S. Chris Shirley

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S. Chris Shirley

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Born
Greenville, AL, The United States
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December 2010

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S. Chris Shirley writes contemporary fiction about ambition, secrecy, and the illusion of control. His work blends high-stakes environments with deeply personal stories, always grounded in emotional truth.

His debut novel, Playing by the Book, was the first LGBTQ coming-out story to win a National IPPY Medal in the religious fiction category. His latest project, Bloody Hell, is a corporate thriller about the price of ambition—and how far we’ll go to protect the people we love.

Chris now lives in New York City with his partner and a collection of questionable art.

Connect with Chris: Instagram | Facebook

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S. Chris Shirley Write every day but don’t hide behind your keyboard—get out in the world and have wonderful experiences that will inform your writing. Make friends wi…moreWrite every day but don’t hide behind your keyboard—get out in the world and have wonderful experiences that will inform your writing. Make friends with other writers, read each other’s work, learn to critique graciously and encourage each other. Read great writing and learn from it. Make lists of everything that might come in useful later from random thoughts to great dialogue. And keep a list of people who’ve helped you along the way so you can include their names in your acknowledgements—I thanked 151 people in Playing by the Book. (less)
S. Chris Shirley I just read what I’ve written the day before and soldier on. I also don’t put this great pressure on myself to write a certain number of words each da…moreI just read what I’ve written the day before and soldier on. I also don’t put this great pressure on myself to write a certain number of words each day; rather, I focus on writing for a certain period of time (usually one to two hours). And if nothing really happens during that time, I don’t worry about it.(less)
Average rating: 3.81 · 181 ratings · 46 reviews · 1 distinct workSimilar authors
Playing by the Book

3.81 avg rating — 181 ratings — published 2014 — 2 editions
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The Biggest Challenge in Writing Playing by the Book

There are many challenges in writing a novel and getting it published, but the hardest challenge for me in writing PLAYING BY THE BOOK was making it appeal to both the LGBTQ reader AND the Fundamentalist Christian reader. My early drafts were too religious for the gays and too gay for the religious.

Striking the right balance was a Herculean task, but I attempted to accomplish this through a mix o Read more of this blog post »
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Published on June 12, 2014 04:41 Tags: debut-novel, gossip-girl, playing-by-the-book, young-adult

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