#WriterWednesday Author Interview with Shamayne Olivia
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I’d like to welcome author, Shamayne Olivia, back to the blog for #WriterWednesday.
Last best thing you ate: I had some delicious carrot cake at my niece’s baby shower.
Last thing you regret eating: Tuna salad, which I once loved, but for some reason it doesn’t taste the same to me anymore.
Favorite music or song: I have so many good memories from my adolescence in the seventies and coming of age in the eighties. I love classic rock and alternative rock from those years.
Music that drives you crazy: Although I enjoy several genres of music, I can’t handle most country music except for the classic country artists. It drives me crazy when I’m in the dentist’s chair. LOL
The last thing you ordered online: I have started a tradition of buying personalized books for my grandchildren and grandnieces and nephews. I recently ordered one for a grand-nephew who arrived in March.
The last thing you regret buying: I ordered a pair of pants then realized I already had the same pair in my closet. I cleaned out my closet after that mistake so I guess not all was lost.
Things you’d walk a mile for: I would walk any distance for my kids and grandkids.
Things that make you want to run screaming from the room: This is easy because it just happened when I saw a mouse run through the living room and I screamed as I ran to another room.
The funniest thing to happen to you: This was funny after the fact, but while at a park with friends recently, we were laughing and telling stories when a kid’s baseball came our way and hit me in the back of my head. The next day while in our backyard and sitting around our fire pit, a stray football came over our fence and again, hit me in the back of the head. No injuries, I couldn’t believe it happened twice in the same weekend.
The most embarrassing thing to happen to you: While attending John C. Riley’s one man show, Mr. Romantic, he came into the audience with a mic and a rose and walked right up to me. Without prompting me with a question or anything else, he put the mic in my face and I froze and didn’t know what to say. With the whole audience watching, I was so embarrassed.
The coolest person you’ve ever met: I’ve seen a lot of cool people in Austin, but only have met a few. After seeing the musical, “Head Over Heels,” I met Kathy Valentine from the Go-Go’s.
The celebrity who didn’t look like he/she did in pictures/video: Shelley Duvall from Popeye and The Shining. She lived in our town and shopped at the same store as us. She looked completely different from her acting days.
Besides writing, what’s the most creative thing you’ve done: I did a DIY project of sponge painting my dining room in the 90’s! It actually looked really good at the time.
A project that didn’t quite turn out the way you planned it: I thought it would be fun to decorate cakes and cupcakes for my kids. I could never get the hang of it and they never turned out like the pictures.
The first 8-track, record, cassette, or CD you ever bought: I love music and started listening to music in the sixties as a child. I remember my dad taking me to the record section of a department store when I was four years old so I could buy The Monkees album with my birthday money. I never stopped buying music after that.
A type of music that’s not your cup of tea: I would have to say modern country music again.
My favorite book as a child: The book Edie Changes Her Mind was my favorite. I read it every night and held onto it throughout my life. I still had it in a box when my kids were born.
A book I’ve read more than once: I like reading mysteries, but can’t think of one I’ve read twice for obvious reasons.
Your favorite movie as a child: Disney’s Fantasia mesmerized me. I loved the colorful movement, dancing, and songs.
A TV show or movie that kept you awake at night as a kid (or as an adult): The Twilight Zone and Night Gallery on Friday nights when I was young. I still remember one that probably traumatized me for life. It had to do with a bug crawling into someone’s ear as they slept. Yeah, that was something I wish I’d never seen.
About Shamayen Olivia:
Shamayne Olivia is an author, speaker, coach, and facilitator passionate about guiding women through transformation and self-discovery. With a gift for creating safe and empowering spaces, she helps women navigate through life’s pivotal emotional transitions with courage, clarity, and renewed purpose.
Her work is rooted in her own journey of healing and awakening in midlife, which inspires her to support others in reclaiming their voices, honoring their stories, and embracing their true selves. She understands how isolating change can feel, and she believes no woman should have to walk that path alone. Creating spaces where women can feel seen, supported, and empowered to rewrite their own stories, she invites them into connection, compassion, and authentic transformation.
When she’s not writing or leading workshops, Shamayne finds joy in family time, traveling, exploring nature, live music and theatre, major league baseball, and practicing yoga. Simple practices that remind her to stay grounded in gratitude and wonder for each new chapter.
Her hope is that every woman who encounters her work discovers the same truth she has embraced: it’s never too late to reclaim your identity.
