I've been suffering from the worst summer flu imaginable (not to be hyperbolic, but it really was a horrrrrible existence, happy to be on the emerging end) -- however, no amount of bed rest would make me miss the Toronto Book Launch of my friend's début novel, See What Flowers. Featured in BlogTO and NOW Magazine, the night was nothing short of magic. 

Shannon featured me in an episode of her podcast: The Inspiring Women Series while she was writing and teaching in Colombia. We bonded over our shared love of words and Norway Bay - a place where we both grew up during the summer, and which has now become one of our favourite spots to write. 

I wrote about the challenges of writing a book for Normale Magazine, so it truly is so inspiring to see someone persevere in the pursuit of "creating something out of nothing" and release that tangible creation out into the world. 

Shannon is just the greatest human being so it was an honour to moderate an author Q&A with her at the launch (there's nothing that excites me more than talking about books and going behind the scenes of the writing process). 

About the Book

All that remains is a note: "Gone to get pancakes."

Her 30th birthday party’s over, yet it’s the happiest Emma Watters has ever been. Life couldn’t be more perfect. She’s an emergency room doctor and shares a home in Toronto with the love of her life, Adam Davison. The next morning, Adam is gone.

Emma’s shocked. At first, she decides that Adam’s having an affair and scavenges through photos on Facebook, trying to identify “the other woman.” But as the days pass, Emma seeks out help from the Toronto Police and floods social media with pleas for assistance. Where’s Adam? Has her life become an episode of Breaking Bad? Has she been dating Walter White all along?

Wild, beautiful, and terrifying, See What Flowers is a thrilling depiction of love’s attempts to survive in the face of undiagnosed mental illness. Set in the hectic, cosmopolitan cities of Toronto and Vancouver, as well as against the harsh, rugged landscape of the Canadian Arctic, it’s a raw and compelling journey towards understanding, forgiveness, and, ultimately, escape.

About the Author

Shannon Mullen is a high school teacher and writer currently based in Toronto, Canada. She has previously taught in northern British Columbia, Nunavut, England, and Colombia. While this is her first novel, Shannon's writing has been published in The Globe & Mail, Thought Catalog, Rebelle Society, and Elephant Journal. She blogs about her adventures in teaching, writing, and travel at shannonmullen.me.

You can purchase her début novel on Amazon for Kindle or in paperback (leave a review if you do! It helps boost the book in Amazon's murky abyss).