Urban-Reviews.com - Inside Out with Shana Burton

Shana Burton

Shana Johnson-Burton, a native of Macon, GA, began her writing career at the age of nine. In addition to writing, she teaches high school English and Journalism at her alma mater and continues to reside in Macon with her husband and two children.

In addition to Suddenly Single, she has written First Comes Love, which is set for release in December 2008.

Read a full excerpt of Suddenly Single: Click Here

Author's Official Site: http://www.shanaburton.com
Author's Myspace Page: http://www.myspace.com/shanajburton
Order Your Copy Today: Click Here

Urban Reviews: Tell us about Suddenly Single.
Shana Burton: Suddenly Single chronicles one woman's journey toward true love and self-actualization after she is left at the altar and her determination to live life on her own terms without offering compromises or apologies. Yes, in the end, she does find a man, but it's more about finding herself.

Urban Reviews: What inspired you to create this storyline?
Shana Burton: My friends and I have dealt with a lot of rejection and heartbreak, which often led to destructive decision-making. I wanted to write a story that realistically portrayed the devastation of losing a person that you love and the process of rebuilding and regrouping. More importantly, how to overcome a lost relationship and to become a better person as a result.

Urban Reviews: Can you tell us what lead you to your book deal?
Shana Burton: Prayer and a great agent. I'd been looking for a publishing home by myself for about a year and was not really getting anywhere. Once my agent, Nancey Flowers, took me on as a client, the book deal was secured in about a week or so.

Urban Reviews: Can you give us sneak peak at your second novel?
Shana Burton: It's called First Comes Love and will be out in December. The premise of the story is that two best friends (London and Bernard) get dumped on the same day and fly off to Vegas to get drunk and forget their troubles, only to wake up the next morning with a set of new problems when they realize that they're married. Throughout the course of the book, they not only realize that maintaining a marriage is a lot harder than maintaining a friendship, but they must also decide if truly loving each other means holding on or letting go.

Urban Reviews: Did you choose the Christian Fiction genre or did it choose you?
Shana Burton: The genre definitely chose me. The original version of Suddenly Single was a lot more risqué in terms of the language and some of the content, but my agent thought that it would do well as a Christian fiction novel since it already had that undertone to it. I was a little reluctant at first because I wanted to maintain my creative freedom. Then my mother reminded me that, as a Christian, I shouldn't have my name attached to just anything and that I would probably be blessed more in my writing career if I wrote for the Lord. It was truly the best decision I could've made. I don't regret going this route at all, especially since the book has been well-received across genre lines.

Urban Reviews: How do you balance your writing career with your teaching career?
Shana Burton: It's hard. Teaching is such a demanding job both physically and psychologically. I often find myself conflicted between being an educator and being an author. Writing is my passion, but teaching is my bread-and-butter. When I'm grading papers or drafting lesson plans, I feel bad because I'm not writing. When I'm writing, I feel like I ought to be grading papers and calling parents. I just try to take it one day at a time and balance the two as best as I can.

Urban Reviews: What have you learned about the book industry? Is it what you expected?
Shana Burton: I've learned that it can be very cutthroat and that only the strong survive. I guess I'd envisioned this wonderful literary community where everyone got along and connected through their mutual love of books. The authors on Urban Christian really are like that, and we are all so supportive of one another. But at the end of the day, it's you against every other author out there, and everybody wants the top spot.

Urban Reviews: Name one thing that the world does not know about Shana Burton...the person?
Shana Burton: One thing that the world does not know about me is that I have no other redeemable job skills other than writing. Yes, I teach, but I teach English and Journalism, so it's still in the area of writing and reading. I've gotten fired from every job I've ever had that wasn't related to writing. For me, it's either being a writer or being a bum. Those are the only things I'm qualified to do.