Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Shakir Rashaan. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alright, Shakir thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.

I knew probably in high school that I wanted to pursue a creative path professionally. At the time, I was playing basketball, with the prospect of playing at a major college, and I wanted to leverage my popularity as an athlete into writing full-time once my playing days were over.

And then the cliche happened … “life happens while you’re making plans.”

I injured my knee severely during my freshman year of college, and while I went through rehab to get back on the court, I delved into my creative side, for an escape more than anything. Once the prospect of basketball had been taken away from me, I had to figure out what else I wanted to do with my life while feeding my creative energy. Before long, I’d all but abandoned the concept of writing professionally because … well, life.

Fast forward to almost fifteen years ago, and my wife started digging through my old manuscripts, and after reading a few of them, she literally told me that I needed to do something with my writing. I wasn’t sure if I was ready, and I was definitely scared out of my skull, but sometimes in life, you have to do it scared and figure the rest out once the fear goes away.

We created the publishing company in 2008, and self-published my first book on March 10, 2009. When the first batch of books was delivered, the lightbulb went off in my head. I knew I was where I should have been the entire time. From there, I began pushing my first novel and started answering calls for anthologies and things of that sort. I haven’t looked back since. I have over a dozen books published worldwide, and several anthology credits to my name, not to mention having written for USA Today, collaborating with several shows on the Starz network, and currently I’m jumping into the Young Adult genre, independently publishing my South Hampton series, and I’m looking forward to the debut of my other YA fantasy series, Neverwraith, being published by Entangled Teen/Macmillan Press in January.

With any luck and continued hard work, I expect to be doing this on a full-time basis very soon!

Shakir , before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Hmmm, let’s see.

The way I normally introduce myself to crowds goes something like this:

My name is Shakir Rashaan … I corrupt minds one book at a time. I’m the man, the myth, the legend, and, quite literally, I am the prototype. My books have been known to educate or titillate, depending on your point of view. I’ve been creating lavish worlds and introducing readers to topics, both taboo and otherworldly, for ten-plus years now. I’m a hybrid author who is currently creating The Netherwraith Legend series for Entangled Teen/Macmillan, a YA Paranormal Fantasy series about a teenage descendant of an ancient metahuman bloodline who searches for the truth about the death of his parents and their connection to a centuries-old blood feud over sacred texts contained inside of his native Kindara, an island nation located near the West African Coast … all while navigating high school. You can catch me at home at ShakirRashaan.com, and on social media, including Clubhouse, IG and TikTok.

As to how I got into the literary industry, I did a LOT of research into what I felt was best for me (at the time). Eventually, I went the indie author route because I wanted to retain as much control over the final product as possible, but I always had an eye on being traditionally published. My catalog covers a variety of genres, from erotica and erotic romance to mystery, romantic suspense, paranormal romance, and young adult paranormal and fantasy. I like to expand my literary universe so that whatever a reader’s tastes are, I have something that they might enjoy.

What I’m most proud of is that I’ve been able to cultivate my career in the manner that I’ve seen fit. I’ve been able to stay true to my creative energy, which is something that is extremely important to me. Also, in an industry that is dominated by women, I’m proud to have been able to grow a loyal fan base that is getting bigger every day.

What sets me apart from other writers? I’m an entertainer at heart. I love to play to crowds, much like I did when I was playing basketball. I want to make sure people are able to have fun and be comfortable around me when we’re talking about my books, our shared love of reading, and whatever else may come from the interactions.

In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?

Three words: BUY OUR WORK!

Buy it for a friend. Buy it for a loved one. Ask your library (when it comes to books) to order copies because we understand that not everyone can afford to purchase books for their personal libraries.

Tell as many people as you can (word of mouth is still, hands down, the best advertising) about your favorite artist, your favorite author, or your favorite musician. It’s free, it costs you nothing, and you never know who they might tell, and who might be listening. It could mean the difference between an artist continuing to do what they love (and get paid for it) and an artist having to quit.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?

To be honest, I think non-creatives don’t understand what we go through when we are in that creative space. There are times when I shut out the world for hours at a time because I’m in my zone with my characters, imagining the world that they’re living in, and the types of shenanigans or the drama that they might be going through. To pull us out of that zone can be debilitating at times because it’s so hard to get back into that zone again.

Also, creativity does NOT care what time of the day it is. If it hits you, it hits you, and you need to strike while that energy is high. Even if it’s for thirty minutes and you’ve got everything you needed to get out of that moment, it has to get done. I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve been in a dream sequence while asleep and I’ve gotten out of bed to write it all down before I forget, even though I have to be at work in a couple of hours.

We would love to be able to “clock in” and “clock out” on a static schedule, but that’s not how it works for us. When we’re in, we’re ALL in, and once we’re done, then we can reconnect with the outside world and catch up.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.ShakirRashaan.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shakirrashaan
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorShakirRashaan/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shakir-rashaan/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/shakirrashaan
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@shakirrashaan https://www.clubhouse.com/@shakirrashaan