No one thought that Sharon Smith, a 34 year old African American lesbian who was brought up by a country-talking clan of Big Mamas, aunts, and uncles from the deep country town of Madison, Georgia would end up so far away from the family’s traditional view of home. For them, home was a place where southern eating and having a good time was fun, but it was not something that would keep Sharon’s attention in the long run. Sharon viewed her family’s idea of tradition as overrated and antiquated. Her family believed that in order to be successful, you must work hard at a company for most of your adult life and then find comfort and solace in the eventual social security payback. Not only did she not agree with this work ethic, she challenged it every chance she got.

Sharon was the first in her family to graduate from college and to pursue a graduate degree. She earned her B.A. in English from Georgia State University in 2002 and an M.A. in Organizational Management in 2005 from the University of Phoenix. Sharon was also the only one, at least the only one the family knew about, to be openly gay. Growing up, Sharon was a huge tomboy. She was interested in contact sports like football and dodge ball. In junior high school, she joined her high school basketball team and played point guard and forward. She also played intramural football in college at Mercer University.

It was during the high school and college years that Sharon developed an interest in writing. She primarily wrote poems about everything from damsels in distress to cereals. In 2007, Sharon published her first book called Love and Liberation. The book focused on her personal experiences as a child and the situations she experienced in her intimate relationships with other women such as marriage. A year later, Sharon started her own publishing company called Seven Stages Publishing House, LLC, a company devoted to meeting the publishing needs of women in the lesbian and bisexual community. Her company includes talented authors like Fina, author of You Think You Know and J. Shelton, author of The Warmth of a Woman, which will be released in early Spring 2009. Sharon is currently working on her second book, which is scheduled for release in late March 2009 and is about an uncommon relationship between two unique friends.

Outside of writing and promoting new talent, Sharon is also a certified personal fitness trainer and she also works full-time with adults with developmental disabilities like autism by helping them make informed decisions and advocating for themselves. She is also an active member of The 100s, an Atlanta-based organization of professional lesbians comprised of The 100 Distinguished Studs of Atlanta and The 100 Extraordinary Femmes of Atlanta.

Sharon is also the newest staff member of LezNation. As part of The Writer’s Block, Sharon will interview talented authors, offer advice, and answer questions about some of the unique aspects of publishing, the writing process, copyrighting, and more. Her articles will focus on such things as how to get published, some of the pitfalls that writers face when it comes to editing their manuscripts, marketing and promotion, and the keys to writing material that people will actually want to read. If you have any questions or comments, please send an email to Sharon at ssmith@leznation.info. All emails will be read and replies given as soon as possible.