Shannon Redmon Interview

Q: Let me start with asking you to tell us a little bit about yourself.
A. I’m a North Carolina girl and live in the mountains with my husband and two grown boys. My oldest graduated from college a year ago and my youngest is in college now. I recently left my job in the corporate world to become a full-time writer.

Q: When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?
A. I’ve always been a writer in some shape or form, whether it be helping my friends pen break up letters to their boyfriends back in the day before we had texting and smart phones to content creation for medical device companies where I was employed. However, I always wanted to write a book. I’d start stories and get about a third of the way into them and give up. One day when I was complaining about wanting to be a published writer, he said, “Then finish a book.” So, I did. Then, I wasn’t sure what to do after that. I researched writing conferences and found one right here in Black Mountain, NC called the Blue Ridge Mountain Christian Writer’s Conference. I’d never been to a writer’s conference and had no clue what I was doing, but there I met my agent, Tamela Hancock Murray and my professional writing journey began.

Q: Could you give us the highlights of your professional writing career including how you got your first writing break?
A. I think my first writing break came when I got a flash fiction story published in Spark magazine. They paid me and I was so excited. I still love to write flash fiction. There is an art to crafting a complete story in 1000 words. This helped me to learn concise writing and to make every word count.

Q: Would you tell us about your current book release Cave of Secrets?
A: When Carli Moore finds the body of Zain Wescott’s missing sister on her family’s ranch, Zain is convinced Carli’s brother is the murderer. But Carli’s sure Zain is wrong, and she’ll prove it—if the killer doesn’t take out both of them first. Now they just have to live long enough to uncover the truth…and bring a murderer to justice.

Q: Where did you get your inspiration for Cave of Secrets?
A: Two of my friends and I had a slow day at work and we were brainstorming what we thought would make a good story. We’re all avid readers. One of them said to me, “I think you should write a story about a girl who finds a dead body in a cave on her property” and the rest is history.

Q: What is the main thing you hope readers remember from this story?
A: I hope they remember the love and forgiveness found between Carli and Zain. They had such a painful past and hurt each other, but with time and God’s healing they were able to forgive.

Q: What inspires you to write?
A. When God wakes me up in the mornings and the brain fog clears, knowing I get to spend my time writing stories, excites me. I’m grateful for my past positions and how God provided for my family through them, but now that I’m living my dream, I’ve found so much peace, joy and inspiration.

Q: Would you share with us what you are working on now?
A. I’m working on Book 2 of the Crystal Creek series for LIS with hopefully Book 3 and/or 4 coming in the future. Also, I’m working on a trade novel.

Q: When you’re not writing what do you like to do?
A. In the winter, I like to read, draw, paint, watch movies and spend time with my family. In the summers, we like to go to the lake, ride jet skis, kayak and more reading!