Category: Novels

Events, General News and Updates, Novels, Publications

Announcement: Author Event!

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I am excited to announce that you will be able to meet me in person and purchase my books at this year’s Romance Rendezvous Book Blast! This event takes place every year (last year was an exception) in Cedar Falls, Iowa. It is a wonderful event with many romance authors of different sub-genres. You get to walk around and talk with the authors, buy their books, be entered to win door prizes, and get an AMAZING swag bag!

If you’re in the area on that date, be sure to stop by the Hilton Garden Inn in Cedar Falls from 1:00 – 4:00 pm on Saturday, August 21st. This event is FREE TO ATTEND! You can purchase a VIP ticket ($25) to spend more time with authors! Otherwise, feel free to drop in and find some new favorite romance novels to read and possibly win door prizes!

Curious who else will be at the event? Check out these AMAZING authors! Some of my FAVORITE authors are on here, names you may recognize from my past book reviews… Kate Hawthorne, Tricia Andersen, Aubrey Parr, Beverly Ovalle, and many others!

Image may contain: text that says 'Bi Romance Rendezvous Book Blast August 21, 2021 1:00 pm-4:00 pm Hilton Garden Inn-Cedar Falls, lowa Sponsored by Romance Rendezvous Book Blog Aubrey Parr Haley Rhoades Ava Cuvay Harley Easton Beverly Ovalle JM Blake CJ Bower j. leigh bailey Dakota Trace Jillian David Dawn Sullivan KJ Farnham Eileen Troemel KJ Swann Kate Hawthorne Kristine Plum Laura A. Barnes Layla Dorine Mia Jones Prometheus Susan Robin Andrews Skye McNeil Susan Burdorf Tawa Witko The Stiletto Girls Tricia Andersen'

I am incredibly honored to be a part of this event. It is my all-time favorite of the year! I can’t believe I will be a part of this amazing event! As a sneak peek, here are the books you can expect to see at my booth…

“A Second Chance” (Contemporary Romance – To Be Published May/June 2021), “Fae Spreads: 2020” (Tarot Spreads Book – To Be Published February 2021), “Goodnight, Little Grubb” (Children’s Book – Published November 2020)

In addition, I will have a special giveaway at my booth for those who stop by and purchase a book. My husband has been crafting some amazing swag items from resin, I have a couple special books for giveaways, and more!

I hope to see you then!

~Shanna Pikora

Giveaways, Novels, Publications

“Goodnight, Little Grubb” Now Available for Purchase

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It is with such amazement and pride that I announce I am officially an Indie Published Author of my first book, “Goodnight, Little Grubb”. As you may remember from a blog post last month, I have been working for the past year on a children’s picture book for my cousin’s first birthday. I had originally had the publication date set to November 15th, 2020 — as a way of ensuring she got her signed copy first — but she got it a bit sooner than expected and I can officially share the news!

Beautiful “Little Grubb” posing with her new book!

I can’t put into words how it felt to have my book arrive, to hold something I created and published in my hands. For so many years I had dreamed of just that moment. I’m not ashamed to say I cried (happy tears) and didn’t want to put the book down. I planned to keep the novel publication a secret until the 15th, but I was too excited to share, as were the other people who knew and had been keeping it a secret.

“Goodnight, Little Grubb” will be my first official publication as an Indie Author. I published through Amazon, and I’m so glad I did. Amazon KDP made it so easy to put everything in and get it formatted just right, especially when I had some strange white border around each page (but not anymore!). I’m so happy with how it turned out!

You can now order your own copy of “Goodnight, Little Grubb” through Amazon today!

Order “Goodnight, Little Grubb” Now!

As always for a new publication, I will be doing a Giveaway of 3 Signed Copies! You can enter by doing the following:

  1. Follow/Subscribe to this Blog — You can do so by scrolling to the bottom of the page and clicking “Follow”.
  2. Subscribe to my Monthly Newsletter — You can subscribe by clicking the “Newsletter” tab on my website.
  3. Follow me on Instagram & Twitter — Linked below.
Follow me on Instagram
follow me on twitter

I will do a drawing next Sunday, November 15th, 2020. All followers on the platforms listed below will be entered to win. If you follow me on multiple platforms, you will be entered multiple times!

Thank you to everyone who supported and encouraged me during this year long process. I couldn’t have done it without you. And of course, I couldn’t have done it without you as well, my dear readers! Thank you for following me on this journey!

Happy Reading, Shanna Pikora

Novels, Publications

Goodnight, Little Grubb — Cover Reveal and Publication Date

storiesbyshannap

Hello, All!

I am so excited to announce the publication date for “Goodnight, Little Grubb”, my first Independently-Published Children’s Picture Book:

November 15th, 2020

This has been a passion project of mine since the start of the year and it has been riddled with ups and downs in every step of the process. However, it has finally come together and is ready to make it’s debut. I hope you enjoy it; the story and artwork are all my own!

“Goodnight, Little Grubb” will be available for purchase through Amazon on November 15th, 2020! I’ll be sure to post a link here when it is live as well, but until then…take a look at that cover! Hopefully that will tide you over until the book is ready for purchase.

Purple background with a bright yellow moon in the center and stars all around. In front of the moon sits a purple caterpillar on a Starlight Lily. Title: Goodnight, Little Grubb. Written and Illustrated by Shanna Pikora

General News and Updates, Giveaways, Novels, Poetry, Publications

Lyrical Iowa 2020 & Updates

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Lyrical Iowa 2020

I am so excited to announce that my poem “Working Girl” was selected by the Iowa Poetry Association to be included in their annual anthology “Lyrical Iowa” for 2020! I’m incredibly honored to be included in their annual publication.

It’s set to be printed in October, which means hopefully by the end of October/early November, I will be doing a GIVEAWAY! That’s right, you could win a free, signed copy of “Lyrical Iowa 2020”. I will be doing three giveaways through the website/blog, newsletter, and Instagram.

You can have a chance to win if you do the following…

Chance 1: Follow my Blog – If you received an email with this update, you’ve already done this and are officially entered. However, if you haven’t, you can put your email in the box below and you will be signed up to receive email notifications when I post on the blog. I plan to put all names of my followers in a bucket and draw THREE names as a winner. I will email you if that happens!

Chance 2: Subscribe to my Newsletter – Starting this month, I will be putting out a monthly newsletter. It will contain special content and updates from different platforms, all sent directly to your email! I will look at who all is subscribed to the newsletter and draw ONE name as a winner!

By clicking submit, you agree to share your email address with the site owner and Mailchimp to receive marketing, updates, and other emails from the site owner. Use the unsubscribe link in those emails to opt out at any time.

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Success! You're on the list.

Chance 3: Follow me on Instagram – You’ll need an Instagram account for this, but if you have one you can follow me. I will pick ONE winner from my followers (drawn from a hat) to win a free copy as well!

Follow me on Instagram

Be sure to check out all of these platforms for your chance to win a free, signed copy of “Lyrical Iowa 2020” containing my poem “Working Girl”. It is also a great way to get new and exciting content!

Proof Copy – Children’s Picture Book

Today I received my first proof copy of a book! It’s for a children’s picture book that I’m putting together (pictures and all!). When the mail came, I ran right out to pick it up. It’s so amazing to have a print copy of my book in my hands. I do have some minor changes to make before it’s finally released, but I’m still so very excited!

I will, of course, do a giveaway when the book goes live on Amazon. Until then, be sure to check in for any updates and more exciting news about the book!

New Domain Name

You may also notice there is a slightly different URL for the website. I have officially purchased a domain name! This may seem like a little change, but what this means is there will be no random adds on the pages anymore. It also means the new web address for my site is: storiesbyshannap.com. Isn’t that so much easier?!

I’m very excited for this change, so I hope you are too! I look forward to rolling out even more updates soon!

Until then, be sure to enter for the free giveaways and updates! Happy reading!

~Shanna Pikora

Novels, Publications

“A Second Chance”, Chapter 4 Live!

storiesbyshannap

Happy Mother’s Day, everyone!

I’m happy to announce “A Second Chance”, Chapter 4, is live in Magpie! You can use the link below to read how Lucian’s interview went, especially after his break down in Chapter 3.

If you would like to go back and read the previous chapters, you can find links to previous Magpie issues under my “publications” tab!

Happy Reading!

Magpie, Issue 9 – A Second Chance, Chapter 4