126 ratings | 18 reviews | avg rating:4.54

Shana’s Year In Books

Shana’s 2025 Year in Books

Take a look at Shana’s Year in Books, including some fun facts about their reading.

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♏ Gina☽

103,061 books | 4,177 friends

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495 books | 39 friends

Joshua Donellan

2,656 books | 1,090 friends

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691 books | 311 friends

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10,844 books | 259 friends

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126 books | 4,550 friends

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409 books | 552 friends

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Shana Hammaker

Goodreads Author

Born

in The United States

Twitter

Literarygrrrl

Genre

Memoir, Fantasy, Thriller

Influences

Stephen King, Amy Tan, Agatha Christie, Anne Lamott

Member Since

March 2011

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Shana Hammaker grew up reading Judy Blume and Beverly Cleary, unsure whether she related more to Ramona Quimby or Ralph S. Mouse.

It turns out that she had more in common with their creators. Shana wrote her first story for a fourth-grade assignment. It was a tragic tale of a young person born with rubber bands in place of bones, and it didn't end well, either for the characters or the readers. Thankfully, Shana has had a lot of practice with the literary form since then. She has gone on to write a slew of short thrillers, a couple of memoirs, and a YA novel.

Shana writes with warmth, with a clear-eyed love of humanity, and with a healthy dose of HOPE.

Shana's latest work, The Santa Strike, will be out in the fall of 2023. ...more

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Popular Answered Questions

How do you get inspired to write?

Shana Hammaker For me, getting inspired to write is a different matter than having an enticing story idea. The two things are related, sure, but they are fundamental…moreFor me, getting inspired to write is a different matter than having an enticing story idea. The two things are related, sure, but they are fundamentally different things.

Writing is about craft, and about the joy of playing with words and screwing around with sentences. It's about the hum you feel in your heart when the phrases just pour out of your mind and onto the page in a glorious rush.

The tricky part is that getting inspired to write like that is not always accompanied by a grand story idea. So you can sometimes wind up with an itch to write but no words to write with. Man, is that an uncomfortable feeling.

When that happens I tend to turn to my husband for writing prompts. I call Brandon the idea guy, because although he doesn't consider himself to be a writer, he is a bountiful wellspring of story ideas. I don't know if he pulls them all out of a hat, or if he has a secret Narnia-style wardrobe from which he retrieves his prompts. All I know is that I can count on him to give me the goods when I need them!

It was Brandon who gave me the prompt that turned into my first novel, The Road to Nowhere. And it was Brandon who had the original idea that became my next novel (out fall 2023), The Santa Strike!

We make a good team. (less)

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What mystery in your own life could be a plot for a book?

Shana Hammaker I grew up in and out of foster care, which means that I grew up knowing precious little about my biological family. I did, however, learn early on an …moreI grew up in and out of foster care, which means that I grew up knowing precious little about my biological family. I did, however, learn early on an extraordinary story about my paternal grandfather. It's a story that sounds so outlandish, so cinematic, that I long assumed that it had to be made up.

But it seems that it is likely true. At least, mostly true.

The story, as originally told to me by my father, goes like this:

My paternal grandfather was conceived by a pair of young lovers during World War One. His father was a soldier on leave from the front. His mother was a lovely young local woman from the Tacoma, Washington area. They hooked up and he went back to Europe. She gave birth while he was away. Then, either because she was disinterested in motherhood, or unprepared, or both, she abandoned the infant in a Native American reservation.

My grandfather was born with a headful of red curls. As my father told the story, the red hair his father sported was cause for great consternation among the Native Americans on the reservation. "They thought he came from Hell," my dad told me. Now, I don't know where Judeo-Christian beliefs factor into this. But I do know that the family lore contends my infant grandfather, although fed, was largely neglected on the reservation. No one wanted to touch him. The story goes that when the social workers eventually arrived to take him, they found my grandfather in the middle of a giant puddle of blankets that had been wound and wound and wound around his teeny body, because no one would change his diapers, for fear of touching his Satanic body.

"When he soiled a new blanket, they would just wind another one around him," my dad said.

My grandfather was adopted by a nice childless couple. They lived an uneventful life for a time before the mom died. Then a short while later his adopted dad began to date a woman who had two sons of her own. Their courtship was brief and then they married. The woman and her sons were always cold to my grandfather, which my father said remained a mystery to him until he was grown and looked into the situation a little deeper on his own.

That woman, my grandfather's adopted dad's second wife, actually turned out to be HIS BIRTH MOTHER. And her sons were my grandfather's BIOLOGICAL BROTHERS. And, get this: they ALL KNEW. That was the reason they were cold. They knew the truth and didn't want him to know!!(less)

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Shana Hammaker’s books

Average rating: 4.11 · 101 ratings · 44 reviews · 14 distinct works

	The Cookie Dumpster 4.19 avg rating — 21 ratings — published 2011	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 Santa Strike really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 17 ratings — 2 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
	Charlie (Twelve Terrifying Tales for 2011 #1) 3.92 avg rating — 13 ratings — published 2011	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
	North of Forks (Twelve Terrifying Tales for 2011 #2) 4.50 avg rating — 8 ratings — published 2011	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
	Hieroglyphs 4.25 avg rating — 8 ratings — published 2012	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
	Teeth: A Fable (Twelve Terrifying Tales for 2011, #6) really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 6 ratings — published 2011	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
	Souls, Inc. (Twelve Terrifying Tales for 2011 #5) 4.20 avg rating — 5 ratings — published 2011	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
	Border Crossing (Twelve Terrifying Tales for 2011 #3) 4.75 avg rating — 4 ratings — published 2011	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
	Give Chase (Twelve Terrifying Tales for 2011) 3.50 avg rating — 4 ratings — published 2011 — 2 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
	Sliver (Twelve Terrifying Tales for 2011 #7) 3.50 avg rating — 4 ratings — published 2011	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 Shana Hammaker…

26 posts
Shana Hammaker's Blog: Literally Literary

Holly

So my Husband and I embarked on fun duel reading path this year. We decided to read mostly Stephen King books, either ones we have never read or have not read in so long that with changing tastes and outlooks the book may read different.

He reads faster then me so he has gotten through more but I have been focused on the novels with Holly in them as I liked her a character on the Outsiders tv show. Read more of this blog post »

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Published on March 27, 2024 06:18 • Tags: holly, king, reading, rereading, stephen-king, stories

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Series by Shana Hammaker

Twelve Terrifying Tales for 2011 (9 books)
by

Shana Hammaker (Goodreads Author)

4.10 avg rating — 50 ratings

Shana is Currently Reading

Shana Hammaker is currently reading

Debonair in Death (Murder, She Wrote, #54)

by Jessica Fletcher

bookshelves: currently-reading

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Dec 18, 2025 12:14PM

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Shana Hammaker is on page 115 of 281 of Debonair in Death Debonair in Death (Murder, She Wrote, #54) by Jessica Fletcher progress:	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
4 hours, 28 min ago · like · see status · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Debonair in Death by Jessica Fletcher. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Debonair in Death by Jessica Fletcher <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Shana Hammaker is on page 90 of 281 of Debonair in Death Debonair in Death (Murder, She Wrote, #54) by Jessica Fletcher progress:	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
Dec 22, 2025 02:55PM · like · see status · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Debonair in Death by Jessica Fletcher. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Debonair in Death by Jessica Fletcher <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Shana Hammaker is currently reading Debonair in Death (Murder, She Wrote, #54) by Jessica Fletcher	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
Dec 18, 2025 12:14PM · 1 like · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Debonair in Death by Jessica Fletcher. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Debonair in Death by Jessica Fletcher <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Shana Hammaker rated a book really liked it Trouble at High Tide (Murder, She Wrote, #37) by Jessica Fletcher	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
So cozy!
Dec 18, 2025 12:14PM · 1 like · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Trouble at High Tide by Jessica Fletcher. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Trouble at High Tide by Jessica Fletcher <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Shana Hammaker and 4 other people liked Brandon Roy's review of Attic Clowns: Volume One: "Clowns... This is several stories set in different places but involving clowns or beings that look like clowns. Some of the stories I enjoyed but others didn't really make sense or were just kind of eh. So overall going with 3 stars. The stories I liked" Read more of this review »
Dec 07, 2025 07:11AM · see review
Shana Hammaker liked Brandon Roy's status update Brandon Roy is on page 225 of 400 of A Marvelous Life
Dec 07, 2025 07:11AM · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of A Marvelous Life by Danny Fingeroth. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — A Marvelous Life by Danny Fingeroth <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Shana Hammaker is currently reading Trouble at High Tide (Murder, She Wrote, #37) by Jessica Fletcher	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
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Shana Hammaker rated a book it was amazing A Death in Cornwall (Gabriel Allon, #24) by Daniel Silva	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
Dec 06, 2025 08:53AM · 1 like · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of A Death in Cornwall by Daniel Silva. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — A Death in Cornwall by Daniel Silva <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Shana Hammaker is currently reading A Death in Cornwall (Gabriel Allon, #24) by Daniel Silva	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
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Shana Hammaker finished reading The New Girl (Gabriel Allon, #19) by Daniel Silva	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
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