top of page

Author Interview - Shan. L. Scott


My author interview for April is Author Shan. L. Scott. Her first novel was published in September 2017. I find both the book's cover and the blurb very intriguing and I will definitely be taking a look at this book.


Check out Shan's interview, bio, and links below.





Interview


Do you remember the first book you read that had an impact on you - in what way and what was the name of that book?


I remember it vividly, the book was called “Remember Me” by Christopher Pike and it was about a young woman who died. In her spiritual form she had to find her killer and unravel the mystery of her family before someone she loved was also killed.  I think it stuck in my mind because it challenged my learned notions of spiritual beings, having been a devout Christian in a small rural town throughout my younger years it was interesting to me that they were other forms of belief and other means of expressing spiritualism outside of the church. It was a book that I borrowed over and over from the school library and although I bought a copy I loaned it to a friend who never returned it, though I remember the story practically word for word.


When did you first realize you wanted to write?


I started writing in around grade two, simple poetry and short stories to entertain myself and my family. These stories and poems were picked up by my school teachers and resulted in them encouraging me to participate in writing competitions and attending writing camps from a young age. With this encouragement I went on to pursue more writing activities and was highly successful in public speaking, essay competitions, poetry competitions and the like. In high school I took higher level English classes and did well in my Higher School Certificate. After this, due to working and study commitments I took a break from creative writing and it was only in 2011 that I started again, penning the outline for my first full length novel, “See Me”.


Who is/are your favourite author(s)?


I have a plethora of favourite authors! My top three would have to be Terry Pratchett, Alison Croggon and Guy Gavriel Kay. There is something about being immersed in a foreign world where you have never been and feeling entirely at home. Like visiting old friends and making new discoveries all at the same time. All three of these authors do that for me, I can smell, hear, feel, see and almost touch their world. It’s incredible. They inspire me to write.


What is your favourite thing about writing? What is your least favourite thing writing?


My favourite thing about writing would have to be taking my characters on a journey. I know them so well, they are a part of me, but it’s incredible to watch them grow and change and learn new things about themselves as their story unfolds while I write. While I have an overall idea about where each story is headed I am often surprised with how my characters react to certain situations, I learn and grow along with them as I write and I think that is the most beautiful thing.

My least favourite thing about writing is having people quiz me on hat is happening in the second book, wanting to read ahead and find out what becomes of Shelly on her second adventure. Please be patient people! I am working as fast as I can


Where do your ideas come from?


My ideas come from a range of experiences and theories I have about life and the beyond. Shelly, though she is studying Medicine (which I studied) is not me, rather a vaguely inspired version of what I might have been like had I not made certain choices or taken certain paths. I like to take some inspiration from things that happen in the real world (things like domestic violence, love, heartbreak, these are all common themes in the world) then some ideas are purely thought up, and inspired by my own imagination.


I’ve often found that creative people have more than one talent, what is yours?


Well, I sing, I play eleven instruments, I am a graphic designer, a photographer and I make videos for YouTube. I like to dip my fingers in a lot of pies but I have to say I am actually quite good at all of these things. Indeed I often wonder where I find the time to write!


If you could jump inside of a book for one day (as an observer) what book would it be?


Definitely “The Gift/TheNaming” by Alison Croggon. It is my all-time favourite book! I have the whole series, but how she sets the tone with this first book makes my heart want to burst. I would love to see the amazing scenery, taste the food and meet the wonderful characters that she portrays in this installment of her Pellinor Series.


When you create characters are they completely made up or do they resemble or remind you of people you know?


Most of my characters are entirely made up. There may be one or two who have a certain trait here or there that comes from someone I have met in my extensive travels around Australia however, aside from those little bizarre quirks they are entirely fictional.


Have you ever created a character “out of thin air” only to run into someone in real life that reminds you of that character either in personality or their features?


No I have never experienced that. I think as my characters grow they are always changing to me and I feel it would be difficult to have them match up with someone in the real world. Because the story has an element of fantasy and the paranormal to it, any resemblance to real world people would be a fluke.


What are you working on now and can you tell us about it?


I am currently working on the second novel in my Second Sight series, entitled “I See You”. I can’t tell you much about it except that Shelly, my main character is in for the fight of her life and it’s up to those she loves to try and save her. When a loved one goes missing, Shelly has to try and find him, with the aid of some sorrowful spirits. She gets tangled up in something she cannot get out of and her situation is dire. Will she get out alive?


Bio


Shannon Scott is an Australian Author who lives in the Brisbane area of Queensland. She has been writing creatively from a very early age and has recently published her first novel entitled ‘See Me’. Shannon is a creative soul who loves to sing and plays several instruments as well as trying her hand at art and working as a photographer. Shan grew up in a small country town in rural New South Wales and lived on a small farm with a small herd of cattle and many dogs. She finished grade 10 there and then went on to study her Higher School Certificate in a neighbouring town where, at a much larger school, she embraced her creativity at a much higher level. After going on to study at university she then moved to Brisbane and since has lived in several locations along the eastern and central parts of Australia. It was only upon moving back to New South Wales in 2011 that she began writing her first novel which she finished in 2015. When writing, Shannon is always accompanied by her two loyal companions, two cats named Squidgy and Frodo. Together they are working on Shan’s second novel, ‘I See You’.


Links

Instagram: shan.l.scott

Twitter: @shazzaberries

RSS Feed
bottom of page