Meet TL Shively

Today we’d like to introduce you to TL Shively. 

Hi TL, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start, maybe you can share some of your backstories with our readers.
Hello and thank you for featuring me. I’m a wife and mother with a healthy imagination that helped me to bring my Sanctuary Guardians to life. My whole life, I have always had stories playing in my head, never imagining that anyone else would have any interest in them. Back in 2003, I had a friend who encouraged me to put my stories down on paper, even though I had my doubts. Ten years later I had finally gotten the first book written and started submitting to publishers. In 2016 the book got accepted by a small name publisher, and I finally had my first book in print. My relationship with the publisher wasn’t what I expected, and after several years, I ended that relationship, deciding to self-publish. Since then, I have had five books written in my Sanctuary Guardian series as well as a new book that has spawned a new series. 

It’s still amazing to me every day that I accomplished my dream of becoming an author. 

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Not even close, so many struggles. The biggest one was doing the actual writing, as I said before, it took me 10 years to get the first book done. I had several rough drafts that didn’t get completed and was trashed before even halfway done. A few times I even walked away from writing, thinking I couldn’t do it. So that was probably the first biggest challenge for me. Then came trying to get it published, which after several years, I found a small publishing company that wanted to publish my story. Then came another challenge I had to overcome. I was published with a publishing company, got my first two books published but then the communication seemed to dry up. To be an author you needed to write more books and get them published. When I realized that staying with the publisher meant I wasn’t able to get out more stories, I worked to get my books back with the help of a fellow author friend I had met. I was successful and so then started my career as an independent author. 

There are still daily challenges that I face, especially as an independent author but I try to look at them as learning experiences. Not going to say I don’t still get frustrated, but I will say that I refuse to give up. Being an author is worth the struggle. 

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
When I’m not writing about teenagers wielding magical crystal weapons to protect the magic in the world from the Shadow Master or about a lonely Goddess and her pet spider, I do have a daytime job that helps to pay the bills and keep the lights on so that I can write while the sun goes down. I work in construction at a drywall yard. I do all the administration work as well as sales. I meet many interesting people and even manage to have some fun. I have had many interesting jobs over the years but always seem to come back to construction. I enjoy working with the customers and have made some friendships through the years. Not to mention that I have even gotten some ideas for my stories from many of the characters through the years. 

Are there any important lessons you’ve learned that you can share with us?
There is so many lessons that I’ve learned in my journey, but I would have to say that the most important one is to never give up. Keep trying even when you stumble, stumbling is part of the journey, and there is where you learn the most. Pick yourself back up and try again; just try not to make the same mistakes when you do. And if you do make the same mistake, don’t be too hard on yourself. As I said, so many lessons. 

Contact Info:

• Website: https://tlshivelyauthor.wixsite.com/my-site
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tlshively74/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100013421624985
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/TL_Shively

Image Credits
Dreams2Media