Donna Shannon

Hiyo, my name’s Shannon, I’m an amateur writer from the fair land of the Emerald Isles, ie, Catholic Old White Man Country

I write comedic fantasy - or I try to, before the plot takes itself into hand and goes down a dark path... it happens more often than you’d think.

This is my second go at a writeblr profile due to me forgetting my own email address and locking myself out of my own account over at bluenightfire.tumblr.com 

Current WIPs

Rosethorn

Premise: a carpentry apprentice enters the court of the Creys, a line of maniacal despots ruling the country of Adem with an iron fist since the days of Salator Crey, their first king... and also God’s human incarnation, coincidentally. Hilarity and mistaken identity ensues as Howie tries not to get murdered.

Progress: currently four books into a seven part series. As it’s hella long and I’m trying to get it traditionally published, I’ll post bits and pieces here and there only and maybe indulge in a few drabbles on the side

*no, this isn’t a typo. Nor is it the infamous Gordon Ramsey recipe. It’s SHandwich, not Sandwich. If you’ve never been here before, I’m Donna Shannon and I write, bind books and create pet portraits using acrylic paint, although most of it lands on my clothes. (I’m also a rabid Simpsons fanatic.) This month’s Chronicle concerns the following: Book release updates The fruits of Cricut Joy’s…

This is DS Monthly Ramblings, a newsletter from DS Books. January's edition is on: publishing for the low, low price of thine own sanity, Raining Thorns (the series, not the phenomenon), making friends and influencing craft fair customers.

If you’ve never been here before, I’m Donna Shannon and I write, bind books and create pet portraits using acrylic paint, although most of it lands on my clothes. Welcome to the resurrection of my site blog, which until now was dictated solely by the daily prompt feature in Site Editor. In this month’s edition, lengthy discussion shall commence on the following: Publishing for the low, low cost…

Daily writing promptIf you had the power to change one law, what would it be and why?View all responses If anyone reading this has perused my debut novel Rosethorn (The Raining Thorns Series, Book 1), you’ll already have a pretty good idea of how silly things would get were someone like me in charge. Because there is no way I would stop at one singular law. The entire structure of society as we…

What could you do more of? Indie novels. Not just writing them – though I could be doing a lot more of that too! But also reading and reviewing them, supporting these authors in what little way I can: simply buying their work and passing it on to what will hopefully be the next reader. I’m an ARC reviewer – Advanced Reader Copy reviewer, that is. Via Facebook groups and sites like Booksprout…

Why rage is the best writing fuel

Daily writing promptAre you holding a grudge? About?View all responses To answer today’s question in a definitive sense, I am holding a grudge on just about bloody everything. To answer today’s question in a specific sense relevant to the present day would probably land me a court order, so alas, that Arya-esque hit list is going to have to remain, for the meantime, private. Instead I will…

Daily writing promptShare a story about the furthest you’ve ever traveled from home.View all responses The furthest I’ve ever travelled from home is, strangely, only as far as our neighbours across the channel, the UK. Growing up in a family of ten, family holidays were a costly affair even to venture as short a distance as the local nature walk. As such, we were limited to little day trips to…

My dream home...

Daily writing promptWhat does your ideal home look like?View all responses Bloody weird, is what it looks like. Basically, it’s a Bookstagram influencer’s fever dream: a cottage in the countryside (but not too far out: I suffered the consequences of this as a child growing up in what I call a “extremist Catholic-middle-aged-white-man region”, where being the child of an English, non-practicing…

What did I watch as a kid?

Daily writing promptWhat TV shows did you watch as a kid?View all responses I came here to do a post on my recent book launch, but I am ALL OVER this prompt. This gives me the opportune moment to find the names of those obscure couple at the end that I keep looking up and keep forgetting! Cow and Chicken – all I remember is the devil type creature that used to bounce around on its…

The launch of Rosethorn is today, so while I shuffle boxes of books and merch across the village, WordPress’s trusty post-scheduling software will be sharing one last quick character profile of the primary players in the Raining Thorns universe:  Name: Sadie Marbrand. Or just Marbrand, until he finds a new name that suits him better.  Age: 55 during the events of Rosethorn  So what’s the…

Character Intro: Mister Emmett

The launch of Rosethorn is tomorrow (!!!), so to countdown the occasion, I will be sharing quick character profiles of the primary players in the Raining Thorns universe:  Name: Gomez Emmett Jr, aka Mister Emmett, Mister Horse-face Emmett and Seth Crey’s Arch Nemesis  Age: 35  So what’s the deal?  Nobody knows. That’s the problem.   He seems to have an absolute apathy to everyone and…

Character Intro: Geldemar. Some of you who may have played DnD with me in the past may recognise him as the infamous Geldy...

It’s under one week until the launch of Rosethorn, so to countdown the occasion, I will be sharing quick character profiles of the primary players in the Raining Thorns universe:  Name: Geldemar  Age: as old as the plains of Portabella and the mountains of Mellier. But he’s immortal, so for the sake of appearances, roughly thirty.  So what’s the deal?  A member of the Seven Devils of Sal’plae…

It’s under one week until the launch of Rosethorn, so to countdown the occasion, I will be sharing quick character profiles of the primary players in the Raining Thorns universe:  Name: King Theo Crey  Age: 60  So what’s the deal?  King of Adem, the largest country in Truphoria bar the charred expanse called the Wastelands, Theo Crey is an ambitious man with only one thing on his mind: land.…

Character Intro: Cienne Fleurelle

It’s under one week until the launch of Rosethorn, so to countdown the occasion, I will be sharing quick character profiles of the primary players in the Raining Thorns universe:  Name: Cienne Fleurelle  Age: (in the course of Rosethorn) 33  So what’s the deal?  The last lawful scion of the Fleurelle’s, Cienne was quickly married off age thirteen to Prince Seth Crey of Adem… if it wasn’t for…

Character Intro: Vladimir Horne

It’s under one week until the launch of Rosethorn, so to countdown the occasion, I will be sharing quick character profiles of the primary players in the Raining Thorns universe:  Name: Vladimir Horne… or Vladdy to his close friends and family, to his utter disgust  Age: 33  So what’s the deal?  Being born the crown prince of a sovereign state won by dint of being on the wrong side of the…

Character Intro: Ronald Horne!

It’s under one week until the launch of Rosethorn, so to countdown the occasion, I will be sharing quick character profiles of the primary players in the Raining Thorns universe:  Name: Ronald Horne (Ron for short)  Age: 21  So what’s the deal?  Born Prince Ronald Horne of Stoneguard, son of King Samuel, Ron is a child at heart. His main passions include climbing trees, playing Snakes and…

Character Intro: Seth Crey

It’s one week until the launch of Rosethorn, so to countdown the occasion, I will be sharing quick character profiles of the primary players in the Raining Thorns universe:  Next up: Prince Seth Crey of the Kingdom of Adem Name: Seth Crey  Age: (in the course of Rosethorn) 33  So what’s the deal?  He’s the firstborn of King Theo Crey, the maniacal ruler of the fair kingdom of Adem, known to…