Born January 24, 1975 in Saint Petersburg, Florida to Katie Mae Smiley, Shalona was the last of twelve children. She was often sick as a child and her illness caused her to be separated from the rest of the kids. After being isolated for more than a year she began to get bored with watching television so she began to write. She wrote anything that came to mind and anything that rhymed. Shalona’s writing was first noticed in the fifth grade when she won a poetry contest for grandparent’ more...
