Shannon Taylor Hodnett

BIO: I'm an Oklahoma girl gone south...to the beautiful beaches of Galveston, Texas with my husband, son, three super sweet dogs, and two handsome tomcats. After my freshman year at the University of Oklahoma, I abandoned college life for a lucrative career in waitressing. One day—inspired by advice from family and an armed forces episode of Family Feud—I joined the Navy, but after a brief stint in boot camp, I was diagnosed with a rare, incurable kidney disorder and honorably discharged. Over the next two decades, I met and married a wonderful guy named Jeff…gave birth to our amazing son, Jack…and received a shiny new kidney from my best friend and now kid-sister, Robin. With a second chance at life, and an appreciation for everything in it, I rediscovered a passion for writing and successfully completed my first novel.

INSPIRATION: My love of writing began with my very first poem about a stinkbug at age four. In high school I was a writer on the staff of our school newspaper and after college I wrote three books for young children, which were promptly rejected by publishers. I set my writing aspirations aside to focus on my son and my health. A decade later, my dialysis treatments stopped working and the need for a new kidney became dire. My best friend, Robin, got tested and turned out to be a match. She not only gave me a new kidney, but another chance at life. I returned to my dream of writing and completed the novel I never thought I'd get to write.

My dream now is to take the rest of this life I've been given and keep writing until the day my own story ends. ♥