A veteran's debut novel becomes bestseller thanks to a stranger's viral TikTok

Shawn Warner didn't even have a TikTok account when he found out that his debut novel had gone viral on the app.

His 21-year-old daughter was the one who broke the news to Warner and his wife Lizette.

"We didn't know until our daughter texted us, 'Dad's gone viral,'" Warner, 58, tells TODAY.com, following his TODAY appearance on July 13. "We said, 'Oh, cool, what does that mean?'"

The former Army paratrooper-turned-author had dreamed of becoming a writer since early childhood, but Warner's first novel hadn’t generated much fanfare when it came out in November 2022.

On July 2, a single video thrust Warner and fellow Texan Jerrad "Red" Swearengin into the national spotlight.

Swearengin was buying ice cream at a local Kroger in Fort Worth, Texas when he spotted Warner sitting among stacks of books at a table in the grocery store. Warner, who lives in Arlington, Texas, was at the Kroger to promote and sign his first book, YA murder mystery novel "Leigh Howard and the Ghosts of Simmons-Pierce Manor," published by Black Rose Writing.

"Red saw me sitting alone and came over and said hello," Warner told Hoda Kotb and Savannah Guthrie on TODAY. "It brightened up my day, and then it brightened up my life."

Swearengin was moved to talk to Warner after seeing that the author, who had been sitting at the Kroger since 9 a.m. that morning, looked weary.

He posted a video of his interaction with Warner on his TikTok account.

"This new author seemed super defeated when I first walked past him. So before I left the store I decided to go back," Swearengin wrote in text overlaid over the video.

In the video, Warner explains the premise of his novel to Swearengin: "A teenage girl teams up with a ghost with multiple personalities to solve the mystery of her parents' murder."

Commenters noted how Warner's "face completely changed" after Swearengin stopped to chat with him.

“I was just grateful at that point to have somebody to talk to,” Warner tells TODAY.com. “There was nobody at that thing. People come in and they’re looking for milk and eggs. They’re not looking for a book.”

Swearengin explains why he decided to make the video before leaving the store.

"I have a bunch of medical issues, and so I feel like it makes me more empathetic for others," Swearengin says. "And so honestly, it could have been Shawn, it could have been anybody. I just saw that he wasn't smiling, and I wanted to help out. I bought one book thinking it would put a smile on his face. I wasn't expecting anything like this."

He also encouraged viewers to check out Warner’s novel.

The video went viral, garnering nearly 19 million views and over 3 million likes, and catapulting Warner's book to the top of bestseller lists.

Warner and Swearengin have experienced a whirlwind of media attention since then.

"I just feel so blessed to be here," Swearengin says. "A week ago, I couldn't imagine anything like this. So I'm just taking it in."

Warner agrees. "So much has happened, and it's only been a week."

The viral TikTok sparked an outpouring of support for Warner and Swearengin.

Swearengin had only started his TikTok account (@internetfamouslol) at the end of March 2023, mainly posting about his construction and home improvement projects. Thanks to this viral video, Swearengin says his follower count has increased from around 350 to over 30,000 in the space of a week.

Warner's book sales have been similarly exponential. Before Swearengin's video, Warner had only sold around 150 copies of his novel. Since going viral, book sales for "Leigh Howard and the Ghosts of Simmons-Pierce Manor" have skyrocketed.

On July 4, Warner announced on Twitter that "Leigh Howard and the Ghosts of Simmons-Pierce Manor" is the #1 Bestseller on Amazon Books.

"His publisher texted him like, What did you do? What marketing did you do?', because I guess he started seeing the numbers come back," Lisette Warner says.

TikTok has been a boon for other writers struggling to build an audience. Vermont author Lloyd Devereaux Richards hadn't gotten much traction with his debut thriller "Stone Maidens" until his daughter posted about the book on TikTok in February.

In what TODAY host Jenna Bush Hager called "a social media miracle," the TikTok post garnered nearly 57 million views, propelling "Stone Maidens" to the top of the list of thrillers on Amazon.

Through their brush with viral fame, both Swearengin and Warner grew their reach — one as a TikToker, and one as a writer.

Swearengin had been struggling to find his passion after the pandemic, and was close to quitting TikTok before his chance meeting with Warner. Now, he hopes to use his newfound platform to highlight other authors and artists. "I just want to continue to bring people together," he says.

Similarly, before meeting Swearengin, Warner struggled to bring attention to his book.

"The hardest thing for a writer to do is to get noticed," Warner says. "Writing the book, of course, is difficult. But once it's written and you have this product, just to get people to know that it exists in the world is so very hard. I'm in a couple of writers groups and we all say the same thing. How do we get word out that this book even exists?"

At first, Warner worried that people were only reading his novel out of sympathy. As the five-star reviews came pouring in, he realized that his book, and his story, had sparked something in readers.

"People are basically good, decent people. I think they just love a heartwarming story," he says.

Warner encourages new or struggling authors to keep trying. Before going viral, Warner had promoted “Leigh Howard and the Ghosts of Simmons-Pierce Manor” at several other local Krogers and bookstores.

"You just have to persevere, you just have to keep pushing and pushing and pushing and put yourself out there," he says. “It’s just perseverance — and a thick skin. Because you’re going to get rejected. A lot of people just walk right by you. But it just takes one to notice you."

Though Swearengin and Warner are still reeling from the past week, they expressed gratitude for each other.

“I’m happy for your success. Like, this is amazing. Look at where we are,” Swearengin says to Warner.

“You share in it, it’s your success too,” Warner tells Swearengin. “All these bookstores and everything else — they’re part of your victory too. I’m just a mirror of your kindness, to be honest.”

Warner refers to the experience as "a domino effect of kindness," and hopes to encourage others to continue the momentum.

Swearengin agrees.

"One person messaged, how does it feel to be recognized for love and kindness? And I'm like, man, that is the best recognition. Like, I didn't even think about that," he says.

"I'm just taking it in, Swearengin continues. "A week ago I never even thought this was possible. I just saw a guy in a grocery store. That's all it was."

This article was originally published on TODAY.com