Author Shonna White is looking to release her new vampire novel set in Calgary
Growing up was difficult for a shy Shonna White. As a self-described nerd, she spent most of her time drawing or writing instead of making friends. Her love of nerd culture also prompted her to explore her passion for vampires in her new novel called Lost Infernal.
“I was really, really, really shy growing up to the point where I would hide in closets when new people came over and I had a stutter,” White recalls her childhood.
At the age of 12 she began writing her first book called, Sometimes The Snow Comes Down In June, a title that she now makes fun of for its length and supposed depth.
The novel was based on otherworldly lore and tales White spent a long time researching and discovering. After a “redonkulous,” number of pages she decided to put her story to rest because she had no idea where to take it from there.
White continued writing however, and by the age of 14 she had won several awards from the Calgary Publishers Society despite being up against older and more experienced writers.
“I can go back and [look] at some of that old stuff [her writing] and every sentence starts with he, she, it, or the, and it’s terrible.”
White, who is now married and a mother of two has written a new vampire novel called Lost Infernal.
Vampires have been of interest to White, who also happens to be a member of a live action role-playing group in which she plays White Wolf’s game Vampire: The Masquerade.
Local author Shonna White is eagerly waiting for a publisher to pick up her new novel about vampires. Photo by Logan Peters
Recalling when her sister first introduced her to the activity, White jokingly said, “I’m going to go play pretend I’m a vampire with a bunch of people who probably live in their grandparents basements.”
The vampires in White’s book are unlike Vampire: The Masquerade or medieval vampires who explode in the sunlight.
Rather, White said they are more rebellious and immune to pretty much everything; an important feature as the book primarily takes place in chilly Calgary, Alta.
Finding an agent for the story has proved to be a difficult process, which she said has a 99 per cent failure rate because agents are looking for the right genre, time and interest.
“You send something off and you wait for a response and they say no thank you, and then you send another off and you wait for a response and they say no thank you, it’s very time consuming and I’m ready to move forward,” White said.
One of White’s friends, an editor, knew of a publisher in England who was having an open call. She submitted the first three chapters, a curriculum vitae, a resume, and a synopsis. White compares the process of synopsis writing to “pulling fingernails.”
“My family has been super supportive, my husband has been amazing,” White said. “Anytime I’m like, I need to write he’s like, alright head to Starbucks, I remove myself from the house entirely so the kids don’t distract me.”
White has the prequel for Lost Infernal available for fans to read online as she eagerly waits for her book to be published.
Thumbnail by Logan Peters
The editor responsible for this article is Hannah Cawsey, hcawsey@cjournal.ca