Category Archives: books

The New P-Word

arts, books, politics, sex, work, writing 1 Comment

A little over a week ago, I received one of the best pieces of news I’ve gotten in several months. Kirkus Reviews, a very prominent book review magazine, posted an online review of my first novel, The Prostitutes of Lake Wiishkoban, that was highly complimentary of my work (to say the least). Quotes like “Shannon’s … fiction debut is an entertaining, provocative bildungsroman that successfully turns an unconventional premise into a thoughtful exploration of freedom and identity” are the kind of thing that authors like me dream…

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The Sweet Spot of (Intellectual) Stimulation

books, canada, politics, rhetoric, sex Leave a comment

‘We’re sex workers and we vote’: Women’s March event shines light on a marginalized group (yahoo.com) I released my second book of classroom exercises, 50 Critical Thinking Exercises for Humanities Classes 2, a few days ago. As with the first book in the series, it’s an extension of my efforts to find ways to reach modern students, to stimulate their minds and get them to think about a variety of issues from various perspectives, to help them develop the critical thinking skills that will help…

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Monument to My Ego

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Conceptualizing three-dimensional space has always been an issue for me. While I’m somewhat good at designing things in two dimensions — the graphical elements of my website and my book covers, for example — my brain has always had a very difficult time wrapping itself around the most basic elements of three-dimensional design. Anyone who has seen my laughable attempts at drawing can tell you just how messed up my head is in that regard. I have depth perception and two good eyes; I just…

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Shades of Marketing

books, personal, work, writing Leave a comment

The art of grabbing the attention of agents and publishers to try to get your book published is not easy, and while a large part of me still wishes that I’d been able to get The Prostitutes of Lake Wiishkoban published “traditionally,” I can’t say that I miss  the rigmarole of emailing agencies and publishing houses all that much. In addition to dealing with a shrinking number of opportunities for traditional publication, trying to market a book to literary agencies and publishers is a process full of…

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That Kind of Writer

books, glbt, personal, politics, writing Leave a comment

Did you know that earlier this month I published my novel The Prostitutes of Lake Wiishkoban, and it’s now available in both paperback and Kindle editions? Well, be prepared to hear an awful lot about it in the coming months. As the popular kids say these days, sorry not sorry. Thinking back to my earlier years, I can still remember the gleeful joy that I felt when I first discovered the amazing power to put shocked expressions on old people’s faces by shouting the wonderful four-letter words…

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