For eleven years she wrote newspaper columns for the Arizona Republic. In 2002, she met Henry Zguda, an eighty-five-year-old Polish survivor of Auschwitz and Buchenwald during WWII who lived a mile from her Phoenix home, had a great story, and after one interview she impulsively offered to write his story. She subsequently conducted extensive research on World War II, Poland, Auschwitz and the Holocaust, including a visit to Poland and Germany in 2013.

Shawver holds a BA from the University of Arizona in English/Political Science, and has excelled at the School of Trial and Error. In addition to a variety of previous careers in software support, the paralegal profession, tax preparation, and answering phones for a forensic psychiatrist, she has presented at the community college level on Polish history during World War II.

Today, she has been honored in the Polish-American community for her efforts and presentations on Polish history of WWII, and her book garnered First Place for Published Nonfiction in the 2018 Arizona Authors Association Literary Contest.

She is the recipient of the 2018 Polish Heritage Award, presented by the Polish American Congress of Arizona.

HENRY: A Polish Swimmer's True Story of Friendship from Auschwitz to America has earned the following awards to date:
2018 Chanticleer International Book Awards - First Place Category Winner of the Journey Book Awards for Narrative Non-Fiction
2018 Arizona Authors Association Literary Contest – First Place for Published Nonfiction
2018 IBPA Benjamin Franklin Award – Silver for Biography
2017 The Wishing Shelf Book Awards (UK) – Gold for Adult Non-Fiction
2018 Reader Views Literary Awards – Winner in Four categories:
First Place Biography, First Place Regional, Best Nonfiction Book of the Year, Best Regional Book of the Year
2018 Feathered Quill Book Award – Second Place for Historical
2017 Advice Books (Italy) – Voted Best of 2017

She lives in Phoenix Arizona.