Interview with animal communicator and inspirational writer Shawndra McWhorter

Today’s special guest is writer Shawndra McWhorter to chat with me about her new inspirational book, What They Want Us To Know: Messages of Hope, Meaning and Unity From the Animal Kingdom.

During her virtual book tour, Shawndra will be awarding a $50 Amazon or Barnes and Noble (winner’s choice) gift card to a lucky randomly drawn winner. To be entered for a chance to win, use the form below. To increase your chances of winning, feel free to visit her other tour stops and enter there, too!

Bio:
Shawndra McWhorter has been an animal communicator since 2000, and is also an Usui and KarunaⓇ Reiki Master, working with humans and animals. Shawndra has helped more than 500 animals and their humans with her communication and healing skills. Shawndra is a past president of Washington State Animal Response Team (WASART), and also serves on the Board of Directors with Kindred Souls Foundation, both 501(c)(3) non-profit organizations dedicated to helping animals. Shawndra began her disaster animal rescue work in 2005, after Hurricane Katrina made landfall, where she deployed outside of New Orleans, LA to help rescue and care for the animals left behind. She has deployed to Chile, Peru, and to several states in the US volunteering helping animals recover from disasters. Shawndra also volunteered with Wolf Haven International in Tenino, WA for nearly eight years, and is still active in supporting their mission. She is the owner of Sanskrit Healing, using her skills to help humans, animals and the environment find balance. Shawndra has spent most of her life helping others and won an Emmy for a documentary that she directed and edited on illegal aliens in Southern California. Her approach is to educate and help others make mindful, ethical choices based on facts and data. Shawndra currently lives in Washington State with her dog Norman, who survived the EF5 tornado that hit Moore, OK in 2013.

Welcome, Shawndra. Please tell us a little bit about your new release.
Have you ever wondered what animals would tell us if they could? This book will give you that chance to find out! By being able to receive downloaded messages from wild and domestic animals, Shawndra translates their messages for us. These animals have shared powerful messages of unity, connection and purpose, and steps that each of us are able to take to deepen the connection, find more meaning in our lives, and become the humans that the animals know we can be. You’ll hear messages from 12 different animals on what they want us to know in order to live a more profoundly amazing life. You’ll be given the opportunity to learn ways to be more compassionate, tolerant and heart-centered, to the animals and to each other.

Where did you get the idea for this book?
I believe the animals sent it to me, it just popped into my head one day while in a class in 2004. I just knew what the concept would be, it has stayed with me all these years and hasn’t changed at all.

Excerpt from What They Want Us To Know: Messages of Hope, Meaning and Unity From the Animal Kingdom:
Chapter Nine: Norman the Dog

NORMAN IS THE DOG WHO currently shares my life with me, and as you can see, he is adorable! In 2013, an EF5 tornado hit the vicinity of Moore, Oklahoma, causing two billion dollars of damage, including the major destruction of two schools and more than three hundred homes. It also killed twenty-four people. After the disaster, I volunteered with American Humane to help care for the animal survivors in an emergency shelter. I flew out there and was working with the feral cats and cats with feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV). A few days after I had arrived, they brought in the last of the “tornado dogs” from the Moore Animal Shelter and put them in a quarantine area. The other volunteers working with the dogs spent all day cleaning crates and walking the dogs. Since I certainly wasn’t taking the cats for walks and feral cats wanted nothing to do with any of us, I had extra time, so I offered to help care for these quarantined dogs.

Any weird things you do when you’re alone?
Talk to my dog, and all the animals in my backyard – as if they’re humans.

What is your favorite quote and why?
“We must be willing to let go of the life we planned, in order to live the life that’s waiting for us.” Joseph Campbell. How I thought my life would be, is not at all like it’s turned out. And only by surrendering to what I thought I knew, was I able to step into something even more than I had visualized.

Who is your favorite author and why?
Stephen King. I’ve been so drawn into his words, that I’ve been genuinely scared. That, and I can remember so many scenes from his books, years and years later. To have that ability to capture my imagination and my interest, is unique and appreciated.

What, in your opinion, are the most important elements of good writing?
Authenticity, passion for the subject matter and openness to constructive criticism.

Thanks for being here today!

a Rafflecopter giveaway