Hello, I'm
Shelah A Johnson
Welcome to my website! If you like flawed women and men a little sloppy, you’ll love this saga’s cinematic details and unapologetic true-life characters, voices that deserve to have a lasting place in the human lexicon.
About Me
I’ve come to believe that our parents’ dysfunction is one of our greatest inheritances. This belief is deeply intertwined with my journey as a writer.
I began writing The Boloney Trail while in college, encouraged by my English professor to pursue it full-time. Instead, I took a different path. After college, I became an ad copywriter for national agencies, working with Blue-chip tech companies. It was rewarding—I won nine awards from the Society of Technical Communication and led a national committee on translation standards in D.C. But during a meeting, I realized I had taken a wrong turn.
A global layoff gave me the push to change course. I downsized my life, moved into a mid-century Airstream on a Northwest island, and started a small production company. I produced over forty short segments on small-space living and a ten-episode documentary Where Small Business Grows, now on Amazon. My first two books in The Boloney Trail Trilogy were selected for Cambridge University’s Alumni Reading Challenges list – I’m working on the third now.
Accepting inherent flaws as part of our inheritance, sometimes our only inheritance, allowed me to see the beauty in imperfection. It freed me from the need to polish the voices of my true-life characters, and instead, I learned to revel in their raw beauty. I hope you will too, as you journey along The Boloney Trail.
The Boloney Trail
LITERARY FICTION | CRIME | ADVENTURE | HISTORICAL
Why This Story Matters
Meet the Books
Perpetual Gloom
During the Great Depression, the Hornbeck family faces ruin. JC, a fervent religious zealot, turns to bank robbery in Missouri’s Bootheel, leading to accusations of communist ties in Alabama. Desperate to escape his father’s hypocrisy, JC’s son, Monroe, steals the family horse and heads to California. Along the way, Monroe undergoes transformative experiences that shape his destiny. Amid dust and dreams, the Hornbecks grapple with a turbulent era, and Monroe’s quest for self-discovery becomes a journey of resilience and redemption.
Imaginary Gravity
Monroe hopes his new wife, Dora, will help him gain respect. With her strong faith and determination to climb the social ladder. However, Monroe, from Oklahoma, faces prejudice that hinders his chances of securing a high-paying job in California. Accepting a business offer, he relocates his family to Mexico, unknowingly entangling them in a dangerous world of drugs, guns, and government intrigue. The strain on their relationship drives Dora to illegally cross the border, abandoning their three children on the streets of Mexico, while Monroe becomes enmeshed in the emerging Sinaloa Cartel.
Shattering Light
- IN DEVELOPMENT
- Read FREE chapter
Monroe dives into the Vazquez family’s expanding business, only to find himself overwhelmed as the younger members lead it down dangerous and deadly paths. Meanwhile, Dora tends to her wounds and mingles in Lake Tahoe’s casinos, rubbing shoulders with the Rat Pack and notorious mobsters. Amid this chaos, nine-year-old Shelda steps up, ingeniously finding ways to provide for herself and her younger siblings. However, she soon realizes that their fight for survival is just the beginning of their challenges.
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