Shanna Swendson

Infobox Writer
name = Shanna Swendson


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caption = Photo by Julian Noel
pseudonym = Samantha Carter
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occupation = novelist
nationality = American
period = 1993-present
genre = romance, chick lit
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website = http://www.shannaswendson.com

Shanna Swendson is an American author of romance novels and chick lit. She has also written under the pseudonym Samantha Carter.

Biography

Although Swendson majored in broadcast news at the University of Texas at Austin, she enrolled in a wide variety of courses that she thought could help her become a successful novelist. These courses included fencing (useful for fantasy novels), the search for extraterrestrial life (useful for science fiction novels) and parageography (the geography of imaginary lands). After her graduation, Swendson worked in public relations and became serious about learning to write a novel, joining local writing organizations and researching the novel-writing process. She completed her first manuscripts for a contest, winning the science fiction/fantasy category and attracting the notice of an editor. Swendson sold this novel and two otherscite web | last = Swendson | first = Shanna | authorlink = | coauthors = | title = About Shanna Swendson | work = | publisher = ShannaSwendson.Com | date = 2007 | url =http://www.shannaswendson.com/about.html | doi = | accessdate = 2007-02-20 ] in 1995 to a publisher who insisted that she use a pen name. She chose the name Samantha Carter, in part because she wanted to retain her own first initial but have a last initial from the other half of the alphabet from her own, and in part because she was a fan of The X-Files episode that included the Samantha clones. Her alter ego was named well before the character on Stargate SG-1.cite web | last = Swendson | first = Shanna | authorlink = | coauthors = | title = FAQ | work = | publisher = ShannaSwendson.Com | date = 2007 | url =http://www.shannaswendson.com/about.html | doi = | accessdate = 2007-02-20 ]

After selling two more novels, this time to Harlequin books, Swendson endured an eight-year period where she could not sell any of her other work.cite web | last = Swendson | first = Shanna | authorlink = | coauthors = | title = About Shanna Swendson | work = | publisher = ShannaSwendson.Com | date = 2007 | url =http://www.shannaswendson.com/about.html | doi = | accessdate = 2007-02-20 ] Her new job for a major international public relations firm required a great deal of travel and long hours, leaving her little or no time to write. Rather than allow her to resign, Swendson's supervisor asked her to work a three-quarter time schedule and gave her permission to telecommute, which freed her schedule enough that she could begin writing again. Office politics began to arise, however, and Swendson became less and less happy with the job.cite web | last = Swendson | first = Shanna | authorlink = | coauthors = | title = Happy Layoff Day! | work = | publisher = Shanna Swendson | date = January 31, 2007 | url =http://shanna-s.livejournal.com/ | doi = | accessdate = 2007-02-20 ] In 2004, she sold "Enchanted, Inc." to Ballantine Books. Swendson has since written two sequels.cite web | last = Swendson | first = Shanna | authorlink = | coauthors = | title = The Story Behind Enchanted, Inc. | work = | publisher = ShannaSwendson.Com | date = 2007 | url =http://www.shannaswendson.com/eibackstory.html | doi = | accessdate = 2007-02-20 ]

Swendson, who is single, lives in Irving, Texas.

Bibliography

Enchanted Series

*"Enchanted, Inc." (2005)
*"Once Upon Stilettos" (2006)
*"Damsel Under Stress" (2007)
*"Don't Hex with Texas" (2008)

Essays

Swendson contributed essays that appear in the following books:
*"So Say We All" (edited by Richard Hatch; about the TV Series Battlestar Galactica)
*"Flirting with Pride and Prejudice" (edited by Jennifer Crusie)
*"Welcome to Wisteria Lane" (about Desperate Housewives)
*"Everything I Needed to Know About Being a Girl I Learned from Judy Blume" (edited by Jennifer O'Connell) (2007)
*"Perfectly Plum" (2007)
*"Serenity Found: More Unauthorized Essays on Joss Whedon's Firefly Universe" (2007)

Category Romance (as Samantha Carter)

*"The Emergency Stand-By Date" (March 1998)
*"Dateless in Dallas" (October 1996)
*"Runaway Hearts" (1994)
*"Love's Best Friend" (1993)
*"A Storybook Hero" (1993)

References

External links

* [http://www.shannaswendson.com/ Shanna Swendson Official Website]
* [http://shanna-s.livejournal.com/ Shanna Swendson Blog]