Shivener has written 10 novels with more coming.
The Ledger Independent is publishing a 50/50 series featuring 50 things over 50 weeks. During this series, our readers can expect to see different “Local Talents/Artisans” each week.
Some of the “Local Talents/Artisans” that may be featured will include artists, authors, songwriters and more. The general definition of “artisan” refers to a worker in a skilled trade, according to the Oxford Dictionary.
Please enjoy Day 25 of the series.
Mason County resident Tanji Shivener is a published novelist who grew up in Brown County, Ohio.
Shivener wrote her first of 10 novels in 2019.
“My husband suggested I do something for myself as I am always doing and taking care of others as a nurse,” explained Shivener. “I wrote 1,700 words in the notes app of my phone — the beginning of my first novel — Ginger Devil. I ended up buying a laptop the next day and continued to write the story.”
Her first novel, Ginger Devil, was published in 2020.
Shivener stated that she developed a love for reading after being given an assignment as a seventh grader to read The Giver.
“I realized some books were actually interesting to me. As an adolescent, I found that the majority of required reading in grade school was almost dreadful. After I discovered pleasure in reading, I read as many novels as I could get my hands on,” stated Shivener.
She further stated that she never actually intended to become a writer.
“I never actually dreamt of being a writer or an author, but I’ve always had stories in my head, and being a storyteller has seemed to come naturally to me,” she noted.
Shivener stated that her talent gives her a feeling of achievement that “even a little girl from the trailer park can grow up to be a novelist”.
Shivener loves to connect with her readers.
“A person can learn more about me and my talents from my social media (I have Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok — although I don’t claim to know how to use them very well).”
Shiveners books can be purchased online at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or can be checked out at public libraries. Signed copies of her book can be purchased at Local Ky 68. She also has a website: tmshivener.com.
Shivener, who writes under the name of T.M. Shivener, has a series called The Trailer Park series which is suggested for ages 14 and up.
She has a plethora of stand-alone romance books suggested for ages 18 and up; Ginger Devil, Thirty, Flirty, and Dumb, Why It’s Called a Goodbye, Bad Seed, Sihn and Ruin in River Falls, and Paint Splattered Teardrops which is set to be released in Winter 2025.
Shiveners Psycological Thrillers are also suggested for ages 18 and up and consist of a duo of books; She Is Me, Too, and She is Within Me. A stand-alone thriller titled Forever Twenty-Nine is set to come out in May 2025.
Shivener has a book signing scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 22 at Barn Chick’s Coffee Shop beginning at 1 p.m. located in Ripley, Ohio and at Hemingway’s in Maysville on March 15 from noon to 2 p.m.
