I read. That’s done in my glider rocker, the loft, or outside on the deck if it’s a nice day.

I’m fortunate to have a spare bedroom that’s all mine. I painted it a wonderful green blue which is a soothing and creative color for me. It’s got a great window that looks out at tree-covered hill that changes beautifully with the seasons. I love that hill.

I feel so blessed to be able to set my own schedule, which is Monday through Friday – weekend days only happen if I’m coming up on a deadline and am behind. I get up at five because first thing in the morning while most people are still sleeping is my most creative time. I break for breakfast, write, break again to walk or do yoga, write some more, and then my writing day ends at four in the afternoon. At that point, I take an hour to catch up on emails and social media or any other pressing administrative work. When not writing a first draft, which takes all my attention, Fridays are admin only days. I get so involved with the writing, I neglect the business side of my business. And as a self-published author, I definitely need to pay attention to both sides of my business.

From first word to published book used to take three to four months, but there’s that aforementioned business stuff to take care of. If I’m working on the next book in a series, I’m already familiar with the characters and setting the words come faster but I’d say it’s more like six months from start to published now.

Usually the characters or sometimes setting. Then I figure out what that person’s story is and work out the plotline.

For my Whispering Pines Mysteries, naming the characters was been a lot of fun. The setting is a quirky village in the Northwoods of Wisconsin where most of the residents are Wiccan. I’ve given some of them unusual names such as Flavia, Reeva, and Tripp. Others are named from nature such as Briar, Ruby, and Violet. Sugar and Honey run the sweet shop. In contrast to all of them, my main character’s name is Jayne. I wanted her to stand apart from everyone else – Plain Jayne, although she’s not so plain!

Names are important to me, so I do take time to choose one that really speaks to me. For my Gemi Kittredge series, I knew her first name but didn’t have a last name for her, and it was making me crazy. Then one day I was driving around and saw a sign for Kittredge St. that jumped out at me.

Absolutely. I almost always feel like they’re telling me the story and I’m dictating what they say.

A hummingbird. They represent peace, love, positivity, and harmony. And despite their size, they’re feisty little creatures who aren’t afraid to defend their territory.