About Heather
HEATHER SHAHAN was born in rural northern Florida in June 1987. She spent her childhood at the whims of her imagination, daydreaming and creating stories about elves, princesses, pirates, and fairies. She fell in love with reading in middle school and devoured books week after week. She earned her bachelors degree in Elementary Education from Florida Atlantic University. When she struggled to find a job teaching after graduating, she wrote her first book, and then her second and third in the same series before revising them again and again into what is now Burn the Ashes and Rush of Blood.
Now living in Texas with her husband Jeremy, son Isaac, and pup Oakley, Heather teaches by autumn, winter, and spring and writes by summer. When not teaching or writing, she can usually be found snuggling her family, reading, or slaying dragons on World of Warcraft.
The Books
In the ruins of a place once known as Dallas lies The Republic of Trinity, a collection of hundreds of towns and groups ruled peacefully by The Council. Though the leaders once thrived on change, their descendents have grown comfortable. Whether by mutation or evolution, some children have been able to connect with and control the elements. These Talists, short for elementalists, have the potential to cause destruction, to take over, to incite change. After five years in hiding, eighteen-year-old Paeonia Willows has been captured and sent to The Compound. She expected certain death, having been told her whole life that The Compound was a death camp, but instead finds herself in a work camp where those like her are tortured, used, and experimented on. A rebellion has begun, led by her new friend Anza, but not everyone agrees with its principle. Following a cast of diverse characters, Burn the Ashes explores the gray areas in our choices, love and loss, and personal growth under pressure.
With Commander Alex Franklin at their lead, The Guardia continues to spin the tale for the citizens of Trinity that the dangerous mutant monsters have destroyed their prison and set their sights on the peaceful commoners. After escaping The Compound and facing the wary public, Peony and her fellow elementalists must decide how far they are willing to go to save their people.
Joining forces with old friends long thought dead, Anza and Eli fight to gain a foothold and sway public opinion. Should they make change peacefully and hope that minds can be changed or accept the harsh reality that genocidal leaders are too far gone? Others must choose for themselves whether keeping their element is worth the fight for survival.Continuing the fight, Rush of Blood questions what we’re truly capable of when we’re pushed to our limits.
What's Next?
Over the last five years, Heather Shahan has been working on a new series, DRAGONSLAYER. In Dri's world, dragons existed so long ago that nobody believes they were ever real, but Dri can see them. Shifted incorporeal, they coexist with the people of Cretala and feed off of their emotion, disease, and pain. One led Dri's brother to death and another has sunk its talons into her mother. Now, she's on a mission to discover how to finish them off once and for all. But, can one ever really slay their dragons?
Far more complex and intricately woven than her previous works, Dragonslayer will be the book to read for those who know what its like to battle the unseen.