About Me
I was once sifting through a book of names and was very disappointed to find out that my name meant plain and quiet or something mundane like that, not at all what I felt described me. Then I found out from my parents that I was actually named after celebrated journalist Shana Alexander, and the name didn’t seem so humdrum after all.
I have been writing for as far back as I can remember. Even before I could put pen to paper, I was creating vivid adventures for my imaginary friend, Sicky, and her league of comrades in my head. My best guess is that this is a direct result of my unconventional upbringing. My first memories of television aren’t of watching Sesame Street or The Muppets; they are of seeing Victor Newman locking his wife Julia in the basement of their home on The Young and the Restless. My mother and grandmother were constantly watching soap operas and my father always had his face in a newspaper or book and a pen in his hand. As a child, I suppose I took my mother’s love of romance and drama and my father’s love for books and writing and found my own creative outlet in writing.
Thankfully, I was blessed with parents who noted my interest in writing early on and nurtured that interest by enrolling me in writing camps and a fine arts elementary school. While there, I was not only encouraged to write but found comfort in meeting other beings like myself. I had my first poem, Hair, published at the age of nine and wrote my first novel when I was thirteen.
My passion for reading and writing continued throughout high school, where I joined the newspaper staff, literary magazine, and yearbook staff. I went on to write for The George-Anne at Georgia Southern University, where I graduated from with a degree in Education after majoring in English.
As it often does, life got in the way of my writing for awhile. Being a full-time wife, mother of two, and high school English teacher left very little room and time for pecking away at my computer for hours at a time. Becoming a published author had slipped to the bottom of my list of priorities until I found an article in Ebony magazine while I was cleaning up. The magazine was turned to an article entitled What to do When You Find Yourself Suddenly Single. The words Suddenly Single were written in large red letters and immediately caught my attention. Right then and there, the story started play in my head, and I did something that I hadn’t done in years: I sat down to my computer and started writing. The rest is publication history.
Since then, I have written five other novels. Of course, I still find time for my wonderful husband and my ninety kids—two by birth, eighty-eight by occupation. And I am always inspired by authors of today and yesterday and, of course, my daily doses of soap operas.
