We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Shannon Marie. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Shannon below.

Shannon, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. So, naming is such a challenge. How did you come up with the name of your brand?

All authors face the same choice when publishing their work. To penname, or not to penname. Growing up I always thought pseudonyms were fun. They gave the author certain freedoms to be creative that using their real name didn’t allow. Like genre hopping, or writing in different age categories. But what really helped me decide was a story my parents told me when I was a kid. Leading up to my birth, my parents struggled to settle on a name for me. That first day in the hospital, my dad held me tenderly, and kept bouncing his gaze from my squishy little face tot he window. After who knows how long of doing this, he finally whispered just loud enough for my mom to hear: “You are Shannon Marie.”

Fast forward nineteen-and-a-half years, and I’m getting ready to fill out my marriage certificate. Excited little engaged-me asked innocently, “Mom, Dad, would you guys be mad if I dropped my maiden name entirely? Keeping it would make my legal name so ridiculously long–I already have a hard time filling out paperwork!”
My dad’s eyes twinkled when he said, “You can drop your maiden last name, but please keep your middle name. Don’t ever stop being Shannon Marie.”

Cue the waterworks.

So when I began setting up my writing business and social media accounts, I pondered what name I should use. Then I remembered these two instances in my life and the choice became clear. If I’m going to be known by any name for my creative works, it will be the name I’ve had since birth and will never change for my whole life: Shannon Marie. And that’s how I came up with “Shannon Marie Writes”.

Shannon, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I’ve been a storyteller all my life, as cliche as that is. As a kid I drew out my stories as comics or storyboards. As I got older, I’d get my siblings to act out stories of mine in little plays we’d perform for our parents. When siblings refused, I’d use my faithful Barbies to get the job done. In high school I attempted writing my first book (you can guess how that went), but I didn’t give up! I hopped around from story to story until I finished college. I loved writing short stories, and got a job at Texties writing short stories in text-message format. Then the greatest opportunity ever fell into my lap. A man halfway across the world hired me to help him bring a story idea to life, and in the process it became my story too. Now, that book is in the querying phase to try for traditional publication, and in the meantime I’m working on a couple more books (one of which I plan to self-publish in mid-to-late 2025).

I write mainly fantasy fiction for young and new adults, typically involving some level of romance in the plot (but I’m a firm believer that books for that age group should not have any “spice” or explicit content as far as couples’ scenes go. Same with swearing and gratified violence). I love writing tropes like found family, true love conquers all, underdog saving the day, etc. I’ll typically have some sort of Christian themes gently woven into my books, but not really anything overtly stated (my social media and newsletter are a different story though. You will see God mentioned a LOT there). I write the kinds of stories I wish I could have read as a teen and young adult. Stories about people discovering their true potential, learning to connect with others and build support systems for themselves, and the “weird” kids getting their time to shine. I love wholesome romance, difficult (but realistic) relationships amongst friends and family. Concepts like forgiveness, redemption, and overcoming obstacles are very near and dear to my heart, so you’ll see a lot of that as well.
And mermaids. There’s mermaids, dragons, immortal beings, and ghosts too in my stories. I love when legends come alive, don’t you?

I hope to inspire other creative people to keep pushing themselves towards their dreams. To keep writing, drawing, photographing, painting, video-making, designing, etc. to enjoy, improve, and share their art with others. It takes a lot of guts to get to that last part, that’s for sure. I still struggle with it myself (but lots of practice and lots of friends/beta readers/critique partners over the years helped a LOT). Or if a person feels they aren’t creative, I hope to inspire them to seek that part of themselves out. It’s often in the act of creating or enjoying creation that one most easily connects with their Creator. That’s my experience anyway.

If I could only tell my ideal follower or reader one thing it would be that God’s plan is impossible to predict, but when you keep an open mind and just keep truckin’, you’ll find help and happiness on the way to your destination. If you find people you connect with, and can share your creativity and testimony with, it’ll make the journey worth it in the end.

Have you ever had to pivot?

For a few years there while I was trying to write my first book, I ran a photography business, ran a non-profit photography networking group, volunteered at my church, and homeschooled my kids. It was a LOT. Months and months would go by without any writing happening, and it was incredibly discouraging. I nearly gave up several times on my dream of getting my first book done and published by the time I was thirty (an arbitrary goal, now that I look back. I hadn’t learned yet that my timing and God’s timing aren’t the same thing, and that’s okay).
So I stepped back from all things photography and my kids began attending public school. It made a vast difference in my life! But not the difference I expected. I had more time to write for sure, but that’s not where the time went at first. I spent a long time just drowning in a whole lot of mental and physical health struggles. It was like my mind and body said, “hey look she’s not carrying so much anymore, now’s our chance to get help finally!” And sure enough, as I began taking care of myself better, my creative energy improved. I finished that first book at long last and started querying it to literary agents so it could begin its road to publication. I also began work on two more books, one of which will be self-published next year.
Looking back, I’m amazed I didn’t make that pivot sooner. But I’m also grateful for the lessons I’ve learned about myself and life because of those years in my own personal refiner’s fire.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

I’d say the ability to open my mind has been a surprisingly rewarding experience overall. Sure, there’s the moment when I’d finish writing a scene or a book or put the finishing touches on a photo or whatever, that always felt incredible. And then sharing my newly finished art with someone who’d appreciate it always sent me to cloud nine. But if I had to pin it down to the *most* rewarding, it’s got to be the way seeking improvement and creativity has led to opening my mind to consider so much more in this life than anything else. If I wasn’t constantly challenging my brain to analyze the mundane, to re-think the ordinary, or to imagine the extraordinary, I don’t think I’d have nearly as much satisfaction in my life. I’ve made so many friendships in recent years BECAUSE of my artistic pursuits, and I know some of them I might not ever have considered making if it weren’t for my mind being gradually opened over time. Something that I feel only happens when we think creatively.

This concept of creative thinking isn’t just for creatives. It’s the idea that you question things, you reconsider how or why you do things or think the way you do. It’s taking the time to examine your own ideas and opinions, to figure out if there’s another approach you could take or why your approach to something feels right to you. It’s asking “what if” and following through. I honestly believe that the more we pursue creativity in our lives, whether it be through hobbies, careers, or just in our way of thinking, then we will make and keep more meaningful connections than we could otherwise.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://shannonmariewrites.mailchimpsites.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shannonmarie_writes/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ShannonMarieWrites
• Other: Etsy: https://shannonmariewrites.etsy.com Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/shannonmariewritesya/

Image Credits
Sam De Backer Alicia Amberg Photography Coast 2 Cactus Photography (BreAnn Mitchell) Motherhood Photography Az (Christina Katelyn)