Colin Shanafelt

         Author  •  Traveler  •  Professor of English

Colin Shanafelt is an author, traveler, Air Force veteran, and Professor of English. His published works include What Gods Would Be Theirs? (a novel), One Thing Right (a children's book), and Literary Analysis & Essay Writing Guide. He's second novel, Apotheosis, chronicles the run-up to general artificial intelligence via quantum computing. As a United States Air Force forward air control technician, Shanafelt deployed to Kuwait for Operation Southern Watch (Desert Storm) and to South America for counter-narcotics operations during the War on Drugs. In 2013, Shanafelt circled the globe with his wife and daughter visiting twenty-five countries in fifteen months.


Originally from the small west Texas town of San Angelo, Professor Shanafelt currently resides in Austin, Texas, with his wife Wendy and his daughter Presley. He holds several degrees including an MA in Literature from Texas State University. An educator since 1998, Shanafelt taught physics, radio theory, and digital electronics at Southwest School of Electronics before teaching English at Lake Travis High School and St. Michael's Catholic Academy. He transitioned to the college level in 2008 and became an Adjunct Professor of English at Austin Community College (ACC) where he is still employed. He taught online English and Humanities courses at San Antonio College and St. Phillips. He currently moonlights as an Professor of English at Georgia Military College (Global Campus).


With the release of Apple's first iPad, Shanafelt developed a suite of educational applications including Literary Analysis Guide, Essay Writing Guide, American Literature Guide, and others. His apps were a great success, which allowed him a to travel around the world with his family in 2013-2014. They left from New York heading east and never turned back. In 2013, however, the app market took a dramatic decline as prices deflated and most apps became free. In response, Shanafelt came home from Costa Rica, sold his app business, rejoined his colleagues at ACC, and began planning his next adventure--another circumnavigation but this time heading west aboard a 40' sailboat.




Cafe Du Jour 1994 - Austin, Texas The Shanafelt family property in San Angelo, Texas
 Cinque Terre, Italy Senior Airman Colin Shanafelt (1998)
Building a tiny house in our back yard - Austin, Texas The Colosseum - Rome, Italy
Colombia - Counter Narcotics (1998) First teaching job, Southwest School of Electronics
My Zero Electric Motorcycle Dorky Professor!
Our favorite place - Tamarindo, Costa Rica The Globe Theater - London, England
Our "man cave" garage Tank Graveyard - Kuwait