About the Author

Renée Shantel started writing at the age of eleven, for no better reason than she was tired of waiting for Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix to be released. She has entertained dreams of being published ever since. She has taken several short courses in creative writing, book editing and publishing, and managed to have her first short story published in May, 2017.

When not writing, she can be found shooting analogue photography, casually learning to play the violin, or smothering her cats with love.

What Does She Write?

Renée’s works are best described as young adult, but the genres vary. Her first novel, Lost, is a young adult contemporary about a rockstar and his fifteen-year-old son navigating their new lives together; her second, In the Days Before, is a young adult mystery about an aspiring true crime YouTuber who gets thrown into a real case when her best friend goes missing. 

In future, she hopes to release more YA crime novels and begin her journey with her true passion: paranormal and fantasy! 

So You Want to Know More?

Here are ten random facts about me:

• I wrote my debut novel Lost when I was in my early twenties
• it was originally a fanfiction
• I do not drink tea or coffee (or alcohol!)
• by day I work as a hospital admin
• I have terrible Imposter Syndrome
• my left eye suffers from Amblyopia
• I’m socially anxious, so sometimes it takes me a while to get back to you
• cosy games are my jam
• I spent some time as a concert photographer
• for many years online, my penname was Haylie Jaed