Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Shawn Maravel. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alright, Shawn thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

The most meaningful project I’ve worked on is my upcoming release Healing in the Heartland (coming March 3rd). It’s meaningful for a lot of reasons actually. Firstly, it’s a story about a military veteran who struggles with the scars war leaves that can’t be seen. As a military spouse I’ve come to know many service members over the years and I respect what they do so much. It’s a story I think could never be told enough. A story rooted in sacrifice as well as hope.

It’s also a meaningful story because this is my fourth time telling it. I originally wrote this story in 2011, publishing it under the title The Wanderer. I then rewrote it as a screenplay just for fun. I presented the screenplay to someone in the industry for insight and was told it was 90 pages too long for starters. So, after a few days to process that information, I rewrote it again. As it turns out screenwriting just isn’t for me, but the experience kept the story alive and constantly on my mind. I knew I wanted to rewrite it as a novel someday and I finally took it on. It’s a story I am immensely proud of and is a great example of why patience and perseverance are key factors in this craft. The story aged well and my writing is finally in a place where I feel I could finally do these characters justice.

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.

I am not like most authors out there. I was not a ravenous reader. I struggled with language arts as a whole in fact growing up. Once I got to college, however, I picked up reading for fun. Almost immediately after beginning to read for fun I awoke the desire to write. It felt like I had been keeping this living and breathing thing inside of me trapped only to finally set it free. Becoming a story teller was just so natural (though I still needed to work through the whole C student in English thing along the way.) I completed my first novel rather quickly after that.

I didn’t begin writing to publish until my husband deployed for a year. Writing was a way to pass the time and get to know who I was. As a twin and having married my high school sweetheart at twenty it was a real season of metamorphosis for me. It was like I was reborn into my own true sense of self and part of who I was—despite my previous beliefs about myself—was a writer.

Over the years I’ve learned that what I write is called upmarket fiction. In layman terms that means character-driven fiction that can appeal to a wide audience. It’s my goal to tell meaningful and moving stories that touch very real places in my readers’ hearts.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

I think my whole journey is one of resilience. In a world where social media is king and getting a lot of followers means you have a better shot at success. You automatically have an upper hand if you decide to publish a book when you’ve already got the big online presence. Starting at the very bottom and (in my case starting over) can feel like swimming up through a bunch of kicking and screaming bodies trying to reach the surface just as aggressively as you are. I see a lot of fellow authors being discouraged by the success of others and I even feel it myself sometimes but I remind myself constantly that arriving at the top too soon can result in a devastating fall. I would much rather build my own foundation and know that my footing is sure even if it takes longer than to try and catch the wave of a trend or to go viral. These things may last, but they may not too. I want to know, even if it takes ten times as long, that what I’ve built for my career in this industry has staying power.

As a mom whose first priority is my kids, I’m in no rush to have abundant success. It would be nice but I’m more concerned with ensuring I’m prepared to maintain what I’ve achieved when it does come along. I know that the sure way not to reach my goals is to give up when it gets hard. If I keep going then who but myself can stop me from finally reaching them? No one.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

My goal and mission is my kids. I want them to know that moms, even those who stay home, can do and be more. While being a mom is 100% fulfilling for me, I’m raising a daughter and a son. I want my daughter to know that there’s room for what she loves. I want my son to know what it looks like to honor his wife’s passions later on down the line. I spent the first half of my life being defined by the relationships I was in. Whether it was being a twin or being with my husband from a young age. Having my own identity is really important and it drives me to keep writing.

Not only that, but I believe my stories are some of the ones missing from this industry. Not the themes or tropes in and of themselves, but the way they’re told. I try to write stories that both men and women could read and enjoy. Stories about strong men with vulnerability that makes them more attractive and worthy of love. It’s my mission to normalize the narrative that men feel things just as deeply as women even if they express it and deal with it in different ways.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @shawnmaravelauthor
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/shawnmaravelauthor?mibextid=PtKPJ9
• TikTok: @shawnmaravelauthor