Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Ever since I picked up my great grandmother’s old copy of THE WIZARD OF OZ, I have loved stories. Writing is one of my favorite things to do — telling the stories that have lodged themselves inside my head and refuse to stay there.
When I’m not writing, I spend time thrifting, playing a good game of pickleball, or sipping coffee at one of my many favorite coffee shops.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
SECRET OF THE LOST KING is book one in the THRONES trilogy, and it actually began as a stage play written for production at a summer camp two years ago. I decided to take the basic story I had written and re-create it as a novel.
By day I work as a Children’s Pastor, and I have seen what has happened to a generation of kids who have been essentially parentless. More and more kids have grown up without a father or mother or both. I wanted to speak to that specific experience in THRONES. So Jack, a boy without parents, wrestles with this idea of family as he journeys through the fantastic world of Tanniyn and goes face to face with an evil emperor.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I cannot write when I’m inside my house! I have to be somewhere else. Coffee shops are my favorite stops to frequent and spend a couple hours, punching out my word count and sipping a latte. But no matter where I write, I love to sit by a window. Something about the natural light and the movement outside helps me stay creative and hard working.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
Some of my favorites right now have been Brandon Mull, Travis Thrasher, P.W. Catanese, Melody Carlson, and always Ted Dekker. However, two of the books that have most influenced my writing have been A WRINKLE IN TIME and A WIND IN THE DOOR both by Madeleine L’Engle. She will always remain the master.
What are you working on now?
Right now I am deep into writing the second book in the THRONES trilogy: SWORD OF THE BROKEN SON. I’ve been planning for a book called LUMBER, a fantasy novel about the Pacific Northwest. I’m excited to write that one as I think it’s going to push me both creatively and on a character development level.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I often find a lot of success with Awesomegang, Bookangel, Facebook, and Amazon.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Take time with your stories. Don’t rush them. Pause literally to smell and taste the flowers. So many novels pound right into dialogue, which can be smart and snappy, but they often forget to show me the world these talking heads exist in.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Even though every story, every plotline, every basic idea has been explored in literature, the story you have to tell about those things has not been told. So don’t tell it; show it to us.
What are you reading now?
Right now I am reading CIRCLES OF SEVEN by Bryan Davis, as well as CAPTIVES OF THE DESERT by Zane Grey. Both super interesting, but in wildly different genres!
What’s next for you as a writer?
Finishing up the THRONES trilogy is immediately next, but after that I am excited to start writing LUMBER and an Arabian fantasy series.
If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
Only three or four? Okay, I’d spring for A WRINKLE IN TIME by Madeleine L’Engle, TILL WE HAVE FACES by C.S. Lewis, and my good old Bible.
Author Websites and Profiles
Shaun Stevenson Website
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