Writers Are Readers: Shannon Kent

Have you ever been in a reading funk? You want to read something, but you can’t connect with anything.

Then keep reading!

Author and lover of happily-ever-afters Shannon Kent tells us about some of her favorite characters, but she also has a favor to ask — can you help?

Thanks for being here today!

What was the first book you read that you couldn’t put down?
As a child, I went on long car trips with my parents. I would race through my reading pile, and they’d have to find an emergency bookstore so I could restock. It’s hard for me to recall the very first book that hooked me, but I remember visiting my Granny in Texas and receiving a Nancy Drew novel. I think it was The Clue in the Old Stagecoach. My family was sharing the guest room, and my poor parents had to sleep with the bed lamp on because I needed to finish the mystery.

Have you ever had a book recommended to you that you didn’t like? No names, but what didn’t you like about it?
Pretty much every book my high school English teachers made us read. I understand the worth of reading classics like Wuthering Heights and The Scarlett Letter.They’re classics. But I’m a happy ending junkie, and my teachers always seemed to pick the downers. Why couldn’t we read Jane Eyre or Pride and Prejudice? I’m fine with crying in the middle, but I’d better be smiling when I close the book. As I’ve matured, I can appreciate the beauty of the language in sad works like Romeo and Juliet. But I still cling to my happy endings.

I’m with you. Most people gape when I admit that I have an English degree and I rarely read (or enjoy) the classics. But back to you. Have you ever finished a story and wished it had ended differently? Which story? How would you have changed the ending?
Martin Eden by Jack London. The novel was beautifully written, but violated my number one rule. It not only lacked a happy ending, but taunted the reader with hope before slapping them down. In the story, life deals the hero one too many blows, and he decides to commit suicide by drowning. As he flounders in the water, the will to live keeps rising up within him, but he cruelly presses it down until it’s too late. I wish the author had chosen to let the character live, to accept that life can be hard but there’s something deep inside of us that wants to keep trying and striving and ultimately overcoming.

It’s not just happy endings that draw me in. It’s hope. I’d like every story I write to contain it. I love the quote by L.M. Montgomery from Anne’s House of Dreams. (Ironically, Montgomery had a sad, difficult story in real life, but you wouldn’t know it from her books.) She wrote, “I don’t exactly want to make people KNOW more… though I know that IS the noblest ambition… but I’d love to make them have a pleasanter time because of me… to have some little joy or happy thought that would never have existed if I hadn’t been born.” Her wish came true. I’ve had many happy thoughts because of her.

If you could have dinner with any fictional character, who would it be? Why?
I love Mr. Darcy, but wouldn’t want to have dinner with him. Correction. Of course, I’d have dinner with Mr. Darcy, I’m not an idiot. But we’d need his wife Lizzy to be there as a buffer. I doubt he’d say much at all. I believe Nancy Drew would be a charming dinner companion. She’s friendly, intelligent, and think of the fascinating stories she could tell.

I love Nancy Drew! I would definitely have dinner with her.

If you could turn any book into a movie (yours or someone else’s), which would you pick? Who would you cast as the main characters?
I long to see The Blue Castle on the screen. It’s my favorite L.M. Montgomery work about a timid, “old maid” of twenty-nine whose suffocating life takes a 180-degree turn when she receives an unexpected medical diagnosis. She decides to stop wasting time, go where she wants, and do what she pleases, which throws her opinionated but entertaining relatives for a loop. Since I’m also a fan of Korean dramas, I’d adore seeing it translated into one of these sweet, romantic shows. Fellow fans might recognize who I’ll mention: Park Seo-joon and Park Min-young. They had sizzling chemistry in another drama, and I think they could do the love story justice.

What book are you most looking forward to reading next? Why?
I started Nobody’s Secret by Michaela MacColl as an e-book, but found it so good I stopped reading and ordered a paperback. There’s something about the feel of pages in your hand that adds to your ability to savor a story. The author chose my favorite poet, Emily Dickinson, and placed her as a teenager in the middle of a murder mystery. Nancy Drew would approve. I’m waiting for my tangible copy to arrive!

Share five books from your TBR (to be read) pile.
I have to be honest, I don’t read many books any more. It’s so shameful to admit! I’ll visit the library, choose various novels from the shelf, and reject them one by one. The stories don’t connect with my brain or my heart or both. That’s one of the reasons I’m excited about Michaela MacColl. She took the same premise of a well-known historical figure solving a mystery and applied it to many recognizable names. I’ve already started Nobody’s Secret (Emily Dickinson) and Prisoners in the Palace (Princes Victoria before she became queen) and am looking forward to Secrets in the Snow (Jane Austen).

I miss that feeling of staying up until the wee small hours of the morning, telling myself, “Just one more chapter.” I’m drawn to optimistic stories of romance with a poetic feel and a sense of humor.

If any of your readers have some suggestions to reignite my passion, I hope they’ll leave a comment!