little-known authors. If you are a published author or know someone who is,
pass the word, and come back often. You never know what you'll find. If the
response is good, I'll post interviews often, but until I get a steady
stream of writers lined up, once every two weeks, I think, will be the way
it will go. To start things off right, below is an interview with me. I
simply answered the questions that I want to use in an interview with
someone else. Instead of a Q&A, I have decided to make it like an article.
Y'all let me know what you think.
My earliest memories are of making up stories in my head, but I clearly
remember when I first knew I wanted to write. I had read a book that
described the lives of several different children with physical
disabilities. I was eight-years-old, and I remember thinking to myself, "It
isn't right that the writer of this book didn't put anything in here about
blind people. Why, if I were to write a story, it would be about me and my
friends who are blind, telling everyone what it was like." And so, I sat
down at my braille writer and did just that. Four pages later, I took the
story to my teacher, who praised it highly. Since then, I haven't stopped
writing.
Ideas for stories do not come from any one source, but from many.
Sometimes, it is a song that plops an idea in my head. Sometimes, it's
another story written by someone else. Sometimes, it's a show on TV or a
movie, and then, there are times that ideas just pop in my head from
seemingly nowhere.
The idea for my first book, "Wild Heart" published by Publish America
actually came from other books. I'm a Western fan, and I found myself
wishing for Westerns with a little romance in them that were also from a
Christian perspective. I read nearly every book at the local library and
bought several, but nothing seemed to satisfy me. So, I sat down one
evening and began to write. Fifteen years later, it's a published work.
It's a Western, with some adventure, romance, mystery, some violence, and
it's from a Christian perspective. My children's book, "Gold! A Tall Tale"
published by AG Press is now available for preordering and will be available
soon. I actually wrote it while still in high school. My English
instructor gave an assignment, in which we had to write our own tall tale.
We had been reading tall tales in class, and so, taking my enjoyment for
butchering the English language, I wrote about Paw and Maw Bump and their
six children who take a trip to Californy to look fer gold.
As you may already know from what I've said, I love to read almost as much
as I love to write. My favorite book by far is the Bible. My favorite
authors include Laura Ingalls Wilder, Joni Eareckson Tada, Diana Gabaldon,
Janet Oake, Susan May Warren, Kay L. McDonald, Patricia Cornwell, Karen
Kingsbury, Lynn Austin Deeanne Gist, and Joy Hakim, to name a few. I also
enjoy other hobbies, such as crocheting, singing, playing the piano,
listening to music, making home made bread, and when I get the chance,
walking on a pretty day. I keep busy, as I am married to a preacher and
have two little girls.
What will you gain by reading my books? Well, for one, you will be
intertained not only by the stories themselves, but also by some of my more
goofier characters, who talk worse than any hillbilly you'll ever meet. I
also believe that when you read my books, you will be opening your heart to
what God may be leading you to do; I truly believe God's holy spirit leads
me in my writing. Therefore, I don't think you can escape it. When I
write, I try to show through the lives of my characters that God does have a
say in our day to day lives, and we can overcome, if Christ lives in our
hearts.
If someone is thinking seriously about publishing their work, or just wants
to become a writer, then the best advice that I can give is know what you
are writing about. If you want to write about living in 1880, then look up
what life was like in 1880. If you want to write about a person who is
blind, do your research. Nothing, and I mean nothing turns me off more than
an author who writes about something that clearly he/she doesn't know a
thing about. In saying that, if you pick up a copy of my book, "Wild Heart"
and find the mistakes that I assure you are there, please forgive this first
time author's mistakes. I am insuring, through the help of Google that it
will not happen again. Also, find a good editor. Books with mistakes or
writing that is not understandable won't get you nowhere.
Having my first book published has been unlike anything that I have ever
experienced, and I am so glad that I took the plunge. Having a disability
could have stopped me, but instead, I am trying to let it become a blessing
to others. We are only given one chance in this life, and so I figure I'd
better make use of what I've got. Wouldn't want to stand before my Maker
one day and have to answer, "Well, Lord, that talent you gave me? You see,
I buried it." No way! Instead, I want to be able to hear Him say, "Well
done, thou good and faithful servant. Enter in to the joys of the Lord."
Shannon Nicole Wells
author of "Wild Heart" and "Gold! A Tall Tale"
www.christianhomeplace.com
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