S.C. Megale
This is a meerkat.
Known to friends, family, and the dumpling food truck as Shea, S.C. Megale writes YA in almost every genre, and specializes in third person, present tense biographies about herself.
A proud American, Megale was born in Reston, Virginia in 1995 and was raised on the fringe of historic Cub Run Park, where she spent long hours catching fireflies (still does that), mixing "potions" in colored bottles (and that), and getting her wheels stuck in the mud (can we stop talking about this?).
A proud American, Megale was born in Reston, Virginia in 1995 and was raised on the fringe of historic Cub Run Park, where she spent long hours catching fireflies (still does that), mixing "potions" in colored bottles (and that), and getting her wheels stuck in the mud (can we stop talking about this?).
In explanation of those wheels, she was born with a genetic disease: Spinal Muscular Atrophy, type 2. A progressive condition, this means she cannot walk and never will. This doesn't mean she doesn't zip line in Colorado, scuba dive in Australia, wrangle falcons, play bamboo flutes in Stonehenge, and get stuck in revolving doors.
Her love with writing began young. She wrote on a AlphaSmart in school and later a 1,000lb cubic monitor, turning essays into novel openings. Now, she writes her manuscripts on her smartphone.
In the beginning, the answer to the question "Why do you write?" was simple. She wrote because she couldn't sled. Or jump down balconies to her feet. Or draw the glistening sword into the sun. Megale attached to video games which thrust her into the leader role, where bullets spurt from a gun she wouldn't be able to LIFT let alone fire (UPDATE: Actually...See figure 3.). But video games are someone else's creation. Not hers. So she wrote.
In the beginning, the answer to the question "Why do you write?" was simple. She wrote because she couldn't sled. Or jump down balconies to her feet. Or draw the glistening sword into the sun. Megale attached to video games which thrust her into the leader role, where bullets spurt from a gun she wouldn't be able to LIFT let alone fire (UPDATE: Actually...See figure 3.). But video games are someone else's creation. Not hers. So she wrote.
Fig. 3
Her three, self-published children's books, Marvelous Mercer, raised money for her disease (the CURING of, she should say -- we do not write checks to damaging twists of biology) and for Mercer's (her first service dog) nonprofit company, Canine Companions for Independence. Through her efforts as a humanitarian, she's accepted honors such as ringing the opening bell on Wall Street at NASDAQ, being the youngest ever member of the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., speaking on the USS Intrepid, receiving the MDA 2018 Live Unlimited Award, and digging into messages of hope in a dimming world.
Signing my publication contract with tears in my eyes.
Her platforms have included The Today Show, Katie Couric, a partnership with Build-A-Bear and FAO Schwarz, and, most importantly, schools all over the country. Having the opportunity to encounter children in the most underprivileged of schools touched her heart like nothing else: she recalls bending over and complimenting every single coloring or story the children created, to include a line of almost a hundred kids once. Still, she was eager to pursue darker, more mature work that better reflected the struggle and unlikely optimism that compete in her.
The President's Award
Today, she has gone on to complete more than two dozen Young Adult novels. Her first published novel, This is Not a Love Scene, was written in 2016 and found representation four days into querying. Two weeks later, it was purchased by St. Martin's Press/Wednesday Books.
Consciously and unconsciously, nearly every character she creates has an element of disability - physical, emotional, and mental. This is Not a Love Scene just hits the one she's been running from.
She's been mentored by her dear friends Suzanne Collins (The Hunger Games), John Grisham (The Firm), and John Flanagan (The Ranger's Apprentice), who dedicated his final Ranger's Apprentice novel to her. Her experiences on the set of The Hunger Games sparked an everlasting passion for film, and she's written and directed documentary and comedy shorts as well as a historical short film in the Czech Republic, for which she won the President's Award at the Film Academy of Miroslav Ondricek.
In 2017, Megale tragically lost her older brother to an opioid overdose. Her heart was broken. Since, her family created a memorial in his name to grant addiction rehabilitation scholarships, and Shea wrote a book about his life and struggle called American Boy.
Consciously and unconsciously, nearly every character she creates has an element of disability - physical, emotional, and mental. This is Not a Love Scene just hits the one she's been running from.
She's been mentored by her dear friends Suzanne Collins (The Hunger Games), John Grisham (The Firm), and John Flanagan (The Ranger's Apprentice), who dedicated his final Ranger's Apprentice novel to her. Her experiences on the set of The Hunger Games sparked an everlasting passion for film, and she's written and directed documentary and comedy shorts as well as a historical short film in the Czech Republic, for which she won the President's Award at the Film Academy of Miroslav Ondricek.
In 2017, Megale tragically lost her older brother to an opioid overdose. Her heart was broken. Since, her family created a memorial in his name to grant addiction rehabilitation scholarships, and Shea wrote a book about his life and struggle called American Boy.
John Flanagan (left), S.C. Megale (right) (Hoping that was obvious)
In her personal life, she teaches writing workshops and religious education to adolescents. She is a Knight of both the Order of the Lion and the Black Cross and the Order of the Crown of Thorns, two fraternities in Norfolk, England which focus on relief efforts globally. Despite her youthful good looks, she is also an honorary member of a WWII Battalion, the 12th Armored Division. Further still, Megale is a member of The Hourlings and The Writers of Chantilly (both for which she served as Editor), the Lion's Club and the Rotary Club, Gamma Phi Beta, and is a training Virginia Master Naturalist. She is a History major and Astronomy minor at the University of Virginia.
Above all, she really loves people. Like, really. She encourages anyone who needs a friend to reach out.
And she thanks you for helping her dream of being a "Big Five" author come true.
Light Find You.
Shea C. Megale
Above all, she really loves people. Like, really. She encourages anyone who needs a friend to reach out.
And she thanks you for helping her dream of being a "Big Five" author come true.
Light Find You.
Shea C. Megale
