Shawn Warner was hoping to sell a few copies of his book at a local grocery store, but he ended up doing a lot better than that! While manning his table inside a Texas Kroger, the retired veteran caught the attention of TikToker Jerrad Swearenjin. The content creator not only purchased a couple of copies of Shawn’s novel, but he also filmed a short video of the author. After posting it to his TikTok account, @internetfamouslol, the video received over 18 million views!
“I was just shopping when I noticed this man trying to promote his new book,” wrote Jerrad in the caption. “I honestly don’t even read books nowadays. But something told me to get a couple.”
In the video, Jerrad added that Shawn seemed “super defeated” while attempting to promote his mystery novel, “Leigh Howard and the Ghosts of Simmons-Pierce Manor.” Written for a young adult audience, it tells the story of an orphaned girl who communicates with ghosts in order to find out who murdered her parents. Jerrad asked the older man to sign one of the copies, which he planned to give away as a prize in one of his videos.
Insider tells us that, after going viral on TikTok, Shawn’s book became the #1 best seller in teen and young adult detective story ebooks on Amazon. The writer is also working on getting an audiobook version out there.
Shawn has posted several videos of his own sharing how tremendously thankful he is for everyone supporting his novel, especially Jerrad. Just recently, the author celebrated his one-week anniversary since becoming TikTok famous, changing the course of his writing career almost instantly.
“I set out to write books that are fun to read,” wrote Shawn in one of his captions. “What’s happened has been beyond my imagination. I’m so grateful.”
Watch the video that got Shawn’s book the attention it deserves!
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