Shannon Yarbrough knew he wanted to be a writer ever since his grade school passed out free black-and-white journals each year and made classrooms devote one hour a day to creative writing. His school even hosted a Young Author's Day Festival. To attend, each student had to write and publish their very own book. Shannon wrote and created a pop-up book of poetry out of cardboard and contact paper. He's been writing short stories and novels ever since.

Born in the South, Shannon fell in love with Southern literature in college and often pays homage to his Southern roots in his story settings and in the characters he creates. From an obsessive-compulsive coffee barista searching for love in a romantic comedy to a Christmas dinner gone awry in a family psychodrama, Shannon constantly challenges his storytelling ability by rarely sticking to one genre. He even wrote a mash-up of the life of poet Emily Dickinson with the story of Frankenstein.

Shannon has called St. Louis, Missouri home for the last two decades, where he lives with his partner of eighteen years, their two dogs, and two cats. Besides writing, Shannon enjoys gardening, cooking, and reading. You can visit Shannon online at www.shannonyarbrough.com or follow him on Twitter at @slyarbrough76.