ABOUT ME Diagnosis of a Writer Split Personality Disorder    'm really not trying to confuse you with all these different names. Shana Galen. Shane Bolks. Who am I anyway? The simple answer: it depends what you're looking for. If you like sumptuous romances with impetuous heroines and heroes who are a bit more rogue than respectable, then you'll like Shana Galen. She'll entertain you at a Regency ball, meet you for shopping on Bond Street, and treat you to ices at Gunthers. If your tastes lean more toward the hip, here and now, and you appreciate a girl with a bit of an edge and a lot of attitude, then give Shane Bolks a try. Better yet, meet us both! Brief Psychotic Disorder    Authors Sophie Jordan and Tera Childs with Shane When I graduated from college, I had a brief psychotic episode. For some reason—one that, considering my personality, was clearly irrational and ill-conceived—I decided I wanted to be a teacher. Educate the youth of America and all that. Well, the youth of America didn't get the memo, and they were kind of sitting on the fence about this whole education thing. Most days my odds of teaching something were about as good as Keanu Reeves's chances of winning an Oscar, but I persevered and even managed to make one or two converts. Being an introvert and a person who requires peace, quiet, and harmony, I burnt out. After eight and a half years of teaching sixth, eighth, and tenth graders English, Reading, and ESL in Houston, Texas, I gave up being a fulltime educator. It was fun, and it was crazy, and it was hard work. Particularly sixth grade. If you have a sixth grader—hey, if you even know a sixth grader—you have my unwavering sympathy. They're crazy, funny, cute, and exasperating, and they definitely kept me grounded. Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder    So people are always asking me why I decided to become a writer or why I chose to write romance. The thing is it wasn't so much a choice as it was a compunction. For as long as I can remember I've been a storyteller. Just ask my little sister how often I kept her up at night, telling her story after story after story. When I got old enough to write, I started writing the stories. One of my first attempts at a story about Star Wars is in the Little Black Book section of The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly Men I've Dated. Why did I decide to write romance? Even that first Star Wars story had a romantic slant, but I guess the best answer is that stories about relationships have always intrigued me. How do some people stay married for sixty years while others can't make it work for more than a month? Do opposites really attract? What happens when your best friend lets you down? I was and still am fascinated by these questions, and I eventually started reading books that dealt with them. I didn't read romance novels until I was in college, but when I began, I knew I'd made an important discovery for my life. Like most writers, I had a story I had to get out. The first book I ever wrote was When Dashing Met Danger, and it was the most exciting thing I'd ever done. I can remember staying up until two in the morning writing because I wanted to know what would happen next. I wrote two more historicals, then decided to try my hand at women's fiction. Women's fiction and historical romance may seem like oil and water at first, but my books all have a common theme: learning to love yourself. Whether the heroine grows, changes, and evolves within the context of a romantic relationship or another aspect of her life, my books celebrate strong, independent women. I can also pretty much guarantee there will always be a bit of romance in every story I write. I'm addicted to happy ever after. I've also got a pretty strong craving for the first kiss, first love, and even the first argument. Delusional Disorder    So what made me think that I could make a career out of writing? I must have been either completely ignorant or completely delusional. You know how people say that if they'd known what they were getting into, they never would have started? I practically coined the phrase. When I started writing, I had no idea what lay ahead. I just wanted to write a story I liked. So I did. And now years later, I've been fortunate enough to sell it. But my delusion was that I could whip out a story, send it to a publisher, and get some big advance. The more I learned about writing and publishing, the more I realized that I had a lot to learn. The version of When Dashing Met Danger on bookshelves is not the first, second, or even third version. Writing is a craft like any other, and it takes time, dedication, and sacrifice to master. If, when I first sat down at my computer, I had known what I would be giving up, I don't think I would have gone near the machine. Friends, boyfriends, parties, sleep...I gave up a lot. Of course, I gained a lot as well. Some of my best friends are writers, and I suppose my novels are a lot like children. They were painful to write and revise, but I can't imagine life without them. Separation Anxiety    One thing I always wondered about when I first began writing—okay, I still wonder this—is what the life of a "real" writer is like. Do they sit and write for eight hours a day? Do they really laze about in their jammies all day? What's a book tour really like? The more writers I meet, the more I realize that their lives aren't so different from mine, i.e. not glamorous in the least. Writing is hard and lonely, and book tours aren't so much fun if you only sell a book or two at every signing. Okay, the jammy thing is a pretty big perk. I'll admit that... My schedule is pretty much set. I follow it religiously, suffering separation anxiety if my computer and I are parted for more than a day or so. I get up early and go for a run then I check email, do business-type things and settle in to write my 10 pages. I write 10 pages everyday at least 5 days a week. When I've got my 10 pages done (which can take anywhere from 2 hours to 8), I work on less taxing projects like promotion or revision until dinner. If I'm feeling good about where I am, that's my work day. If I'm not—and that's the more frequent feeling—I'm right back at it until my new husband convinces me to step away from the computer. I also spend a big chunk of the weekend working on writing or promoting. It's not a glamorous life, but at least I can justify buying glamorous jammies.