Akasha Reeder

The pseudonym I write under, Akasha, is actually an acronym that means: Always Kill Adversity w/ Strength, Hope and Ambition. Basically, as long as you’re able to stay strong, you can kill/eliminate any and all adversity.

I’ve been writing since I was a kid but it wasn’t until three years ago, at age 30, that I scripted my first novel. Since then I’ve been on a writing binge. I’m an urban fiction author who tries to focus on the emotional side of a story.

I’m really from the streets. My story isn’t the basic broken home mislead youth story. As a kid my mother and father weren’t active in my growth and development. My neighborhood (literally) clothed, fed and raised me. So I unfortunately seen a lot at a very young age, experienced a lot, felt a lot.

In every book I try to express the feelings behind the story. Everybody has a reason, a background, some story that has set the precedent for who and what they became. That’s what I try to tell.

A lot of my stories are based on things that I’ve lived or felt. I’m from the gangs, the drugs and the violence. I know that struggle well. At age 12 my mother decided to put her man over her boy and I was put out in the cold. My mother put me out and my ‘hood put me on.

So in my young pre-adolescent mind my neighborhood was everything. So I did everything I felt necessary in order to preserve the integrity of my turf. Long story short, at 16 I was put into a life-threatening predicament behind some things that were out of my control. And a guy who I once considered a comrade ended up getting murdered.

With me being a man of many morals I chose to remain mute. And at 18 I was locked up and sentenced to life in prison. It was during this chaotic period that I first met Jordan Belcher. We were two young solid brothers unconscious of this new type of madness, trying to figure it all out and stay alive at the same time.

The penal system, these institutions, are in constant motion. Jordan and myself were eventually separated. But fortunately a mutual friend reconnected the dots once I decided to pick up my pencil as a profession. He (Jordan) already had his thing going and I had already completed multiple book series so it all just really fell in order.

Now I put all that street energy into these graphic, realistic and emotionally-intense books. I live my mob life vicariously through these mob books now. I’m single-mindedly focused on my freedom and keeping my readers intrigued with “dope” books.

Hopefully I can simultaneously achieve both objectives. Stay on the lookout for more Akasha books, stories, and more in the future.

Respectfully,

Akasha