I Dreaded Reading by Shannon Greenland

Shannon Greenland joins us today to share what turned her from a non-reader to a book lover and author.

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I dreaded reading and writing when I was a kid. In fact, I didn’t read my first book for enjoyment until I was in my late 20’s, and what a turn my life took!

I was the mathematician in school. I always did and still do love math. So much so that I have a degree in it and teach it as well!

But one lazy summer day some fifteen years ago, a friend of mine gave me a stack of historical romance books and said, “Read! You’ll like it!”

I have to admit, I put that stack aside and only out of dire boredom one day picked one up. It was Shanna by Kathleen Woodiwiss, and I devoured it. I picked up another. And another. And another. Next I found myself in the public library, hungry for more books. Me. Go figure!

Then one day my brain started sparking and crackling with thoughts. I grabbed a pencil and a pad, and I began writing. I wrote, and I wrote some more, and six months later a rough draft of my first novel, an adult romantic suspense, was born. Granted the novel was crap, but I had written one and that was all that mattered.

I wrote the words THE END and thought I was going to be famous.

Little did I know the hard work had just started…

I dug in, joined local and national writing organizations and learned the craft. I studied voice, active versus passive, tense, show not tell, and what seemed like hundreds of other terms I wasn’t familiar with.

Then I began rewriting, and when I felt ready, I submitted my raw manuscript to agents, editors, and published authors for critique.

And the rejections rolled in. And rolled in. And rolled in.

That experience taught me even more and I continued to fine tune my craft. Then one day a writer friend suggested I try writing Young Adult because she said I had a teen voice. I scrunched up my face and thought, me? A teen writer? No way.

I’m so glad I did! My friend was right. I had a teen soul that was just dying to get out.

Now all these years later and many published books under my writing belt, I am continuously amazed I’m doing this. And to those kids who loathe reading and writing I like to say, “Hey, I was just like you, and look what I turned out to be—a writer!”

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Don’t miss picking up Shannon Greenland’s Shadow of a Girl for just 99¢ for a limited time only!

Use cash and keep moving.

After I ran away from home, these were the two rules that dictated my life. Scoring a job as a roadie fit perfectly for what I needed. Traveling, cash, and life out of the spotlight. But when my path collides with West, the lead singer of Bus Stop, I can’t seem to stay out of hisspotlight—especially since we’ll be touring together for an entire year.

West is determined to break down my walls. He won’t give up. And little by little they come crumbling. But if he knew what lurked behind them, he wouldn’t be so eager to get rid of them.

The more time we spend together, the more the lines of our friendship become blurred. He makes me dream of things I never thought possible. But while our friendship has been evolving into a romance, my secrets have been closing in. And just when I’ve decided to reveal my past to West, I’m confronted by it. The cost of my freedom could ruin the life of the guy I love…