Shannon (S.K.) Valanzuela is a renowned science fiction screenwriter and fiction author, known for her work in subgenera of technothrillers, dystopian thrillers, and action/adventure. The recipient of Industry Insider Screenwriting Competition (Round 12) award for her sci-fi thriller screenplay Render, Shannon is also the author of The Silesia Trilogy (The Outworlder, The Lords of Askalon, and The Artifex). Presently, she is giving final touches to her dystopian techothriller Final Origin (Book I of the Origin Series). Shannon is also a founder and CEO of Areion Media and a host of the Subject Matter Expert podcast. Apart from pursuing her writing, she works as a script reader and writing coach to help other writers pursue their dreams. Shannon holds a Ph.D. in English Language and Literature from the University of Notre Dame and a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and Classics from The University of Dallas. At present , she is an Affiliate Assistant Professor of English at the University of Dallas and teaches Homer and Dante while writing academic papers on the poetry of Chaucer.