About Me — Shannon Cheesman

I came into this world in 1972 — the same year that then U.S. President Richard Nixon came under fire amid the Watergate Scandal, NASA launched its Space Shuttle Program, and a gallon of gas cost just 55 cents.

My name, Shannon, is an Irish name meaning old and wise. It is quite apropos, considering I have always felt like an old soul with a need for solitary space to ponder and reflect. I am, at heart, a true introvert.

Growing up, I was a painfully shy child who hid behind her mother’s legs if anyone tried to speak with her.

I read books — a LOT of them. They took me to places I could only reach in my mind and taught me about topics that interested me. I relished every word, every page, every chapter.

And I wrote a lot, too, while growing up. I remember winning an award for my first story, a humorous tale about a turkey and a farmer on Thanksgiving Day.

I owe my entire writing career to that story. Words that I had put on paper in my own unique, loveable, little girl way made others smile and laugh. It was a feeling that would stay with me always.

Of course, when you grow up and become an adult, writing becomes less about telling funny little stories about turkeys and more about figuring out how you can get paid to put words on paper.