Before hitting record, I did the standard host deep-dive and managed to completely whiff it—falling down a weird rabbit hole of unrelated search results while missing Shawnna Lea’s actual bibliography. Luckily, she laughed it off, and once we got talking, it turned out she’s got a far more interesting story than any search engine could cook up.
Shawnna is a Utah-based writer cranking out everything from young adult fantasy and sword-and-sorcery to LitRPG and fairy lore. Her books sit right there on Amazon and Kindle Unlimited, but her creative life is way bigger than a couple of digital storefronts.
From Side Project to Published Shelf
Shawnna didn’t grow up chasing book deals. Writing was just something she did in the background for kicks. Her mom still has her childhood stories tucked away, and it wasn’t until a friend finally read one of her manuscripts that anyone suggested putting it out into the world.
She started out the traditional route with a small press that taught her the ropes of editing, marketing, and the grind of the industry. When that publisher shifted gears, she pivoted to indie publishing. Neither handed her an instant following, though—that part she had to build the hard way.
The Real Hurdle
For Shawnna, the hardest part of the craft has never been the actual writing. It’s the vulnerability of shoving your work into the spotlight.
Telling someone “Hey, buy my book” feels a bit like yelling your diary entries out the window. But she pushed past that friction, dropped her early stuff on Wattpad, and built a readership brick by brick through reader comments and community encouragement. These days she calls herself “lazy” when it comes to marketing, which feels pretty rich coming from someone actively drafting three books at once.
Chores, Rabbits, and Lunch-Break Sprints
Her day-to-day is a far cry from the stereotypical writer hiding away in a pristine, quiet study.
Her mornings start early with farm chores—feeding goats and raising rabbits for meat, fur, and the occasional handmade hat. After that, it’s off to a day job, where her lunch break doubles as sacred writing time. She grabs moments in the morning, squeezes words in over lunch, and drops into deep-dive sessions on her days off. An hour here and there might sound thin, but when your mind is chewing on a plot point all morning, that limited window turns into an absolute sprint.
Swords and Source Material
While some authors stick to Google for research, Shawnna brings a different energy to world-building. She’s heavily involved with the Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA), where she practices historical combat, dives into medieval reenactment, and tests out gear firsthand.
When she writes a clash of steel, she’s not guessing. She knows the weight of the blade, how long her arms can hold a guard, and what kind of swing will actually tweak a wrist. That physical authenticity bleeds right into her books.
As for her roots, the spark goes way back to her childhood. Her dad used to read The Shannara Series by Terry Brooks out loud in the hallway every night while she drifted off to sleep, laying the foundation for the kind of sprawling secondary worlds she builds today.
Where to Jump In
If you want to check out her work, she recommends starting with Rogue Magic: Dark Enlightening—a fast-moving LitRPG adventure that leans heavy into sharp magic systems and action. You can find her stuff on Amazon or over at her site, https://www.shawnnalea.com/
Catch the whole podcast at: https://brentxp.podbean.com/e/lightminded-arts-48-sword-story-and-fantasy-worlds-of-shawnna-lea/?token=720cfeebbbf0d81fa0765304fbd3c4d4
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