Shannon Kent Interview

Q: Let me start with asking you to tell us a little bit about yourself.
A. I relate to the character in a time travel drama who doesn’t quite fit in with the modern world around her. Somewhat on the prim and proper side, I love classic movie musicals, vintage hats, and listening to Frank Sinatra.

Q: When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?
A. The revelation hit me when I was almost finished with a four-year college degree studying music. It’s daunting for someone who grew up loving books to make that decision because authors seemed like such an otherworldly thing, like you needed a special calling delivered by a heavenly dove with a message in its beak.

Q: Could you give us the highlights of your professional writing career including how you got your first writing break?
A. After undergraduate, I switched mental gears and got an M.A. in Journalism. One of my first true breaks was when I sent a theater review I’d written to a local paper—cold turkey. The editor already had someone covering that show but liked my style. Would I like to do some other articles for them? Thus began one of the best jobs of my life. I received tickets to great house seats for free, and then the paper paid me to tell people what I thought of different shows and concerts. God moments like that have happened all through my journey. My first fiction writing break was another unexpected divine appointment. Because I was a fan of Korean dramas, I got to know another writer who asked me if I’d like to be part of a clean-and-wholesome novella series they were doing. She introduced me to the ins and out of indie publishing, and I wrote two stories for the My Korean Crush series.

Q: Would you tell us about your current book release Decoy Valentine?
A: Writing Decoy Valentine was like feeling my way through an unfamiliar room with the lights turned out since it was my first attempt at Romantic Suspense. It’s set in quirky, small-town Sweetheart, Texas where Susanna Kelly is receiving ominous heart shaped notes from a stalker. Her best friend, Korean American writer Daniel Sheppard, steps up and offers to play the role of her boyfriend to discourage the unwanted suitor. But the unexpected turn in their relationship only makes things worse as notes turn into life-threatening situations.

Q: Where did you get your inspiration for Decoy Valentine?
A: I can’t remember the catalyst for the plot, but the heroine borrowed characteristics from my own personality that I didn’t realize. It was a light bulb moment when it dawned on me that she struggled with turning people down, and I also do the same.

Q: What is the main thing you hope readers remember from this story?
A: The humor. No matter what I write, be it a theater review or a suspense story, I like to include funny situations. One person commented after reading something I’d written how it felt so good to laugh again. That was a huge compliment to me. In our crazy world, bringing a smile to someone’s face is like a gift.

Q: What inspires you to write?
A. Writing gives me a chance to create the stories I wish would happen to me. Of course I don’t mean being threatened and stalked. But adventure and romance, who doesn’t want that?

Q: Would you share with us what you are working on now?
A. The sequel to Decoy Valentine is about another Sweetheart resident and modern-day shrew. Katherine Minola’s been hired as campaign manager for a woman who wants to beat her husband in the race for the mayor’s office. Katherine goes toe-to-toe with a big city political consultant brought in to help the incumbent and has to resist falling for the enemy while also avoiding political sabotage and life-threatening situations. I also have an editor considering my novel The Matchmaker Cruise about a group of little old ladies who retire to a cruise ship and get their kicks setting up the young people around them. They orchestrate matches and do a little detective work on the side as they try to discover who’s smuggling drugs on their floating home-sweet-home.

Q: When you’re not writing what do you like to do?
A. Watch Korean dramas (with the subtitles on of course), travel, listen to Sinatra on my record player