I was born and raised in Las Vegas, NV, which didn’t seem terribly exotic to me until I realized that for most kids “hanging out at the mall” didn’t mean hanging out at the Caesar’s Palace Forum Shops, and that most girls didn’t have Vegas Showgirls as their ballet teachers, and that 115 degrees isn’t “normal” weather in most places, even in August. When it was time for college, I left Sin City for the (slightly cooler) clime of southern California, and I’ve been there ever since.
As a child, I could almost always be found in two places: dancing on stage, or reading backstage. Books and performing were my two first loves. They were a means of escape, not because my life was so terrible that I needed it, but because they opened doors to experiences I couldn’t otherwise explore. They were worlds full of passion, excitement, stories, and adventures.
Me as McCavity in a local dance production at age 16 in Las Vegas
I continued to dance and perform into adulthood, and I was never to be found without at least one novel in my purse wherever I went, but it still wasn’t enough. I obtained a B.A. in Communication, with a minor in Performing Arts Studies, and promptly started a job in administration at a major hospital after graduating. But my creative desires weren’t satisfied with sitting at a desk all day, editing academic articles and writing research grants.
One of my many, many, MANY bookshelves
So I decided to write a novel.
I’ve always loved romance, fantasy, time-travel, sci-fi, and paranormal, and that’s what I write. I completed my first novel the day before I turned 30, a contemporary romantic suspense entitled Dancing with Danger, which was published in May 2012 by Red Sage (take a sneak peak at the first chapter here!) It won first place in the 2011 Spring into Romance Contest (hosted by the San Diego chapter of RWA), and an earlier version of the manuscript placed third in the 2011 Winter Rose Contest (hosted by Yellow Rose Romance Writers).
I have a paranormal romance short story published in the Five Minute Love Stories anthology, a steamy contemporary novella published in the anthology Seduction – One Fortune at a Time, and am currently in progress on a fantasy/paranormal romance novel. For several years I was a member of Romance Writers of American and was an active Board Member and Newsletter Editor for my local chapter, Los Angeles Romance Authors (LARA).
Several years ago, my husband and I welcomed my beautiful daughter into the world and now my life focuses more on parenthood than writing, but I’m slowing getting back into a good writing groove.
Thank you for visiting my site! Feel free to stick around and read some samples of my work. I am always open to comments and feedback.
Write the book you’ve always wanted to read, and always dance like no one is watching,
Laura
Me and my husband at our wedding in 2005
Laura Sheehan - Author 
Awesome pics, and I super-love the wedding pics, you both look like you are having FUN (as a wedding should be).
Hahaha…love the wedding picture. And I enjoyed your article about romantic suspense. Totally helped me figure out how to plot this book. 🙂 Namaste!
Glad it was helpful! Best of luck with your writing.
Great article…I am in the process of finding a literary agent for my work. I’m new to all of this and was researching what genres are typically written in 1st and 3rd person. Mine is written in first and I’ve categorized it as a Historical Romance genre, which never felt quite right since it’s more young adult mixed with a lot of suspense…just happens to be set in the late 1800’s. I read it’s more acceptable to see a Young Adult or Romantic Suspense in 1st person and I’m not willing to change to 3rd–it just won’t’ work for my complex, seventeen year old protagonist and her teenage angst. I’ve emailed you as well…hope to get more insight on how to make my novel appeal to an agent. Thanks!