| On Thursday, August 2nd, 2007 Victor R. Volkman and Irene Watson spoke with Shaila Abdullah, an accomplished web and print designer living in Austin, Texas. She has been in the business of designing for over 14 years and has developed several websites for authors and writers. Being an award-winning author herself, she knows and understands firsthand how a well-constructed website can help advance an author’s career. Shaila shared with us the seven essential things that every author website must have and another seven things which are deadly sins. She also informed us on what questions to ask when contracting out a website and what ancillary activities you can do to drive traffic to your site after its up and running. |  |
| Shaila Abdullah’s creative work focuses on the strengths and weaknesses of Pakistani women and their often unconventional choices in life. Her work also deals with the Asian experience in America, the conflict between the two worlds and the culture of her adopted country. She offers her readers a window into the multicultural world through her vibrant characters.
Abdullah was born in Karachi, Pakistan in 1971. She has a bachelors degree in English literature and a diploma in graphic design. She also has a diploma in freelance writing. In 1993 she started writing fiction stories, articles and personal essays for some South Asian publications. She presently works as a media design associate at an educational nonprofit in downtown Austin.Abdullah has been published in Dallas Child, Web Guru, About Families, Sulekha,Women’s Own, She, Fashion Collection and a magazine of the Daily Dawn newspaper called Tuesday Review, etc. Her debut book, Beyond the Cayenne Wall, is a collection of stories about Pakistani women struggling to find their individualities despite the barriers imposed by society. |
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