CORTLAND COUNTY – A former Evening Sun advice columnist and previous resident of Chenango County, Maggie Shayne is taking the reading world by storm. A New York Times bestselling author, Shayne has close to 60 novels and 25 novellas to her name. She won a Rita Award in 2005, two National Reader's Choice Awards from Oklahoma Romance Writers, and has numerous other awards in recognition of her successful writing. One of her more recent novels, “Sleep with the Lights On,” was released in September 2013, and won Shayne her 11th Reviewer’s Choice award.

As a child, Shayne moved around a great deal and entertained herself with horror comic books and movies. One of her all-time idols was John Boy Walton. These memories have helped direct her career as an author as Shayne has written many novels of romantic suspense and paranormal romance.

She explained she finds inspiration, “Everywhere. Everywhere. A song, a TV commercial, a kid playing jump rope on the sidewalk. Just everywhere.”

When asked about her writing style, Shayne said, “I write whatever comes to me as fast as it comes to me, with a vague idea of the story in mind, but even I don't know everything that's going to happen until it does.”

She continued, “I surprise myself. And somehow, it all makes sense in the end, and I'm able to smooth it all together in a couple of polishing drafts, and voila. A book is born.”