I’m very excited to be participating in my first cover reveal! Shannon A. Thompson is the author of Seconds Before Sunrise, the second installment in The Timely Death Trilogy. I wanted to do more than just a cover reveal for you, readers, so I also asked Shannon to let me do a brief interview with her so I could share some opinions and thoughts from a published author. Happy reading!
SAM: I see on your site that Seconds before Sunrise is the second book in a trilogy. How have you managed to give each book an ending while maintaining the story line of a series?
SHANNON: Depends on what you considering an ending. The books definitely don’t stand on their own. The first, for instance, has an ending that relies on the second book to begin. I look at The Timely Death Trilogy as one story divided into three books rather than the alternative for a trilogy: three books with the same characters in different stories.
SAM: You published your first book at 16. To what do you accredit your ability to write well at such a young age?
SHANNON: Writing well is debatable. I’ve grown a lot since then. But, in terms of writing and getting published at such a young, I have to credit my mother first. She taught me to love writing as well as how to grow with and from it. Her death is the reason I became so passionate about writing at a young age. When I was 16, I also met author, T.L. McCown, who helped me with my first published novel. She is an inspiration.
SAM: Do you think writing can be learned, or is it something we are ‘born with?’
SHANNON: I think it’s always both. Personally, I think I was born with the love for writing, but I had to learn how to write. We aren’t born knowing what language is, let alone writing, but I think we can be born with the urge inside of us. I think we can also learn to love it if we weren’t born with it. Everything comes down to the individual.
SAM: How involved were you in designing the cover for Seconds before Sunrise? Do you take any credit for the idea?
SHANNON: Viola Estrella was the cover designer, and she was great, because I had a very specific idea that I wanted displayed–mainly having to do with looking like a trilogy. Some might wonder why the first cover has a blue woman and the second cover has a green background but a normal colored male. This was done on purpose. The first novel is about being in the Dark, and the second book is focused on the human aftermath of their supernatural identities.
Thank you again to Shannon for agreeing to an interview. Another interesting fact Shannon shared with me is that Eric’s pendant is based on a necklace the author had and lost on a trip. And now, without further ado, here it is, the cover for Shannon A. Thompson’s new book, Seconds Before Sunrise!
- Shannon’s cover for SECONDS BEFORE SUNRISE
Two nightmares. One memory.
“Chaos within destiny. It was the definition of our love.”
Eric has weeks before his final battle when he’s in an accident. Forced to face his human side, he knows he can’t survive if he fights alone. But he doesn’t want to surrender, even if he becomes the sacrifice for war.
Jessica’s memory isn’t the only thing she’s lost. Her desire to find her parents is gone and so is her confidence. But when fate leaves nightmares behind, she decides to find the boy she sees in them, even if it risks her sanity.
At sixteen years old, Shannon A. Thompson became the published author of “November Snow.” At twenty-one, she was featured in “Poems: a collection of works by twelve young Kansas poets.” On May 1st, her paranormal romance, “Minutes Before Sunset” was released by AEC Stellar Publishing. In July, it was awarded Goodreads Book of the Month. It’s the first novel in A Timely Death series. Her first short story, “Sean’s Bullet,” released in an anthology in October, 2013, and her upcoming novel, “Seconds Before Sunrise,” is expected to release March 22nd 2014.
She’s lived in five states and moved over fifteen times, which she uses as inspiration for writing. Shannon dedicates all of her published works to lost loved ones, and she encourages everyone to find their passion.
Currently, Shannon is finishing her bachelor’s degree in English at the University of Kansas and working as a Social Media Marketing Manager for AEC Stellar Publishing.
Visit her at ShannonAThompson.com.
Taking On a World of Words 