The
Spanish Inquisition: Shannon Mayer on the Chopping Block

Name–
Shannon Jerene (yes that’s right) Mayer

Age-32

Astrological
Sign-Gemini

Status-Married,
no kids

Books
currently available– Sundered, Bound, Dauntless (Books 1-3 of
A Zombie-ish Apocalypse) and my most recent book is Dark Waters: Celtic Legacy
Book 1

What
is your favourite book you’ve written?

Now that’s not fair, you aren’t supposed to play favourites
with your “babies”.  Okay, I’ll try.
Sundered was my first Indie Book so it holds a special place and to write a
love story in the middle of a zombie-ish apocalypse was a BLAST. But, Dark
Waters is special too. It was a lot harder for me to write in that I had to
pull on my experiences with almost losing my little sister to drugs and the
street, so the emotions in that book are super close to my heart. Dang, I don’t
think I can pick one, maybe down the line, but right now, they all are so
important to me in different ways.

Was
your family supportive of you and your writing?

 Yes and no. My
husband, he was the one who encouraged me to follow my dreams. He pushed me
pretty hard and I fought him at first, my own stupid stubborn nature, but I
think I was afraid that in writing, putting myself out there, people would
judge me. Which of course they do whether they read something you write or not.
I got over that, eventually. The rest of my family, it was a split, about half
were super encouraging, and half didn’t really think there was much to the
writing. By that I mean they thought it was just a hobby, that it could never
be a career. But when Sundered was released (and now it has over 50 reviews
with a 4.7 average) I think they saw that perhaps there was enough talent in me
to actually make it as a writer and they’ve all come around.

What’s
the best compliment on your writing?

LOL. Not including some of my reviews (which a couple made
me laugh till I was crying) my favourite compliment was “I hate to say this,
but it was a hell of a lot better than I expected. I was shocked.”  That was a neighbour, he then went on to read
the next two books, couldn’t get enough after that, but it was one of those
compliments that I knew was honest, which I loved.

Is
there one thing you would change so far in your writing journey?

Well, I would say that I have learned so much, that I just
wish I could go back and apply it from the beginning. Like understanding how to
get the best cover art, when to release your book (or better yet when NOT to!)
finding the best editors, proofreaders and beta readers.

What
are you reading right now?

 I have a couple of
books on the go right now. “The Corridors of the Dead” By Jonathan Allen, “SHE”
by James Caterino and I just started Heather McCorkle’s book “The Secret of Spruce
Knoll: A Channeler Novel”.

Piece
of advice for authors or readers?

For authors I would say just keep at it and do your best to
keep up with the CONSTANTLY shifting industry. 
For readers? GO READ MY BOOKS (LOL) no really, there are a ton of great
Indie authors out there, don’t turn your nose up at them, those gems will one
day be the authors you see on the bookstore shelves.

Feb 3rd & 4th Dark Waters and Sundered will be FREE! This opportunity to check out
these two amazing series for FREE won’t come again, so get them while you can!

After a
2 year period waiting on her agent to actually do something, Ms. Mayer dropped
the agent, and self published her first trilogy, A Zombie-ish Apocalypse which
includes Sundered, Bound and Dauntless. 
Her latest book, Dark Waters: Celtic Legacy Book 1 centers on the bonds
of sisters while delving into the world of nightmares and magic. For more info
on Shannon Mayer and her writing go to http://shannonmayer.blogspot.com or follow her on Twitter @TheShannonMayer