Featured Interview With Shay Dawkins
Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I was raised in the heartland of Alabama and currently reside in Tuscaloosa where I own a bar I founded at the age of 22 yet I spend a lot of time in Birmingham helping my grandfather run the rental community he owns; my grandad is like my second dad as my parents were young with not much money when I was born (my mom was 19) so until the age of 6, I spent most of my weeks with my grandad along with my other grandparents who I also love dearly and am so thankful for! I have one dog named, Ezra, who is a handful and full of life; Ezra is more like my little brother as I don’t believe in having “pets” that you simply feed/provide for and don’t spend time with.
At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I wrote my first book in the 1st grade that had something to do with aliens; I wrote it and my friend Sky illustrated (because you don’t want to see my freehand “illustrating skills” unless you need a good laugh)! I really didn’t write creatively again until the age of 22 when I published my first book (which is decent with some good information, but nothing special) as it was written from a young, irritated guy who was angry with religion (Christianity) and how judgmental “Christians” would be of other “Christians” and not to mention “non-churchgoers.” With that being said, I did find my love for writing and the concept for iSin was born 6 years ago towards the end of the media campaign with my first book when I had a huge epiphany or “aha” moment of realizing that Jesus’s message (2 commandments) was quite different than Christianity’s message whereas I, previously, had falsely perceived Jesus and Christianity as one in the same– which they are absolutely not!
Since that realization 6 years ago, I have learned and grown SO much from owning/founding 3 businesses, experiencing much “failure” both personally and financially for 4 of those years, and finally “figuring it out/having success” both financially and personally for over the last 2 years. All of this experience has enabled my writing material to progress from slightly-above-average to some really special material (to say it lightly as I don’t like “singing my own praises”). I will let the reviews on my Amazon page and the iSin website (www.iReadiSin.com) I have received (in only 3 weeks since officially releasing the book) speak for the high quality material of iSin!
Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I, honestly, don’t read too much as I am more of a visual learner. I do read articles and such, and I am always actively striving to become better via gaining more knowledge and wisdom.
I am a big fan of Tony Robbins, and I envision a career similar to his as the long-term goal/vision for myself.
Tell us a little about your latest book?
The material for iSin has been gathered over the last 6 years; so, literally thousands of hours have been put into it. My writing didn’t progress to the high quality level where I felt I was “ready” to fully commit to being a full-time author and hand the reigns of my business off to my manager until August 2016; it has been a whirlwind since then with organizing all of the material I had gathered for 6 years and using my first-hand experiences to explain the material into the iSin format which blends our modern-day smartphones with the “deep, old-school material.” I literally have put in 1000+ hours into the organization of iSin, and this great effort has created a unique, interactive reading experience that any reader will find fun, stimulating, and practical to his or her life (right now)! The book discusses sin as sinful (bad) emotions that challenge all of us (as individuals) because we all have emotions and are challenged by the “sinful emotions” discussed in iSin. I truly believe iSin will benefit anyone who reads it which is why I offer a money-back-guarantee so that potential readers can read iSin risk-free! Btw, iSin (Clean Version) is .99 on all retail outlets from Feb 15-Feb 22 during my official “LAUNCH WEEK” and the Explicit Version will be released with a similar “LAUNCH WEEK” in early March so visit the website to stay updated!
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