short stories

Christmas Angel [PDF]

Shannon says: “This is the story that started it all! Christmas Angel was a short story I created for The St. Augustine Record‘s Christmas Story Contest in 2000. I still remember waking up on Christmas Eve and seeing that my story had won first place in the contest–it was a joyous feeling, but I wrote the story because it meant something to me, it wasn’t about the contest. Eight years later, I took the same bit of inspiration and expanded it to create I’ll Be Home for Christmas.”

Forty-Two Tiles [PDF]

Shannon says, “During the last few years of her life, my grandmother lived in a nursing home. On one of my visits to see her, she told me how often she counted the tiles on her ceiling while she laid awake in bed. It got me thinking about what it must be like to be in a place like that day after day, especially after you’d experienced so much of the outside world. It was difficult to write this story–it’s certainly the most personal piece I’ve ever created–but I love the message in it and each time I read it, I feel closer to my grandmother again.”

For Sale [PDF]

Shannon says, “I wanted to do a little experiment with this story and try something very different for me. I’m usually not much for the esoteric side of things, but I love the idea of giving life to an inanimate object. The jury’s still out on whether or not my attempt was a successful experiment, still I count it as one of my favorite pieces for the simple fact that it so unique.”

poems

Mullet in the Breeze [PDF]

Shannon says, “This poem was inspired by a true story–or at least, a true man I happened to be behind at a red light once in St. Augustine. Immediately my mind starting whirring and by the time I got home I had already written the entire thing in my head. To these day when I read through it, I hear a funky beat in the background and I’d love to see it turned into a quirky song someday. It’s just a fun piece.”

My Chair on the Beach [PDF]

Shannon says, “I wrote this poem for my mom when I was in high school. She had a tough job she struggled to get through each day and I wanted to offer her a little inspiration. She’s always had this thing about a chair on the beach, and I just took the idea and ran with it. After more than forty years in the work force, my mom just recently retired. Now the poem resides on my desk at work and pushes me to keep going even on those really tough days.”

When I’m Gone [PDF]

Shannon says, “This poem came to me when thinking about my dad and his relationship with his mother (my grandmother). She raised him and his sister by herself from the time they were very small, and it gave them a very close relationship. Still, over time that relationship changes as the people involved in the relationship grow and change themselves. Some people might view this poem as sad, but I see it as a happy. We may lose some of the people we love, but there will always be someone else there to let us know that we are loved.”