Author Interview: Shannon Morton

A sheltered girl.

The perfect boy.

A mysterious stranger.

Random messages delivering a sobering prophecy plague Aspen's existence. With every curious encounter, her sanity wavers further. Before long, Aspen finds herself balancing the fate of humanity on her shoulders, until a single act turns her world upside down. She finds herself alone, isolated from those she thought she could trust.

Alone to damn the world.

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QUESTION 1. If you could work with any other author, who would it be and why?

Shannon: Hmmm…outside of Amber, and since you didn’t specify whether or not they needed to be alive, I’d have to go with Jane Austen. It’s all about the character development for me and she does such an amazing job of telling stories through her characters. I would sit at her feet and worship/learn. 

QUESTIONS 2. What would be a typical working day for you? When and where do you write?

Shannon: I teach Pilates so I have a fairly flexible schedule, minus the two kiddos running around. The short story is that I write when and wherever the opportunity presents itself. The long story is that I write everywhere: on a post-it, a napkin, or a bubblegum wrapper. I also write anytime: it could be the middle of the night or worse, the middle of someone’s conversation. But no matter what, I’ve learned to write it down, because if I don’t, it’s gone. 

QUESTIONS 3. What is the hardest part of the writing for you?

Shannon: Don’t laugh at me when I say that the hardest part of writing for me is the writing. If I could somehow create a device that would allow everyone to see the amazing stories in my head unfold as beautifully as I see them, it would be genius…and a little creepy. 

QUESTIONS 4. When and why did you first start writing?

Shannon: I started writing in the fifth grade when my teacher made it a priority in class every Friday. I took it up again a few years ago when my friend Bethanie and I had numerous conversations about the crazy stories in our heads – it was just such an amazing outlet.

QUESTIONS 5. How did you come up with the idea for your book?

Shannon: Well, Julian from Tempted by Evil is the boy that lives in my head. Thanks to my friend Bethanie, I was able to see some of the people around him a bit more clearly. Then Amber came along and we fully saw the story. It was a beautiful thing! 

QUESTIONS 6. Are you a big reader? If so, what are you reading now?

Shannon: Absolutely! I’m currently reading Intuition by Amy Bartol and can’t wait for Impulse by Dannika Dark! I’m a huge indie author fan. 

QUESTIONS 7. Do you have any advice for other aspiring writers?

Shannon: Make like Nike and just do it! And when you do, have a group of honest people around to give you feedback. Rome wasn’t built in a day, and your novel won’t be written in one, either, but it’s worth the effort in the end.