J. Shep

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J. Shep

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July 2023


J. Shep, author of The December Issue (2023) and After Me (2024), has taught at the high school and the university levels while directing plays for several decades. The Illinois resident enjoys writing, working with others on their craft, teaching, listening to music, and laughing.

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J. Shep Thanks for this question! I think it's really interesting that you used the word "respect" and not "class," which was the topic of Paul's column. I am…moreThanks for this question! I think it's really interesting that you used the word "respect" and not "class," which was the topic of Paul's column. I am not sure I can recall my motivation for writing this book, but I do know at the time I wrote The December Issue, I cared about the ways people spend their time. I care about this topic to this day. I noticed that one's time can get frittered away with the most pointless activities, ones that don't better ourselves, others, or our worlds in any way. I placed Paul at this intersection between a fulfilling career and a fulfilling retirement, but he is grappling with what a fulfilling retirement means; in other words, he is exploring how to spend this newfound time. Exploring this topic may have been my motivation. Similarly, exploring the topics of class, offense, and responsibility, even as they intersect with respect, may have been another motivation. I just found them interesting to me and wished to present some views on them, placing them on the path of Paul's search for how to spend his retirement. (less)
J. Shep Thanks for the question. I sometimes wonder how the three-part structure of the novel lands with readers, and I'm glad you enjoyed it so much! While I…moreThanks for the question. I sometimes wonder how the three-part structure of the novel lands with readers, and I'm glad you enjoyed it so much! While I do wonder how readers will react, I am happy with the choice. So far, the response to that aspect of the book has been favorable. Initially, I wrote the first part of the book and ended it; it was a novella. When I decided to develop the story, I knew I wanted to keep the integrity of the novella, so I didn't dive into that and expand. Instead, I continued the story. I think I knew there was a little more story to tell with Paul and these characters, so I picked up where the initial novella stopped. The second and third parts developed thoughtfully and realistically, and I was happy with the overall story as well as the arcs. Where much deliberation came in were the divisions. If I ended part one where it currently ends, there's not much of a cliffhanger. Had I added one more chapter before ending part one, it would have ended on a cliffhanger. I decided, as you know, to make each part its own, seemingly discrete story. I am grateful that you used the words "page turner," because my decision to delineate each part as I did doesn't, in and of itself, spur on a reader to turn the page once a section ends. I hope that's where enjoyment of writing style, characters, and themes comes in for readers! (less)
Average rating: 4.99 · 167 ratings · 15 reviews · 2 distinct worksSimilar authors
The December Issue

4.98 avg rating — 98 ratings
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After Me

it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 69 ratings — published 2024
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An Episode of Sparrows by Rumer Godden When I was in college, a university professor individually assigned us twentieth-century fictional novels for a specific project. While my peers were assigned Graham Greene, Evelyn Waugh, Muriel Spark, and, among others, Kingsly Amis, she assigned me An Episode of Sparrows by Rumer Godden. It was tame, it was complex, it was moving, and, for someone who had forever had a strong relationship wi Read more of this blog post »
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Published on December 29, 2025 18:19
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Willa Cather's descriptions and subtlety, especially of characters, relationships, and conflicts, did not let down again. As plot fell secondary to characterization and setting once again, she presents both in a way that maintains my interest from be ...more
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I had initially read this to see if it might make a good gift for a horse lover I know, a young girl. This novella had something to do with a hard-to-tame horse, and I soon realized the title was a metaphor for the protagonist Travis and was less per ...more
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