McKelden, Shannon

PERSONAL:

Married, 1986; children: a daughter.

ADDRESSES:

Home—Puyallup, WA. Agent—Knight Agency, 570 East Ave., Madison, GA 30650. E-mail—shannon@shannonmckelden.com.

CAREER:

Writer. Has worked as a medical transcriptionist, in a shoe store, a bank, and as a homemaker.

MEMBER:

Romance Writers of America.

WRITINGS:

Venus Envy, Forge (New York, NY), 2007.

Contributor to periodicals, including True Love and True Confessions.

SIDELIGHTS:

Shannon McKelden first became interested in writing as a child when, despite having sloppy handwriting, she would receive high grades for her writing assignments. McKelden continued to enjoy writing through high school and later wrote short stories for True Love and True Confessions magazines. However, after receiving a rejection notice for a story, she stopped writing. After getting moral support from her membership in the Romance Writers of America, McKelden continued her longtime passion and published her first novel in 2007.

Venus Envy falls in the chick-lit genre but mixes in a bit of the paranormal. Venus, the goddess of love, is sent to Earth to become something of a fairy godmother for women to help them find true love. Venus is determined to match Rachel Greer with Luke Stanton, but Rachel refuses to let anyone get close to her, feeling dejected by the entire dating scene. Nanette Donohue, writing in the Library Journal, thought that readers "will find much to enjoy in this debut." Booklist contributor Kristine Huntley described the story as "witty, funny, and truly original." A contributor to Publishers Weekly concluded that "McKelden's sharp sense of humor pulls plenty of weight."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, December 15, 2006, Kristine Huntley, review of Venus Envy, p. 30.

Library Journal, December 1, 2006, Nanette Donohue, review of Venus Envy, p. 112.

Publishers Weekly, October 23, 2006, review of Venus Envy, p. 32.

ONLINE

Books 'n' Bytes,http://www.booksnbytes.com/ (August 17, 2007), Harriet Klausner, review of Venus Envy.

Miladyinsanity,http://www.miladyinsanity.wordpress.com/ (January 8, 2007), author interview.

Shannon McKelden Home Page,http://www.shannonmckelden.com (August 17, 2007), author biography.

Shannon McKelden Web log,http://www.shannonmckelden.blogspot.com (August 17, 2007), author profile.

Trashionista,http://www.trashionista.com/ (August 17, 2007), review of Venus Envy.