20 Years Ago, I Wrote A Book. 20 Years Later, I've Published A '2.0 Version' Of It.

Inside Of Me...20 Years Ago.

Twenty damn years ago. To give you some perspective, the movie The Notebook came out in 2004. Usher’s LP Confessions came out in 2004 (“Superstar” definitely should’ve been an official single, and “That’s What It’s Made For” is low-key one of the most sexually irresponsible songs to date, chile). The online review site Yelp (that is pure chaos, by the way — LOL) made its debut in 2004. Bill Clinton’s autobiography My Life came out in 2004 — and it just happened to be the same month (and year) that my first book (which was also an autobiography of sorts) did.

Oh, Inside of Me: Lessons of Lust, Love and Redemption. Some fun facts include the fact that:

*My brother actually chose the name (well, the “Inside of Me” part).

*Although I had no hand in the design (although it did turn out to be pretty stellar, if I do say so myself), a friend of mine by the name of Cole Warren (no relation) took the cover shot (the design team overlooked giving her photo credit, so there ya go, Cole).

*One of the best vocalists of our time (if you’ve been to a live show of hers, you know that I’m not exaggerating), India.Arie penned the foreword because we happened to be each other’s first “official” celebrity interview (I still have a copy of her demo from her debut LP somewhere): me as the journalist and her as the feature. We stayed in touch via email for a few years after that. There are typos in the foreword because she sent it handwritten right when we were about to literally go to press, and there was no time to edit it without it costing thousands of dollars more (real talk).

*I call the first Inside of Me my “sexual autobiography” because, although it wasn’t exactly planned to play out this way, a lot of what was consuming me in my 20s was sex and relationships. Hmph. I guess that’s why when Karrine Steffans’s (who now goes by Elisabeth Ovesen) first book, Confessions of a Video Vixen (which came out in 2005), was released, some folks said that I was the “Christian Superhead” (chile). Yeah, not even close, although I do get the comparison in the sense that both books were pretty candid — in some ways, mine even more so, since I was a Christian (at the time), and yet I was so open about my sex life and the consequences that came from it. Yeah, that was pretty taboo back then.

*Who published the book is a former publishing company that also produces the Christian pop culture magazine Relevant. I used to be a columnist for it. Kyle Chowning, Cara Baker (I think she’s married with a different name now), and yes, even Cameron Strang were really good to me there; thank you.

*People often ask me how to get a publishing deal; I’m not sure what to tell them because all of the deals that I’ve gotten (which are two; my third book, I took a different route…more on that in a sec) were offered to me.

*Every book that I’ve written has taken about six weeks to do it from start to finish (don’t ask me why; it just always plays out that way).

*Although my immediate family came and celebrated at my book signing party that I hosted at an art gallery here in Nashville when my book was released, while I was actually penning it, my mother didn’t speak to me for six months because she wasn’t supportive of the content that I was writing. I had a lot of fear back then, so if you ask me, it was a pretty tame version of everything that I went through. I am pretty fearless now (do with that what you will).

*Also, the “main men” in the book were not blindsided; I made sure that the fathers of my aborted children heard their specific chapters prior to publishing — not because I needed their approval but because I know what being caught totally off guard feels like, and I didn’t want to do that to them. They all said that they were fine with my perspective even if it wasn’t 100 percent their own (understood).

*I had a publicist who did a pretty good job promoting the book. I even had an Oprah (show) invite, although I turned it down because they wanted me to spend a considerable amount of the interview discussing something that wasn’t difficult for me, yet I knew it would be for someone close to me, so I declined. I have no regrets.

*I didn’t plan to pen a sequel at the time of releasing the first book, and certainly not one 20 years later. Not back then. Yet there is something about 20 biblically representing “perfection in waiting” and my also processing who I was as a woman at 29 (when I wrote my first book) and who I, well, now, was as a woman at 49 (when I wrote most of the follow-up) that made it all seem like the right time and occasion.

Inside of Me...Now.

Although it might sound like a shameless plug, if you haven’t read the first book, you might want to before copping the second one: Inside of Me 2.0. My Story. With a 20-Year Lens. I think the second offering will make a lot of sense even if you don’t…I’m just saying if you want some real context, the first is a great reference point.

So, what’s different about this book? I mean, for starters, I am 20 years older.

As far as the book itself goes, I decided to self-publish and also create an imprint to create more books moving forward. Listen, I’ve been published before, twice, and although the bragging rights (and advance) can be (initially) cool, if you want to make some real money, you’d need to be a bestseller. Not to mention the fact that self-publishing comes with so many options now; I mean, the distribution for this book is as vast as my previous other ones (Pure Heart: A Woman's Guide to Sexual Integrity is the second book; I’m not as emotionally attached to it, though). Plus, the book industry isn’t what it used to be, and neither are bookstores, for that matter (SMDH).

Another reason why I decided to self-publish is I wanted complete control from the design to the content, and this route gave me that. The book is green because I like what green represents (health, growth, balance, wisdom, and renewal, for starters). I put my picture on the back because I got the affirmation that my self-esteem needed at the time via my picture being on the front with the first book (I’m good).

I didn’t want anyone to write the foreword or reviews for the cover because, well, it’s my story — I don’t really need anyone to validate my own experience. I also didn’t want an editing team that would constantly ask me, “Are you sure you want to say that like that?” — all of these are traditional routes for books, and traditional, I am not.

The content. Well…not a ton of sex has been had over the past 20 years (which is wild to even hear myself say), and so, a sexual autobiography, again, this is not. Looking back on both books, I get that the first one was about a lot of what I did while my second covers a lot of ground concerning why I did it. As far as the ground that I chose to cover, I’ve been asked what surprised, even me, and I’d have to say that it’s got a heavy narcissism theme to it. I grew up in a religious home, and a child of an entertainment industry leader, and narcissism abounds in both of those realms. I do quite a bit of unpacking regarding all of that.

There is also quite a bit of closure in this book — closure that includes the explanation(s) of why. The tone is pretty unapologetic because, as I said earlier, I still had some fear while writing my first book. Now I love myself more (love casts out fear), and so the fear is virtually nonexistent. That’s why this book is more along the lines of, “I mean, if you didn’t want me to write about it, why did you do it?” along with some “And you still should be grateful that some mercy was factored in” sprinkled throughout.

Yeah, Inside of Me 2.0 consists of a lot of what one chapter addresses in its title — learning the differences between who PTSD Shellie was and who the Real Shellie now is. Just like a lot of the content that is featured on this platform, there is no shortage of spiritual and biblical references to emphasize some points; however, it’s not a Christian book by any stretch because I wouldn’t consider myself to be a Christian — anymore. I like how John 8:31-32 is where Christ said that his followers were his disciples. I also like that his disciples were pretty unconventional and off the chain (re-read about Peter sometime). All of that tracks for me.

Something else? I didn’t expect Inside of Me 2.0 to be longer than Inside of Me — it’s around 30 pages more, though. I guess it’s that way because I explain, in detail, where I stand spiritually, where I am when it comes to my family (chile), and the resolves that I now have as it relates to relationships — romantic, platonic, and otherwise. I don’t talk a lot about sex because there isn’t a lot to say on the personal front (#Elmoshrug). If you come to this site, I’m never short of ideas on the topic, though…so…there’s that.

Press. I keep getting asked about that. I dunno, y’all. I haven’t had any social media for what, 15 years now, and I still don’t want (or miss) it. I am in the process of building a website along a theme that I am passionate about (more on that to come). I am also open to doing some interviews as they come, and I think I might hop on a podcast platform, just so people can hear the tree fall in the forest (if you catch my drift); however, I didn’t write this book for attention or fame.

I wrote it because A) I’m a writer; it’s like breathing; B) Inside of Me needed some documented resolution, and now it has that; C) my dad never had a voice for his pain, and I wanted to be his mouthpiece now that he is no longer here; D) there are certain questions that I get asked fairly often that I felt a book could answer all in one sitting, and E) it was time. Twenty years — perfection in waiting — says so.

Welp. That’s about it, y’all. Oh, one more thing because some people have already asked me this too. What is my arm tat about? Feathers symbolize spiritual evolution, honor, wisdom, power, and femininity. I have five stars that represent my four aborted children and Perez (check the dedication for an explanation about him). Moon and stars symbolize the balance of masculine and feminine energy. The Hebrew letters spell out Perez, which means “breakthrough” in Hebrew.

You know, back in the late 90s, there were some Jamaican women who came to a church that I visited who did an altar call for anyone who wanted clarity. As one of them walked past me, she came back and said, “Books! Books! Lots of books!” I guess I’m just out here confirming what she spoke over me. Following the flow of it all.

If you’re willing to support that, I’d 1000 percent appreciate it.

From the inside (pun intended)…out.

Inside of Me 2.0: My Story. With a 20-Year Lens is now available on platforms including Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Ingram, etc., and will be available on e-book sites including Apple iBookstore, Google Play, Nook, and others by the end of October 2024.

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