We recently connected with Ann Shepphird and have shared our conversation below.

Ann, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you share an important lesson you learned in a prior job that’s helped you in your career afterwards?

As the editor of a monthly travel-industry magazine, I was responsible for making sure the magazine went out each month. That required thinking up to six months out to make sure all the necessary elements were in place to make that happen. As an author, I have much longer deadlines, but it’s a similar process of looking ahead to know what benchmarks need to be hit to make sure the book gets to my publisher on time.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

Ann Shepphird writes travel mysteries and satiric rom-coms for 4 Horsemen Publications. There are currently three books in her Destination Murder Mystery series: “Destination Maui,” “Destination Monterey,” and “Destination Lake Tahoe.” A follow-up to “The War Council,” her first novel, is expected out in 2024 and will be called “The Italy Affair.”

Before the books, Ann spent 20+ years as a writer, editor, and photographer for magazines and newspapers. As a freelancer, she has contributed to publications that include Meetings & Conventions, Corporate Event News, SportsTravel, Agoda, Meetings Today, USA Today, InStyle, Shape, Women’s Health, the Mobil Travel Guide, AOL Travel, California Meetings + Events, and Parking Today. Since 2019, Ann has also supervised one of the screening sites for the American Film Market, which is held annually in Santa Monica, California.

While on staff at Schneider Publishing Company in Los Angeles, Ann served as the editor of Association News magazine and executive editor for SportsTravel magazine, which she helped launch. She was also part of the on-site management team for the company’s two travel-industry conferences: TEAMS and Meetings Quest.

Although she still writes about travel and sports for a few publications, Ann now focuses her time on the novels she writes for 4 Horsemen Publications. The books in the Destination Murder Mystery series—“Destination Maui,” “Destination Monterey,” and “Destination Lake Tahoe”—combine Ann’s experiences as a travel journalist with her stint working for a private investigator. The University Chronicles pair of rom-coms—“The War Council” and “The Italy Affair”—are based on Ann’s days as a college-level communications instructor, a position she took after receiving her master’s degree in film and television from UCLA.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

After getting my master’s degree in film/tv from UCLA, I was teaching a couple classes at UCLA Extension and Orange Coast College while also working in script development (reading books and scripts) for CAA and Interscope, while also working on my first novel, “The War Council.” I came to realize that trying to do all of these things was not sustainable (especially while carrying student debt) and started to look for other ways to make a living as a writer. I ended up taking a job with a small regional travel-industry magazine. Ultimately, I worked my way up to editor of that magazine, which we expanded to a national audience, and helped the company launch a second magazine.

Not only did my experience at those magazines hone my writing and editing skills, I am now able to use many of the stories as part of the plots in my novels.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

Getting to share my view of the world with people.

Contact Info:

• Website: annshepphird.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ashepphird/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authorannshepphird