Bio

Sharon M. Himsl has a Bachelor of Arts degree in American Studies, with an emphasis on American history/culture and English, but she started out in elementary school education. Marriage and travels with her then Air Force husband (and a few jobs in between) took her away from school for awhile and it was many years later (after her two children grew up) that she returned to finish her degree.

By then her interest in becoming a teacher had evolved into a desire to write and study history. She developed a love of Native American history along the way, something she still enjoys a lot, which has also opened her eyes to other cultures. She and her husband lived in Malaysia in 1995-1996 for one year, where their next door neighbors were Malay, Indian and Chinese, an experience she has never forgotten. It is little wonder that Malaysia is one of the settings she chose for her current novel about a half-Malay teen girl and her brother who seek their family there.

Sharon lives in Eastern Washington in the Columbia Basin where the sage brush grows, the clouds hang low in the sky, and the tumbleweed blows in the wind. Hmm.....that almost sounds like a song.

She does not have any four-legged pets (do coyote count?), although she would vote for a cat any day. She loves their snarky attitude. She has befriended a neighbor's black and white kitty, who visits regularly and sometimes purrs on her lap.

BOOKS:

(Fiction)

The Shells of Mersing (YA) (Mystery, Suspense, Romance, Adventure) (14+) 
Evernight Teen, June 2017

When notorious Uncle Azman disobeys orders, and secretly sends Callie and her younger brother Lucas to meet their mother's sisters in Mersing, Malaysia, 14-year-old Callie hopes their troubles are over. After all they have endured, what more could go wrong? Their American dad is dead, Mom is missing, and their foster dad in Seattle was murdered, with Callie falsely accused. Pawns in a crime operation gone awry, Callie and Lucas barely escaped being targeted by their uncle's sinister boss for sale in Thailand’s human trafficking market. Although Azman's  turnaround was a miracle, Callie knows that real safety lies with family in Mersing, where they can begin searching for Mom, but a shell box, a ruby, and a boy named Sam from Chicago are about to change everything. 

of 5 starsExcellent book!

ByAmazon Customeron August 25, 2017

Format: Kindle Edition|Verified Purchase

Excellent book! Great read for all ages! Adventure and intrigue will await you as you read about 14 year Callie with 

her brother Lucas search for their mother. I hope there is another book!

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5.0 out of 5 starsFive Stars

Byclark adairon October 9, 2017

Format: Kindle Edition|Verified Purchase

This book brought back many fond memories of my time in Mersing.

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5.0 out of 5 starsGreat story! Haven't been able to put it

Byscott c urbanon August 4, 2017

Format: Paperback|Verified Purchase

Great story! Haven't been able to put it down

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4.0 out of 5 starsWill they find their mother? Will they get out of this alive?

ByCatherine Ensleyon July 27, 2017

Format: Kindle Edition|Verified Purchase

Get ready for a bumpy ride as Callie (14) and her brother Lucas (8) find themselves entangled with criminals who 

are guilty of smuggling, drug dealing, and human trafficking. Once the bad guys have gotten their hands on the 
goods that the kids (unbeknownst to them) are transporting, they plan to sell them into slavery or, in Callie’s case,
 prostitution. It’s so unfair, when Callie and Lucas’s only goal was to find their mother, who has been missing for a 
year.
Running for their lives, they stow aboard a sailboat that takes them to Hawaii. There, they are reunited with their
uncle Azman, who has promised to help them find their mother. Though Azman is involved with the criminals (as is
their mother), he manages to send them to relative safety in Malaysia, where they hope to reunite with their
Malaysian family, as well as to find their mother.
Eventually, Callie discovers a ruby hidden in a shell box, which is what the criminals are after. While solving the
mystery of the ruby and, once her mother has been found, doing what she can to be reunited with her, there is time
to catch your breath as Callie has many new experiences, including sweet, first love.

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4.0 out of 5 starsthis book has all the ingredients for an exciting tale well told

BySusan Scotton October 6, 2017

Format: Kindle Edition

This was a right rollicking read, with excitement and tension in just about every page. The author clearly knows the 

countries the children find themselves in, and I loved her descriptions of foreign lands and cities. Two children 
Callie aged 14 and her brother Lucas aged 8 find themselves on an extraordinary adventure looking for their mother 
wrongly imprisoned in jail. From Seattle, crossing seas as stowaways, finding help in unexpected people and places, 
this tale of high adventure, murder and betrayal kept this reader gripped from the first page to the last. I was filled 
with admiration for the young heroine who has her sights and goals clearly set in mind. The dialogue was sparkling
and when she meets Sam who has his own ghosts, I couldn't help but hope that they would find each other again.
Did they? Well, you would have to read the book ... highly recommended.

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5.0 out of 5 starsNot Just A Box Of Shells!

ByReader writer galon October 15, 2017

Format: Paperback

The Shells of Mersing is a mystery, a first love story, and a tale about human trafficking, family loyalty, and courage.

Sharon Marie Himsl has created two incredibly sympathetic characters in Callie, a teenaged girl searching for her 
mother, and Callie's little brother Lucas. Callie is tough, brave, and vulnerable at the same time. And as the plot 
takes the reader on a wild ride from Seattle across the Pacific to Hawaii and finally Mersing, Malaysia, there are 
vicious drug smugglers, a lost ruby, danger--and love. The book is the best kind of page-turner.

The sights, smells, and food of Malaysia are here, as are a number of nicely-fleshed-out minor characters. Set at 
the dawn of the digital age in 1995, this is a book for both young adults and grownups who like suspense, a 
masterfully handled setting, and a terrific story.

(Nonfiction)

Events That Changed the World: 1920-1940, Greenhaven Press, 2003. (age 12 up)
Ratification of Nineteenth Amendment, first assembly of League of Nations (United States was absent), Mussolini's March on Rome, Lindbergh's transatlantic flight, Jazz Singer debut, Gandhi's "Salt March," Hitler's rise, stock market crash, and "Operation Dynamo" (rescue at Dunkirk) are among the events discussed, describing a highly transitional period that begins with the aftermath of World War I and ends with the outbreak of World War II. Based on primary sources.



ARTICLES:

Himsl, Marie. "Jungle Train, A Window on True Malaysia." The International Railway Traveler, September 1996, pp. 6-7. 

PUBLISHED ON BLOG:

"Female Scientists Before Our Time" (26 posts), April 2017 (famous women of antiquity)

"Pioneer Women in Aviaton A-Z" (26 posts), April 2016 ("intrepid" was their middle name)

"Inventions by Women A-Z" (26 posts), April 2015 (some surprising inventions)

"Yummy Fruits A-Z" (26 posts), April 2014 (learn the nutritional value of fruit and more)

"Stereoviews A-Z" (26 posts) April 2013 (a collection from family archives)


OTHER - COMPLETED BUT NOT PUBLISHED:



Indigenous People of North America: The Shoshone 
Publisher - Lucent Books. 

Series was cancelled in 2005, before book could be published. Accepted kill fee for completed book.