Check Out Michelle Shocklee’s Story

Today, we’d like to introduce you to Michelle Shocklee.

Hi Michelle, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I’m a late bloomer in writing and publishing historical novels. As a child, I never dreamed of becoming an author. I loved reading and writing, but I didn’t have the self-confidence to dare to dream, let alone pursue a career in writing. Instead, I went to college, worked in the business world, got married, and started a family.

It was while I was a stay-at-home mom of two rambunctious boys that the “writing bug” bit me. A story set on the prairies of Colorado in the 1800s wouldn’t leave me alone. I filled dozens of spiral notebooks with a tale of love and heartbreak during the pioneer days. Home computers were fairly new (I know, I’m a dinosaur), and one day my husband surprised me with one. Wow, that made writing a book easier!

However, I still had much to learn. I began attending writers’ conferences as time and finances would allow. My boys grew up listening to the click, click, click of the keyboard as I tried to incorporate the things I was learning into story after story. I received good feedback from publishers and editors when I finally began submitting my work to them, but the rejection letters continued to pile up.

Yet something inside me wouldn’t give up. No matter how long it took, I was determined to get a book published by a traditional publisher. Self-publishing was still looked down on in those days, so I kept attending conferences, reading books on the craft, and writing, writing, writing.

I met my first literary agent at a conference when my boys were in high school. Les Stobbe was a seasoned professional in the writing world I was trying to break into. It was under his guidance that I sold my first novel, The Planter’s Daughter, followed by the second book in the series, The Widow of Rose Hill. Soon after, I sold a novella to Barbour Publishing.

In 2017, my husband and I moved to the Nashville area. Our boys were grown and making their own way in the world, so we saw our move as an adventure. As a history nerd, I soaked up Nashville’s past like a sponge. From the beginnings at Fort Nashborough to the Civil War to the Civil Rights movement, every detail was recorded in my brain and in notebooks for future reference. I was thrilled when my first Nashville-based novel was released by Tyndale House Publishers.

Under the Tulip Tree is a split-time story that takes readers to the days of the Great Depression and the Civil War, including the Battle of Nashville. My next novel, Count the Nights by Stars, is set during the Tennessee Centennial Exposition when the famous Nashville Parthenon was built. The world-renowned Maxwell House Hotel is the main setting for both the 1897 and 1960s in this split-time historical novel. I had a blast researching the old girl.

When I look back on my writing journey, I wouldn’t change a thing. It may have taken a while to get here, but I learned so many wonderful things along the way that have helped me write books with more depth than I could have written in my 20s and 30s.

We all face challenges, but would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Writing novels full-time while raising a family and working outside the home was hard. It still is, although I no longer have children at home. My husband and I work as Estate Caretakers, so finding time to write can be challenging.

I’m blessed to now be a contracted author with deadlines and obligations to my publisher, but with that blessing comes pressure that’s always there. Yet, with all that being said, I love what I do! I love our job and the people we work for, and I love writing books. I feel incredibly grateful that I get to do both.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe you can tell us more about your work next?
I write historical fiction. I’ve always been a voracious reader, and the books I choose are set in historical time periods 95% of the time. I like to read and write about bygone times. Life wasn’t easier in those days, but it was different enough that I enjoyed going back in time in my imagination and living life through the characters.

My last four novels are historical split-time novels, which means I take readers to two different time periods. Because of my passion for history, I use two historical time periods rather than one historical and one current as most split-time novels. It makes the research process longer since I’m researching two time periods, but readers tell me they enjoy learning about each era, and that is music to an author’s ears.

Is there a quality that you most attribute to your success?
I often say research breathes life into my books. As an author of historical fiction, details are vital. As an example, in my novel Count the Nights by Stars, my characters spend time at the Tennessee Centennial Exposition that took place in Nashville in 1897. I spent hours upon hours researching the expo because I wanted readers to experience it along with the characters.

I could have simply used my imagination and created an exposition, but being a purest when it comes to historical facts, I knew I didn’t want to do that. One of the best resources I found on the expo was a catalog printed for the event that contained photographs with details of each of the 200 exhibitions. From the buildings, like the Parthenon, to food vendors selling Italian ice, I took notes about it all and then used much of it in the book.

After the book was released in 2022, readers told me over and over that they felt like they were at the exposition as they read. That is why I spend so much time on research. It truly does breathe life into my books.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.michelleshocklee.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/michelleshocklee/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorMichelleShocklee1/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/shellshocklee