Rolling Out: You have a degree in business management from Columbia College Chicago, how did you go from business management to writing?
Bowman: Well, actually when you write full-time you have to manage your writing. So, I was able to still use every aspect that I learned in business to manage my business–Shoya’s Writings–that I now have. I manage how I write, my time management, how I promote my business, and how I promote myself. I also produce “Love’s Got a Hold On Me” the stage play, so all of my management skills that I developed at Columbia have led me to be successful in what I’m doing now.
Rolling Out: When did you decide to transition into writing?
Bowman: I didn’t transition into writing until I decided to start my business in 2005. That’s when Shoya’s Writing came about. I still use my degree, but I don’t use it in the typical, 9-to-5 corporate job, but I do use it in my everyday life.
Rolling Out: How did you go from unemployed to a popular playwright?
Bowman: When people read my first book called “Goodbye…Don’t Always Mean Gone,” they said, “This should be a stage play or miniseries.” They enjoyed it that much. Something sparked in me one day; I didn’t know how I was going to do it. So, I was blessed with having the assistance of finding out from a friend who led me down the path of meeting Christine Houston who wrote “227.”
She came on and took me in under her wings as a mentor and playwright instructor. She taught me everything that I needed to know from transitioning the characters in my book to completing a manuscript of the play “Love’s Got a Hold on Me.”
Basically it was a team of people, I didn’t do it alone, and the word started traveling fast and when people actually saw the play, they enjoyed it!
You can check out Shoya’s website at: http://www.shoyaswritings.com/
