Sharon Shinn’s Followers (1,368)

More followers…

Sharon Shinn

Born

in The United States

January 01, 1957

Website

http://sharonshinn.net/

Genre

Science Fiction & Fantasy, Romance, Young Adult

edit data

I’ve been writing stories and poems since I was eight years old. My first poem was about Halloween: "What is tonight? What is tonight?/Try to guess and you’ll guess right." Perhaps this inauspicious beginning explains why it took me till I was in my thirties to sell a novel. It occurred to me early on that it might take some time and a lot of tries before I was able to publish any of my creative writing, so I pursued a degree in journalism at Northwestern University so I’d be able to support myself while I figured out how to write fiction.

I’ve spent most of my journalism career at three trade and association magazines—The Professional Photographer (which, as you might guess, went to studio and industrial photographers), DECOR (which went to I’ve been writing stories and poems since I was eight years old. My first poem was about Halloween: "What is tonight? What is tonight?/Try to guess and you’ll guess right." Perhaps this inauspicious beginning explains why it took me till I was in my thirties to sell a novel. It occurred to me early on that it might take some time and a lot of tries before I was able to publish any of my creative writing, so I pursued a degree in journalism at Northwestern University so I’d be able to support myself while I figured out how to write fiction.

I’ve spent most of my journalism career at three trade and association magazines—The Professional Photographer (which, as you might guess, went to studio and industrial photographers), DECOR (which went to frame shop and art gallery owners), and BizEd (which is directed at deans and professors at business schools). My longest stint, seventeen years, was at DECOR. Many people don’t know this, but I’m a CPF (Certified Picture Framer), having passed a very long, technical test to prove I understood the tenets of conservation framing. Now I write about management education and interview some really cool, really smart people from all over the world.

I mostly write my fiction in the evenings and on weekends. It requires a pretty obsessive-compulsive personality to be as prolific as I’ve been in the past ten years and hold down a full-time job. But I do manage to tear myself away from the computer now and then to do something fun. I read as often as I can, across all genres, though I’m most often holding a book that’s fantasy or romance, with the occasional western thrown in. I’m a fan of Cardinals baseball and try to be at the ballpark on opening day. If I had the time, I’d see a movie every day of my life. I love certain TV shows so much that knowing a new episode is going to air that night will make me happy all day. (I’m a huge Joss Whedon fan, but in the past I’ve given my heart to shows all over the map in terms of quality: "Knight Rider," "Remington Steele," "Blake’s 7," "Moonlighting," "The Young Riders," "Cheers," "Hill Street Blues," "X-Files," "Lost," "Battlestar Galactica"...you can probably fill in the gaps. And let’s not forget my very first loves, "The Partridge Family," "Here Come the Brides" and "Alias Smith & Jones.")

I don’t have kids, I don’t want pets, and all my plants die, so I’m really only forced to provide ongoing care for my menagerie of stuffed animals. All my friends are animal lovers, though, and someone once theorized that I keep friends as pets. I’m still trying to decide if that’s true.

...more

Combine Editions
Sharon Shinn's Books

Average rating: 3.90 · 107,543 ratings · 7,122 reviews · 42 distinct works · Similar authors

	Summers at Castle Auburn 4.02 avg rating — 8,506 ratings — published 2001 — 12 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Archangel (Samaria, #1) 4.05 avg rating — 8,151 ratings — published 1996 — 11 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Mystic and Rider (Twelve Houses, #1) 4.07 avg rating — 7,493 ratings — published 2005 — 11 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Troubled Waters (Elemental Blessings, #1) 4.01 avg rating — 6,115 ratings — published 2010 — 11 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Jovah's Angel (Samaria, #2) 3.93 avg rating — 4,444 ratings — published 1997 — 7 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Reader and Raelynx (Twelve Houses, #4) 4.11 avg rating — 4,158 ratings — published 2007 — 8 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Dark Moon Defender (Twelve Houses, #3) 4.08 avg rating — 4,141 ratings — published 2006 — 7 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Safe-Keeper's Secret (Safe-Keepers, #1) 3.79 avg rating — 3,986 ratings — published 2004 — 8 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Alleluia Files (Samaria, #3) 3.94 avg rating — 3,775 ratings — published 1998 — 8 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Angelica (Samaria, #4) 3.92 avg rating — 3,786 ratings — published 2003 — 10 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

More books by Sharon Shinn…

Series by Sharon Shinn

Samaria Published Order (5 books)
by Sharon Shinn
3.97 avg rating — 33,820 ratings

Samaria Chronological Order (5 books)
by Sharon Shinn
3.97 avg rating — 33,820 ratings

Twelve Houses (5 books)
by Sharon Shinn
4.00 avg rating — 24,617 ratings

Safe-Keepers (3 books)
by Sharon Shinn
3.88 avg rating — 12,595 ratings

Elemental Blessings (4 books)
by Sharon Shinn
3.96 avg rating — 9,164 ratings

More series by Sharon Shinn…

Upcoming Events

No scheduled events. Add an event.

Quotes by Sharon Shinn

“A truth that no one knows is still the truth.”
― Sharon Shinn, Jenna Starborn

tags: inspirational, truth

103 likes

“Do you love me?" he asked.
I fell silent.
"For the rest of it is glitter and noise," he said. "At the heart of it all is love. You make that choice, and you go forward from there.”
― Sharon Shinn, Summers at Castle Auburn

87 likes

“We cannot go backward. We cannot erase time and events. But we can go forward, hand in hand, hope in our hearts and love lighting our way.”
― Sharon Shinn, Jenna Starborn

tags: love

60 likes

See all Sharon Shinn's quotes »

Polls

MAY SCIENCE FICTION: This poll decides which 2 books will move on to the run-off poll for our May SF Book of the Month

The Day of the Triffids by John Wyndham

18 votes, 22.0%

When Gravity Fails by George Alec Effinger

12 votes, 14.6%

The Dervish House by Ian McDonald

11 votes, 13.4%

Kesrith by C.J. Cherryh

11 votes, 13.4%

Pacific Edge by Kim Stanley Robinson

9 votes, 11.0%

Archangel by Sharon Shinn

9 votes, 11.0%

To Your Scattered Bodies Go by Philip José Farmer

7 votes, 8.5%

The Quiet War by Paul J. McAuley

3 votes, 3.7%

The Myriad by R.M. Meluch

2 votes, 2.4%

82 total votes

comments and details

More...

Topics Mentioning This Author

topics	posts	views	last activity
SciFi and Fantasy...: What I am also reading in February	71	237	Mar 07, 2009 09:06AM
The Next Best Boo...: OFFICIAL SPRING CHALLENGE - 2009	6460	8567	Jun 14, 2009 02:57PM
The Next Best Boo...: how do you decide what to read	36	273	Jul 20, 2009 06:23PM
Beyond Reality: Nominations for April!	20	79	Jan 20, 2010 09:47AM
Romance Readers R...: 2010 January Monthly Challenge: Participants' Lists	318	400	Feb 02, 2010 09:04PM

More…

Is this you? Let us know. If not, help out and invite Sharon to Goodreads.