Today we’d like to introduce you to Author Shaquina.
Hi Author Shaquina , thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My journey as an author has been one of growth and learning to trust myself. I’ve always been passionate about writing and reading and over the years it’s become more than a creative outlet for me. I knew I wanted to write movies, plays, and books since I was a little girl. I believe I was around eleven years old. I’ve written short stories and plays in the past but I never did anything with them or showed anyone until I was in college and my theatre professor encouraged me to keep writing.
In 2020 I took a leap of faith and self published my first book called Sunflower Chile. I began my publishing journey working with traditional publishers in 2023 where I learned a lot about the industry. I am an independent author now in 2026 and my first release was Surrogate For A Country Millionaire. The decision to become an independent author allowed me to take ownership of my creativity and learn what kind of author I want to become in the future.
Being an independent author so far has taught me patience, resilience, and the importance of believing in your vision but as an author self doubt can easily creep in.
I’m so excited about this next chapter of my career. It’s more about just writing books for me; it’s about growing creatively, reaching new readers and continuing to write the kind of love stories that made me want to pick up my pen in the first place.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
It’s a much smoother journey now. In the past it definitely was not and it was mainly me questioning myself, having self doubt and comparing myself. Comparison really is the thief of joy. Any other struggles I feel like can be avoided. I’ve learned that many of the struggles I experienced could have been avoided by simply trusting myself and my own path.
I came into the industry with tunnel vision and with the intention to stay to myself and grow as an author. Now that I’m doing that and learning to not be so hard on myself, the journey has been more enjoyable. I’m learning to focus on myself and not what’s going on with others, give myself grace, evolve as an author and to celebrate myself more.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I write urban romance novels. My genres are urban fiction romance and contemporary. My books center around romance but it’s also a lot of drama and character development. I also like to touch on mental health as well. That’s very important to me especially in these times.
Although I’m a romance author, I want my books to be more than just love stories. I want readers to become invested in the characters and their journeys.
How do you think about luck?
It’s been some highs and lows but I believe even the setbacks has taught me a lot. I do believe that luck can play a role in anyone’s life but I also believe in hard work and consistency. Looking back, some of the things I once viewed as bad luck were actually lessons that helped me grow as an author.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://authorshaquina.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shaquinawrites?igsh=MTYwd3ltdGlkNnc4Ng%3D%3D&utm_source=qr
- Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/authorshaquina/
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@authorshaquina?si=UNoEVVh7w2SG47Pd
