In Crafting Love, author Maggie Oman Shannon, whom the San Francisco Chronicle dubbed "The Minister of Creativity," explores new forms of creative spiritual practice and the benefits they provide. The format of Shannon's book it itself creative: a rich “mixed media approach” that weaves together interviews, historical facts, projects for readers to do themselves, quotations, and suggested resources. Crafting Love serves as an inspirational resource guide to a broad assortment of spiritual practices gathered from the global arts-and-crafts communities, as well as from people who don’t consider themselves artists but who have adopted creatively expressive forms of spiritual practice.

Maggie Oman Shannon is an ordained Unity minister, spiritual director, workshop and retreat facilitator, and author of six books: Prayers for Healing (Conari Press, 1997); The Way We Pray: Prayer Practices from Around the World (Conari Press, 2001); A String and a Prayer: How to Make and Use Prayer Beads (coauthor; Red Wheel/Weiser, 2002); One God, Shared Hope (Red Wheel/Weiser, 2003); Prayers for Hope and Comfort (Conari Press, 2008); and her latest, Crafting Calm: Projects and Practices for Creativity and Contemplation (Viva Editions, 2013). Crafting Calm was named one of the “50 Best Spiritual Books of 2013" by Spirituality and Practice; and Spirituality & Health named it as one of the “Top Five Favorites to Quiet the Mind.”

In 2000, Rev. Maggie founded The New Story, a coaching and consulting business focused on helping people create deeper meaning in their lives. The former editor of three national magazines, including The Saturday Evening Post, Rev. Maggie also served as the director of marketing for the Institute of Noetic Sciences. Her writing has appeared in publications including Utne Reader and Beliefnet.com, and her work has been featured in publications ranging from the San Francisco Chronicle to Spirituality & Health. She has taught workshops at venues including California Pacific Medical Center’s Institute for Health and Healing and Chautauqua Institution in Chautauqua, New York. Rev. Maggie is the senior minister of Unity Spiritual Center of San Francisco and the host of a weekly radio show, Creative Spirit: Connecting Art and Soul on Unity.fm. She lives in San Francisco with her husband and pre-teen daughter.