When Shana Hollowell came up through Isle of Wight County’s school system, she was more interested in science than writing.

After graduating from Windsor High School, she obtained a bachelor of science degree in biology from Old Dominion University, followed by a master of public health degree from Eastern Virginia Medical School.

By day, Hollowell holds a director-level position at her graduate alma-mater’s ODU campus, and spends many of her off-hours chauffeuring her boys, ages 7 and 9, to sporting events. 

“I squeeze in time to write on the weekends, but it is difficult,” said Hollowell, who despite the growing demands on her time has self-published three children’s books available on amazon.com and the Barnes & Noble in Newport News.

Her husband, Brian, also an Isle of Wight native who grew up in Carrollton, operates eight restaurants across Hampton Roads. The couple now lives in Suffolk. It was an occasion a few months after the birth of their oldest son that inspired the concept for Hollowell’s debut book, “Little Mouse’s Sweet Treat.”

She describes it as the story of a mouse that goes on an adventure in search of something sweet. He meets animals along the way that share their preferred treats with him, but none are quite right.

“When my oldest child was a toddler, he would carry a cat’s toy, a gray mouse, in his hand,” Hollowell said. “I said, ‘Eek, eek … little mouse wants a treat,’ and he replied, ‘eek, eek.’ Whenever I give readings to children in elementary classrooms and libraries, I share that ideas and inspiration can come from anywhere, even an everyday item.”

The 27-page picture book is written in rhyming stanzas intended for ages 6 and under. It came out in 2016 with illustrations by Hollowell’s cousin, Jennifer Finch.

“She is a local artist and she paints custom portraits of people and pets on wood,” Hollowell said. “She has painted murals around the area. She is an extremely talented artist. She captured the emotion of my stories in a beautiful way using vibrant watercolor paint.”

Her decision to self-publish and handle the marketing of her books herself was in part to be able to retain Finch as her illustrator.

“I did not want the animals to appear cartoonish or digital,” Holowell said.

Finch reprised her role as illustrator for Hollowell’s second book, “When the Squirrel Sings,” which came out three years later in 2019, and for her third, “The Schoolyard Raccoon,” published in 2023.

Hollowell describes the former as the story of a squirrel that observes children in outdoor play and sings a backyard symphony of life. Her latest release “is about a mischievous raccoon that searches an elementary schoolyard for something special to bring home,” Hollowell said, “Daisy, a raccoon in our backyard, was the inspiration for the book.”

Hollowell said the technique to writing an effective children’s book is to have the story and illustrations appeal to both the adult buyer and the child as the intended audience.

She has many more stories in the works.

“My computer is full of stories awaiting to be published,” Hollowell said. “For my next release, I am thinking about changing direction and publishing one of my middle grade novels.”

“Reading to a child is one of the greatest  and simplest gifts a parent can give,” Hollowell said.” Reading improves a child’s cognitive development, literary skills, strengthens the parent-child bond, and so much more. I am grateful that my books could potentially play a role in a child’s life to help them develop a skill they will always use.”