Interview With Anita Rajani, The Author of Shivshakti

Anita Rajani is a Reiki and Crystal Grandmaster, a Tarot reader, a Hypnotherapist, an Inner Child Integration Therapist and a teacher of esoteric subjects and an author. She is into writing for 8 years. She has culminated all her years of learning and experience into writing. She has published her own book Shivshakti The Continuous Continuum.

Ravi: What’s your favorite short story?

Anita: The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho The theme in The Alchemist is to pursue your dreams by following what your heart desires. During the young boy's journey, he learns to listen to the heart and to follow the language of omens. With each passing obstacle and hurdle that the young boy encounters, there is a lesson to learn. It’s a very interesting and easy read. It touched my heart.

Ravi: The Best piece of writing advice?

Anita: I would always say Belief in yourself and never give up on your dreams

Ravi: Where do you write?

Anita: I used to write on a book pad earlier but now I write it on the notes on my phone as it’s easier to transfer it on the laptop and then edit it. I usually write in the wee hours of the morning say 4 AM as I find that time very peaceful and no sounds to disturb you. Writing usually flows freely and uninterrupted at that time.

Ravi: Where do you get your ideas?

Anita: It channeled and intuited by me. This book was very special. I am working on two other books but this book just got downloaded and got completed before the other two books. It was just meant to be.

Ravi: Does writing energize or exhaust you?

Anita: As I have stated that the book is channeled. It used to always leave me completely energized.

Ravi: How long on average does it take you to write a book?

Anita: This particular book Shivshakti The Continuous Continuum took me 4 months in all to write, edit and design

Ravi: If you had to do something differently as a child or teenager to become a better writer as an adult, what would you do?

Anita: I don’t think I would change anything as it’s made me who I am today. I understand how life shaped me as I am today so I can write this beautiful book. I am in complete gratitude.

Ravi: What is your favorite childhood book?

Anita: All the fairy tale books I read especially Snow White and the seven dwarfs. The seven dwarfs are the seven chakras and the Snow-white represents the consciousness- Shakti and the Queen represent the dark forces. Once you are in access to your kundalini you can fight any darkness and merge with the prince who represents the Shiva in the crown chakra. Everything in the universe comes down to the Divine masculine and feminine. It’s a beautiful revelation.

Ravi: What are your favorite literary journals?

Anita: The Anthology of Indian poems as I love reading and writing poetry. I have written more than 300 poetries and plan to publish my own anthology of poems.

Ravi: What one thing would you give up to become a better writer?

Anita: I would want to keep writing as my first priority if possible as I have so much to share. So in short would give up prioritizing other things and focus more on writing so I complete the books on time.

Ravi: What was your hardest scene to write?

Anita: The entire book just flowed so I don’t think I had any writer's block while writing the book.

Ravi: Do you Google yourself?

Anita: yes I do. I like to see my progress from time to time. It makes me feel happy.

Ravi: Do you hide any secrets in your books that only a few people will find?

Anita: No. I have written the book just as it was channeled. There are no hidden meanings in there. But the chapters look small and simple but are profound in their meanings.

Ravi: Do you read your book reviews? How do you deal with bad or good ones?

Anita: I love to read book reviews lucky for me I haven't got any bad reviews but I would take it as a healthy critic and try and bring that change in my style of writing. And if the criticism is coming from a very negative space I would just ignore it.

Ravi: Have you read anything that made you think differently about fiction?

Anita: yes many books have changed my entire life. Books surely do make an impact on us. The book Many lives many masters by Brian Weiss just stumped me and created a turning point in my life.

Ravi: What did you edit out of this book?

Anita: I edited nothing except spelling mistakes.

Ravi: How many hours a day do you write?

Anita: about an hour each day. Nevermore than that.

Ravi: How long were you a part-time writer before you became a full-time one?

Anita: I wrote for 8 years before I could finally write a book I began with morning readings in 2013 which are words of wisdom every morning. They are very popular all over the world. Then I wrote about 300 poems in all. It’s a collection ranging on different topics. I do plan to publish an anthology by next year. After that, I wrote small articles for blogs and club magazines. Slowly as the writing got better I guess it was time to write the book.

Ravi: What kind of research do you do, and how long do you spend researching before beginning a book?

Anita: I don’t research much as most of my work is intuited. In this particular book, I haven't researched anything and I haven't felt the need to either.

Ravi: What’s the best way to market your books?

Anita: I am still figuring that out. I am trying Instagram, Facebook and amazon for now!

Ravi: How many unpublished and half-finished books do you have?

Anita: One book is being edited. It’s a collection of my morning readings. It will be in 2 volumes and a small pocket-size book. It’s called Inner Voice- A collection of transformational messages. 2 books are incomplete yet to be finished. One is a channeled book by Sai Baba called The Awakened Sai within you. Am still in completion of the chapters.

Ravi: How did publishing your first book change your process of writing?

Anita: I understood many mistakes I was making when I was writing. I have improvised on my style of writing and have a wider perception as now I get feedback from readers and can see the mistakes I made.

Ravi: What other authors are you friends with, and how do they help you become a better writer?

Anita: I don’t have any author friends but I have a mentors Suma Varghese whose workshops I have started to take to understand better. I also have Ashwin Sanghi, he guides me. I look up to both of them as my mentors.

Ravi: Do you try more to be original or to deliver to readers what they want?

Anita: I am original I don’t focus on what readers want. As my books are more about wisdom that needs to reach the people that can heal and transform them when they read them.

Ravi: What advice do you have for writers?

Anita: Always trust your inner voice and be confident of what you write. One more important piece of advice Never give up on your dreams come what may.

Ravi: Tell me about your recent book to our Ravi Reads Blog Readers?

Anita: ShivShakti - The Continuous Continuum is a book for all to read. The main theme of the book is about how the Divine principles masculine and feminine exists in all things that exist in the universe. It also explains how these two thrive and expand on a continuous basis to keep on evolving with the different experiences. The main concept of Shivshakti is to experience life through the breathe and evolve and expand its consciousness. It's a Divine at play within each one of us and everything that exists. The conversations between Shiva and Shakti are very enthralling and one can experience a meditative space while reading this book. It's a must-read for all!

To Know more about Anita's ShivShakti check out this link.

Thanks to Anita Rajani for agreeing to this interview! If you know of an author who’d like to be featured in an interview (or you are an author who would like to be featured), feel free to email me at the address on my contact page.