Author Q&A: Shanna Hatfield

Today we're interviewing USA Today bestselling author Shanna Hatfield, a farm girl who loves to write.

Her sweet historical and contemporary romances are filled with sarcasm, humor, hope, and hunky heroes.

When Hatfield isn’t dreaming up unforgettable characters, twisting plots, or covertly seeking dark, decadent chocolate, she hangs out with her beloved husband, Captain Cavedweller. 

SADYE: Tell us something about your writing process that’s unusual or that you haven’t revealed before.

SHANNA: I’m a very visual person so before I start writing, I create boards on Pinterest for my work in progress.

It helps me so much to imagine the characters, the settings, and the scenes to have those visual cues in place.

Admittedly, it is such fun to browse through the pins and find just the right ones to go with my story.

You can see some of the boards I’ve created here.

SADYE: What period of history would you most like to travel back to and what historical figure would you most like to meet, and why? 

SHANNA: I would love to travel back to the Edwardian era.

The clothes were so lovely and there was such an element of elegance and grace to that period in our past.

As for who I’d like to meet, I’d choose Harriet Quimby. She was the first woman in the United States to acquire her pilot’s license.

Although she lived a rather short life, she made her days quite memorable with her achievements.  

SADYE: What has been the most touching or memorable piece of reader feedback you’ve received? 

SHANNA: I once had a reader who had been suffering quite traumatically from postpartum depression write to me and tell me that reading my books pulled her from a dark place and gave her hope again.

Her note touched my heart so deeply. I keep that letter in my office as a reminder of one of the reasons I write.

It’s important to me to be a help to others, to bring them something even if it is a few hours of escape or a bit of laughter, through my books.

To this day, I still keep in touch with that reader and have enjoyed seeing her blossom into a terrific mother.  

SADYE: What message or theme would you like readers to take away from your work?

SHANNA: The one theme that prevails in all my work is hope.

There is always hope. I just think that’s something we all need and sometimes it seems in short supply.

I want to do my part to give hope to others through my books. 

SADYE: What advice, as relates to your writing career, would you give your younger self? 

SHANNA: You only fail when you fail to try; everything else is just a lesson if you learn from it.

I think the fear of failure holds us all back from time to time. I’d tell my younger self to just go for it and not be so afraid of failing. 

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Learn more about Shanna Hatfield on her website, where her books can also be purchased; like her on Facebook; and follow her on Twitter and Instagram. 

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