Welcome!
When I was a little girl, we moved many times. In every small town we lived in, I quickly found the public library and became something of a pest to the sweet, little old librarians. They loved me! Ha! 🙂
I read voraciously and checked out book after book after book because they were my escape from an abusive mother and a lonely childhood. Luckily for me, we always lived near enough to the library so that I could walk to it by myself; this was in the days long ago when it was relatively safe for children to walk for miles and hours, in and around, and up and down small towns.
During summer vacations my little sister, Lynn, and I often played “School” and I always insisted on being the Teacher. She hated it! I was a stern teacher, then, too. I made all kinds of homework for Lynn to do and I wouldn’t let her go play with her Barbie (we only had one apiece back then) until she had finished all of her “school work.” Who would have ever thought that I would one day be a real teacher? Not me! I thought I wanted to be a doctor. Or a librarian. Or at least write books. Ha ha! 🙂
When I was an old lady in her mid-forties, 😉 I opened a bookstore and coffee bar in a small town east of Dallas, Texas. I didn’t know much about coffee; I didn’t even know the difference between an espresso and a cappuccino. Still, I wanted to sell books. I had given up on the idea of being a librarian because I learned they had to earn a Master’s degree. I thought, “If I’m going to earn a Master’s degree, I may as well become a teacher.” Thus, after closing the bookstore, I did re-enroll in Southern Methodist University and begin earnestly to earn my M. Ed. so that I could teach high school English Language Arts.
Six years passed during which I taught many hundreds of beautiful students in a public high school in Carrollton, Texas. While working many long hours a day (usually 11-13), I enjoyed writing and editing many things, but I did not write a single book. I haven’t given up that hope! In the meantime, I have decided to earn some money as supplemental income to a teacher’s salary by freelance writing and editing. If I no longer teach, I still want to create beauty with my words. So, here I am!
Updated in 2019:
Now, I can say that I have finally written a book! While conducting research on Leonardo de Pisa for a client, I became enamored with the 13th-century mathematician who was also a humble genius; he just so happened to change the world with his books and teachings! I wanted others to learn about him, too, so I wrote a book about his background and the origin of the Fibonacci sequence. “Master Fibonacci: The Man Who Changed Math” is available on Amazon. If you like math history and biographies of humble geniuses like I do, then I think you’ll like it!
Thank you for visiting my page and I hope you’ll allow me to serve you.
Sincerely,
Shelley Allen
Professional Qualifications: Education and Work Experience
• B.A. in English from S.M.U, 1998
• M.Ed. from S.M.U., 2013
• Teacher certification in English, ESL, and GT
• Public high school English teacher (2012-2018)
• Owner/Operator/Entrepreneur, “Servant’s Bookstore and Coffee Bar” (2004-2009)
• Private school teacher (1999-2000)
• Utilize Word’s Review, Track Changes, and Comments features
• Creative writer. Instagram: @shellennessee
Ruthless Red Pen 
I enjoy your spirit. I learned about you from Matthew Geddes. Thanks for helping him out. I am starting a project which you can learn about here. http://www.ronpaulmeetups.wordpress.com Don’t let the title fool you–this is a 12 year old blog that is being resurrected for today’s times where people are finally being red-pilled and need support.
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Thank you, Patricia! I haven’t checked on my website in months, so please forgive the tardiness of my reply. I have followed Martin to Telegram and AnonUp.com. Have you read his latest book, “Open Your Mind to Change: A Guidebook to the Great Awakening”? I am honored and very happy to say that he hired me to copy edit it, and I look forward to copy editing for him again. Hopefully soon!
Have a blessed day!
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I guess what I meant to say is I wouldn’t get a PhD in literature but if I had started earlier, one in linguistics would have been great and very beneficial for me in Florida.
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Congratulations on being accepted for the writing event. That is a big honor and one which I am sure you deserve. I am looking forward to following your blog.
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Thank you so much! I am looking forward to meeting and learning from so many talented authors and editors at the conference; it will be my first time to ever go to one! Have you ever attended a writer’s conference? If so, do you recommend any? I would like to go to several this year, if at all possible.
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That is excellent! I have also been an English teacher and now work as an English adjunct. I have never attended a writer’s conference. Where are you located? I applied for the Palm Beach writing festival but was not accepted. You must feel very proud of yourself.
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In 2017 I was terribly unhappy teaching high school so I considered becoming an English professor; I applied for the PhD in English program at SMU (where I earned my BA and MEd) but was not accepted. Of course, I was terribly disappointed at the time, but soon afterwards I learned that college adjuncts often do not make enough to live on and work just as hard – if not harder – than high school teachers. So, I now consider it a blessing that I was not accepted because I would have gone further into student loan debt only to be as miserable as I was already.
I am in Dallas; I am very proud but at the same time I am humbled because I give glory to God for every blessing for I believe He will use the conference as an opportunity to equip me for better work, better writing, and better service to others. So, I am proud to have had my work chosen and aware that I must use this opportunity to do far more. I am happy – so very happy – to do so!
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I understand. I work two adjunct positions with two universities and one is mostly online and with adult education. I have been with them since 2012 when we owned a cupcakerie. After we closed in 2015 when my husband got cancer and is being treated by the VA, I tried some charter schools but it was hard to work with the adjunct schedule at times and some of the schools were fairly challenging as I am sure you understand. I was just picked for more classes with a nearby university, and I am happy with this as it is so close and if there are any problems with my husband’s treatment or schedule, I am nearby. So far, so good as his treatment is working and he is in remission.
We are in Tampa near the VA and the Universities and have been in our house for almost two decades now. I have a Masters in Linguistics and a BA in English Literature. I have also enjoyed working overseas and before we opened our store in 2012, I went for a year alone teaching in the UAE. THat was an excellent time but students all over can be challenging. I taught primary as this was the school’s need. I wish you the best for the New Year and look forward to following your blog.
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Thank you so much! I agree with you that students everywhere can be challenging! I am happy to meet a fellow teacher who understands just how (and in what ways) students can be challenging.
I wish you the best, as well, and your husband, also.
Blessings and Many Thanks,
Shelley
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I have been lucky to be picked up every semester and like my new adjunct gig as everything is laid out for me but if the perfect high school job teaching English came along, I would be tempted to have my own classroom again! As for a PhD, only in Linguistics but I believe I am through for now. Getting certification was challenging enough in Florida.
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A PhD in Linguistics must have been very challenging! I did a little research as preparation for writing my short story for the SF Writers Conference scholarship and I came across an article describing a professor who was grading computational linguistics research papers so I included that bit of information in the description of my main character in the story; but, to be honest, I am not quite sure what computational linguistics is. 🙂
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I have a Masters in linguistics but I work for a Professor who has her PhD. We went to university together! If I had started earlier, I might be doing forensic linguistics (a dream).
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Awesome presentation. You should have no problems landing high paying clients in the Social/ Digital Content Industry.
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Thank you, Michael! I certainly enjoy writing and editing for clients in the publishing and communications industries, including Social/Digital Content.
Thank you for visiting!
See you on LinkedIn and our Facebook Group, too, I believe!
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