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Welcome to my page. You might be asking, what kind of teacher writes YA horror?

Easy. A forensics teacher.

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I love getting lost between the pages of a good book. I write paranormal, adult-dystopian, and young-adult horror fiction set in odd places like gypsy camps and circuses, on pirate ships and steam trains, within self-contained bio-domes, and in alternate realities. Where werewolves, trolls, fallen angels, and demons wreak destruction upon the human race. My characters face impossible odds against these creatures, but more, they face impossible odds against themselves.

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Once upon a time, I was a diagnostic technician in fusion and pulse-power technology, a machine that mothered CERN. I was born to be a teacher, author, and artist. (We can be as many things as we want.) I teach robotics, technology, and criminal forensics, which might be why I write YA horror novels about controversial machines set in altered realities, where gargoyles, darklings, fallen angels, and demons wreak havoc against human souls. My characters face life-threatening challenges against monsters, science, and faith, but worse, against themselves. I believe our scars make us unique and beautiful because no matter the outward battle, the ones we face inwardly are the most important. We are all curiosity cabinets, filled with shadows of wonder, gifts and talents, light and darkness. My Dust to Diamonds Novels and Humanities Source Series reflects transformation, redemption, and change themes.

 

Check out Ashes to Ashes (We All Fall Down) Oracle Cards, which encourages young people to confront their fears and think about their scars differently. Supplementing my Ashes to Ashes Novel is the FREE virtual workshop and lesson plans for instructors. Through various lessons, activities, and challenges, young people are encouraged to confront possible preconceived ideas about themselves and to think about their physical and internal scars differently. Just as the pressure of extreme heat turns simple ash into beautiful diamonds, with self-acceptance, those things that scar individuality can become our biggest strengths.

 

Sheley Rayne