Shelley Tougas

I have a few titles: mom, wife, reader, teacher, speaker. Zombie hunter and Jedi Knight are only part-time gigs.

Most importantly, I’m a writer.

I wrote my first book at age seven, and my friend did the illustrations. Mom threw away A Robin Lays an Egg in a cleaning frenzy. My first publishing heartache.

After college, I worked as a journalist. Reporting taught me character, plot, voice, and how to write 15 inches of copy in 15 minutes. I wrote about strange people in absurd situations. Journalism is my training ground for fiction and my perspective on life. I’m thankful for every moment in that newsroom.

The Free Press, my writing boot camp.
The Free Press, my writing boot camp.

Then I jumped into public relations and eventually quit to write f

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