About Shelley

Shelley Martin taught kindergarten and ran cattle; once upon a time.  She’s now an award winning author, mother and wife, and loves living in North Idaho.  Her imagination has always plagued her, the characters jumping into her head at some random song or thought.  She started writing when she was ten, finishing her first short story when she was eleven.  The paranormal has always fascinated her, and nothing draws her to the page more than the whisperings of fantastical creatures.

Shelley loves to hear from her readers!  You can reach her at Shelleymartinfiction@gmail.com.  While she may not be able to respond to every email, we can assure you she reads every email she gets.

Why I Write Fiction

A few years ago, while I was at one of my writer’s groups, several of us gathered around the snack table (I have a thing about food, I love it). We got on the topic of kids and I revealed I have two severely autistic boys. Home life can be quite challenging and I get most of my writing in once the kids have gone to bed.

Several of the women said the same thing my mother has- Why don’t you write a book about autism and your experiences? The answer to that is I could, but I just don’t want to. There are already many books out there about autism, and I have no degree or doctorate concerning the medical condition. Also there is so much autism in my life why marinate myself in it 24/7? Writing a book on it takes quite awhile and I’ve learned my demeanor takes on the things I write, much like an actor may act differently while playing adverse roles. So if I’m writing a love scene I may be perfectly content, but when writing a fight scene I may come across more agitated that day. It’s really weird.

Then a wonderful author named Mary Smith stepped forward and said- “My goodness, I finally understand why you write fiction. It’s your escape. If you let that go you just might go crazy!” I laughed, but thoroughly agreed.

Of course I haven’t always had autistic kids. I’ve been writing since a child, and I’ve always written fantasy or paranormal. But I do believe it is my healthy escape from a full life. Better writing than turning to the bottle, right? 🙂