Meet the Managing Editor: Sally Shideler!

This is a family business...

Hi! I'm Sarah Shideler, but please, call me Sally! I'm so excited to begin my new role as President, Managing Editor, and Director of Marketing for the publication and media platform that begins life as God of the Desert Books. I haven't had much of a public profile in my career so far, so I'd like to briefly introduce myself to our community of readers and writers. 

I graduated from Yorktown High School in Yorktown, IN, in 2003, and went on to attend Germany's Auersperg-Gymnasium Freudenhain, Canada's University of Guelph, and Germany's Westfälische-Wilhelmsuniversität Münster before graduating from Ball State University in Muncie, IN with a BA in German, Spanish, and European Studies in 2012. (Yes, I took the scenic route!) Since then, I have run my own consulting business and worked in the Consumer Affairs and Marketing departments for Jarden Home Brands, now Newell Brands, before taking a professional hiatus to heal from a significant injury.

Spiritually, I'm a mixed bag. I grew up a birthright Quaker in Indiana, keenly interested in my ancestors' legacies of pursuing freedom of religion, of abolitionism, and of teaching reading, writing, and math to recently-freed former slaves in the Reconstruction South. Though Quakerism has changed a little since those days, I live my life in firm adherence to the Quaker principles of pacifism, simplicity, and the credo that God speaks to, and through, all of us. At the same time, I'm also a medium and reader of auras, specializing in past-life regression, so feel free to drop me a line if that's something that interests you. (Just kidding - I'll already know!)

More personally, this publishing company is a family business for me in more ways than one! First, David Swindle, our CEO and Editor-in-Chief, is my fiancé, and together, we have conceived God of the Desert Books as a manifestation of our deepest shared beliefs and values. We hope to raise children who will grow up awed by the magic of stories being turned into books. We're equally prepared to get reluctant readers or athletic types, but if our children are book people, they'll grow up a lot like their mom did: my parents were both English teachers, professors, editors, and writers, and I have lived in the world of writing all of my life. I've been editing for my mom and dad and their friends and contacts since before I finished high school.

David and I have been friends for nearly fifteen years, when we met working at a Sallie Mae call center in the late 2000s. Our marriage will be the second for both of us, and we really look forward to continuing to bring out each other's greatest strengths, while working together to nurture those of our writers! 

When not focused on the business, you're likely to find me playing with our new puppy, Jasmine, changing the color of my hair, or exploring our new desert home - it's a long way from Indiana, that's for sure! 

So I want to welcome you to God of the Desert Books. Just as the desert opens up with abundant life and resources, we, too, hope to be an oasis for your soul.