> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://justincox.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Write Now with Shannon Reber - URL: https://justincox.com/blog/2022/02/write-now-with-shannon-reber/ - Published: 2022-02-16T11:00:00.000Z - Updated: 2023-06-16T23:45:28.000Z - Description: Today’s Write Now interview features Shannon Reber, who is a testament to the power of teachers. - Author: Justin Cox - Tags: Interview, #shannon-reber **Today’s Write Now interview features Shannon Reber, who is a testament to the power of teachers. The right teacher can inspire a lifetime of work and dreams, as one did for Shannon. Please enjoy her interview. Also, check out [Shannon’s books](https://amazon.com/author/shannonreber?ref=justincox.com) and [say hello on Twitter](https://twitter.com/ShannonArtWrite?ref=justincox.com)!* --- ## Who Are You? My name is Shannon Seachrist, but I publish under my maiden name, Shannon Reber. I’m based in New York state, a small town on the shore of Lake Erie. I own/run a little bookshop, and I write — a lot. ## What Do You Write? [I write fantasy](https://amazon.com/author/shannonreber?ref=justincox.com). I see books as an escape, so I do my best to give people a getaway from the anxieties in their lives for the time they’re in the world I created. I’ve been writing professionally, meaning publishing, for the last seven years. Before that, I was an artist, so yes, I chose careers that don’t pay much. Painting and writing are the same kind of escape for me. I don’t love what I do. I adore it. It doesn’t matter to me that I’ll never be a millionaire through my writing. I’m happy! And I love the fact my stories might be the bright spot in someone’s crappy day. Subjects I avoid would be anything that too closely resembles my reality. I have written characters similar to myself, but it’s in a fantasy setting, so it doesn’t feel too real. ## Where Do You Write? My writing environment is wherever I am! Right now, I’m in my bookshop. I have a chair behind the piano that offers me a view of the door and the shelves but allows me to hide. At home, I write at my desk sometimes and other times on the couch or at the table. I don’t care where I am. All that matters is for me to have my laptop, a cup of coffee, a bottle of water, my kindle, and my phone. I’ve written in the car before — from the passenger seat, people! ;-P ## When Do You Write? I write as often as I can. When I’m at the bookshop, three or four hours is what I usually end up writing for. Sometimes it’s usable material, sometimes it’s editing, sometimes it’s just thinking about writing. I don’t know if you can tell or not, but I’m a little obsessive — and I have no life outside of books! ## Why Do You Write? I write because when I was a kid, a teacher saw past what everyone else saw as laziness and worked with me, trying to help me. I’m legally blind and had a really hard time getting work done. Mr. Landy didn’t berate me. He encouraged me. He told me he’d be shocked if I didn’t turn out to be a writer. I’m a writer because one man believed in me and made me believe in myself. I am forever indebted to my eleventh-grade English teacher. ## How Do You Overcome Writer’s Block? Writer’s block is the perfect opportunity to read! I’m a firm believer in the power of audiobooks. I turn one on and take my mind entirely away from where I’m stuck in my book. Once I stop agonizing over it, everything evens out. Like I said before, I’m an escapist! It keeps me at least kind of sane. (Or enough to pass for sane sometimes!) ## Bonus: What Do You Enjoy Doing When Not Writing? Unfortunately, I stopped painting, so my hobbies are non-existent. I plan to learn to play the cello this year, which I am very much looking forward to! --- **My thanks to Shannon Reber for today’s interview.*