Jasmin Darznik, the New York Times bestselling author joins us to answer questions on writing your story, developing a portfolio, finding an agent and much more!

Jasmin Darznik’s debut novel Song of a Captive Bird is a fictional account of Iran’s trailblazing woman poet, Forugh Farrokhzad. It was selected as a New York Times Book Review “Editors’ Choice”.

Jasmin is also the author of the New York Times bestseller The Good Daughter: A Memoir of My Mother’s Hidden Life.

In this bonus episode, we continue our conversation with New York Times bestselling author Jasmin Darznik.  She shares insights and her thoughts on her bestselling books The Good Daughter and Song of a Captive Bird.

Jasmin Darznik’s debut novel Song of a Captive Bird is a fictional account of Iran’s trailblazing woman poet, Forugh Farrokhzad. It was selected as a New York Times Book Review “Editors’ Choice” as well as one of 2018’s “Best Books” by Vogue, Ms. and Newsweek.  Jasmin is also the author of the New York Times bestseller The Good Daughter: A Memoir of My Mother’s Hidden Life.

Happy New Year! I love the start of a new year.  It’s a time to restart, reenergize, and redo!  January is one of my favorite time of the year to take inventory of how the previous year went and set new goals for the current year.

One of the first things I like to do is reflect on the previous year and then map out the journey ahead.  I created a worksheet on what my thought process looks like.  If you are interested, please visit funnybrowngirl.com/goals to download this worksheet!

In this episode, I mash up the best stories, insights, and advice from our 2018 interviews!

We hear advice, insights, and stories from Queen Sugar’s Tina Mabry, Internationally Touring Stand-up Comedian Maz Jobrani, Radio Personality and Podcaster Laura Diaz, NBC’s Outsourced and CBC’s Schitt’s Creek Rizwan Manji, Award-winning Vocalist Laurin Talese, and Jordan/Nike brand’s Precious Hannah!

Precious Hannah (from episode 12) is back to talk to us about her creative process and where her inspiration comes from when she is designing a shoe. A footwear designer at Jordan/Nike, the lessons Hannah shares are on point and relatable to any creative on their journey.

Precious Hannah is currently a Footwear Designer for the JORDAN Brand. She started her career at NIKE as an intern and worked her way to footwear design – her passion and her goal. She is also a Pensole alum, a design academy that educates and challenges the next generation of product creators to be successful in the industry through classes and competition.

Many of you reached out after Episode 09 on Work Life Balance with additional questions, mostly about time management. So here you go!

Here are my 5 keys to success for time management.

1. Be passionate

2. Set Goals

3. Be Organized

4. Prioritize

5. Reward yourself!

“I felt I was living on 10% battery life”

Laurin has performed in a host of national and international venues such as The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, and, most recently, in front of a sold-out crowd at Philadelphia’s Kimmel Center. Her first album, entitled GORGEOUS CHAOS (2016), was listed as a top 10 jazz album by the CHICAGO TRIBUNE and debuted on the BILLBOARD jazz charts.

In November 2018, Laurin became the WINNER of the 7th annual Sarah Vaughan International Vocal Competition

It cost Shereen thousands of dollars in medical bills to realize she didn’t have a mysterious disease that kept sending her to the emergency room; it was the stress of her job that was wreaking havoc on her body.  In this episode, Shereen will share with you how she transformed her life and her career by setting boundaries, working smarter (not harder), and believing in herself. This episode will focus on the necessary tools needed to create a better mental and physical state for oneself.