agent...
Shannon Snow worked in finance and marketing for 18 years before turning to her childhood first love… books and writers. She started her publishing career in 2018 as an intern with Creative Media Agency, Inc, before moving up in 2020 to an Associate Agent. Shannon has a B.A. in English Language and Literature. Shannon has an eclectic reading taste. She looks for books that have a unique angle, and authors that have a wonderful, engaging voice. Characterization is a top draw for her, so she is looking for vivid, well-developed characters. She loves when an author can make her laugh, make her cry, or just make her feel emotion in general. Shannon manages the Audio rights for CMA.
submissions
what i'd like to represent...
fiction: adult
- All romance fiction (including paranormal or magical realism) and all its sub-genres with favorite tropes being: enemies to lovers; forced proximity; older woman/younger man; mistaken identity (E.g. the H/Hs communicating and falling in love through some form of media, etc.)
- Contemporary romance that can be cute, steamy, erotic, dark, etc. Some of my favorites, think: Sarah Adams’ Practice Makes Perfect; Mia Sheridan’s Archer’s Voice; Vi Keeland’s The Rules of Dating; and All Grown Up; sports heroes, think RJ Prescott’s The Hurricane; Katy Evans’ Real.
- Historical romance (I have a warm fondness for medieval, and historicals set in ancient times/place such as Rome, Greece, or Egypt.
- Reverse Harem/why choose romance in either contemporary or fantasy settings (Very selective in this category. Not so much on dubcon or seriously heavy bullying)
- Thrillers
- Psychological
- Suspense (can be straight thriller or have a touch of the paranormal…think Dean Koontz or similar writers)
- Also think Laura Nowlin’s If He Had Been With Me … but adult; Karin Slaughter’s After That Night)
- Speculative Fiction (especially with a touch, or a lot, of romance)
- Fantasy (A touch of romance is great!)
- Soft to Medium Fantasy stories a la David Eddings, or Margaret Weiss/Tracy Hickman
- Mythological stories or retellings
- Science Fiction
- Space Operas are a favorite but I love it all
- Apocalyptic/Post-Apocalyptic (Is the world ending? Let me see!)
- Horror (think more eerie/creepy rather than monsters, although I’ll consider those sparingly too. Favorites: )(Think Dean Koontz’ The Big Dark Sky; Jason Rekulak’s Hidden Pictures; Riley Sager’s Home Before Dark; Megan Goldin’s The Escape Room)
fiction: young adult
- Contemporaries (Love them all, but have a fondness for bad boy, unpopular person getting the unattainable character, enemies to love interests, and darker stories like One of Us Is Lying. Also love age crossovers with serious messages like Mia Sheridan’s Archer’s Voice and Katy Evans’ Real series.
- Dark boarding school/academia stories (contemporary or fantasy setting: think Caroline Peckham and Susanne Valenti’s Zodiac Academy series)
- Fantasy (Thinking Sarah J. Maas, Julie Kagawa)
- Also, mythological retellings (Love Greek gods, Egyptian or Roman gods, etc also.)
- Newer example: Stephanie Garber’s Once Upon a Broken Heart
- Horror – more eerie/creepy type (Think Natalie D. Richards’ Five Total Strangers)
- Thrillers
- Psychological
- Suspense (can be straight thriller or have a touch of the paranormal)
- Think Laura Nowlin’s If He Had Been with Me
- Science Fiction
- Love all types, like space academies, space out stories, space operas in general. (Think Beth Revis’ Across the Universe; Vera Nazarean’s The Atlantis Grail series)
- Dystopian and/or Apocalyptic – Post Apocolyptic – But these need to bring something new and different to what’s been done before.)
- Speculative Fiction – (paranormal, etc.) – Think Richelle Mead, Jennifer Estep, Cassandra Clare, etc.
- Mythological or fairytale – more reimaginings rather than straight retellings (Love Greek gods, Egyptian or Roman gods for myths, etc.)
- Reverse Harem/why choose romance in either contemporary or fantasy settings
- Very selective in this category. 18 year old+ characters
- Not so much on dubcon or seriously heavy bullying; dark academia setting is good.
- Think Caroline Peckham and Susanne Valenti’s Ruthless Boys of the Zodiac series.
I especially love stories with compelling, well-drawn characters that pull me in and are memorable because I have to love the characters to love the book. Rich characterization with compelling goals, motivations and conflicts is a must. Send me slow burn and enemies to lovers romances that keep me pining for the satisfying conclusion (either single-title or series where the romance is stretched across multiple books. Make me earn it!) Send me light-hearted and/or RomCom stories that will make me laugh, and darker stories where the characters must overcome. Just make me feel, and if I reach for the tissue box, even better! I would love to see a one person survivalist psychological thriller. I’m also hunting for stories with diverse characters living every day life, and am actively looking for POC and LGBTQ+ authors. I want to see stories that push boundaries and deal with taboo issues.
I’m not looking for memoirs, non-fiction, stories with protagonists younger than 15 or 16, hard-core science fiction, very high fantasy stories, political, drug cartel or mobster thrillers, or historicals set after the 18th century. I’m drawn more to older history.
some of my favorite (non-client) authors
Dean Koontz, Jennifer Estep, Jennifer L. Armentrout, Elle Kennedy, Linda Kage, Beth Revis, David Eddings, Margaret Weiss & Tracey Hickman, Kristen Callihan, Julie Kagawa, Wendy Higgins, Jennifer Echols, Michelle Rowen, Rick Chesler, Eloisa James, Lisa Kleypas, Sherilyn Kenyon, J.R. Ward, Ronald A. Lindsay, Kristin Hannah, and many more.
what kind of writing inspires me?
I love to find projects that are unique. Well-rounded characters I can root for are key to engaging me, as well as a writing style/voice that will captivate me. I need to love your work! Some specifics include:
- New take on older tropes
- Well-crafted and sparkling characters that engage me and make me root for them
- A well-crafted story that keeps me enmeshed from start to finish
- An engrossing author voice and/or a unique approach to storytelling
- New take on older tropes
what I love about my job...
I read my first novel at six years old, and I was hooked for life. I’ve written books of my own, and even ran an unpaid review blog for a while simply for the love of books, authors, and promoting things that captivated me. All my acquisitions are passion projects because I fall in love with the book, but I also cultivate relationships with my authors into long term partnerships so that they know I’m here for their career, and not just the one book. Finally, nothing makes me happier at my job than the privilege of making that call to a potential or current client and hearing their joy. That’s a two-way gift that blesses me too.
where to find me...
Find me on Twitter, LinkedIn, or check out my pages on Manuscript Wishlist and Publisher’s Marketplace.
trade references
Romance Writers of America