Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Bestselling author Shannon K. Butcher, who now writes as Anna Argent, has written more than thirty-five titles since launching her career in 2007. She has three award-winning series, including the paranormal romance series The Sentinel Wars, the action-romance series The Edge, and the romantic suspense Delta Force Trilogy. Her alter ego Anna Argent also writes several series with a fresh and interesting spin on paranormal romance (The Lost Shards, The Taken and The Stone Men series) as well as a contemporary romance series set in a small town in the Ozarks. As a former engineer and current nerd, she frequently uses charts, graphs and tables to aid her in the mechanics of story design, world building and to keep track of all those colorful characters, magical powers and alternate worlds. An avid bead and glass artist, she spends her free time turning small sparkly bits into larger sparkly bits. She’s rarely on social media, so the best place to find out news about upcoming releases under either name is via her newsletter. You can sign up at AnnaArgent.com.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The latest book in The Sentinel Wars Series is book 11, SAVING DAYLIGHT. I’ve been planning this book for years, giving readers glimpses of the main characters in some of the earlier books in the series. It’s so nice to finally let Morgan and Serena shine!
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I’m an early bird. I’m often up well before 5AM. There’s just something magical about those quiet morning hours before the world wakes up and starts making its demands.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
I grew up reading epic fantasy, so there’s a lot of that sweeping, grand storytelling with loads of characters in my work. Tolkien and David Eddings were both big influences. As and adult, I’ve read more paranormal romance and been influenced by people like Christine Feehan and Sherrilyn Kenyon.
What are you working on now?
I’m planning the third installment of The Stone Men series, which I’m writing under my alter ego, Anna Argent. It’s a fantastic world that I share with Kathy Lyons in which ancient goddesses rule over the lives of mortals, casting them in stone to serve at their whim. The curse can only be broken by a few special men and women who can withstand the trials that face them. Those who succeed may win true love, but those who fail may not live to try again.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Word of mouth is always the best method, especially for someone like me who is too busy working to spend a lot of time on social media and who doesn’t have the extroverted personality that makes sharing online enjoyable.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Write a lot. The more you write the less precious each word becomes and the more likely you are to delete the ones that don’t serve the story. The willingness to edit ruthlessly is often the difference between a great story and an average one.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Write every day. I don’t always follow that rule, but I try to keep my head in writing every day, be it planning, editing or actually adding word count to the story. For me, this usually includes weekends and holidays.
What are you reading now?
I’m an avid audio book fan, since that allows me to “read” while doing other things. I’m in the middle of THE SILENT PATIENT by Alex Michaelides.
What’s next for you as a writer?
I’m having the most fun with The Lost Shards series right now, which is a new paranormal romance series I’m writing as Anna Argent. It’s a world where ancient, magical souls were fractured in a cataclysmic event, their pieces, or “shards”, scattered across the globe. These shards have found homes inside normal people, and when someone collects enough of them, they gain magical powers. But that power comes with a price. Those splintered souls can often influence their host, sometimes even speak to them. There’s a war between good and evil shards, and as time ticks down to the final battle, it’s not always easy to know who is friend and who is enemy, because in the world of The Lost Shards, no one is what they seem.
What is your favorite book of all time?
I couldn’t possibly name one. There are too many great books out there, and like children, I would never play favorites.
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