The author of the classics Anansi and the Moss-Covered Rock, Hershel and the Hanukkah Goblins, and over 150 children's books, Eric Kimmel, sits down with me for a chat. Eric and I have been friends for over a decade, supporting, admiring, arguing, exchanging ideas, and inspiring one another as all artists do. 

I'm honored to call him my friend and you guys are in for a treat. We talk about how he was happy he didn't have to become a doctor! We talk about how changes in the world have affected the children's book industry. We talk about Dr. Suess, the criticism he faces these days. We talk about storytelling as the heart of literature. We talk about how we rush to make our children literate and by doing so we inadvertently have hampered their enthusiasm for literature.

We talk about the iconic concert he missed when he was writing his first children's book. And how he started to write his first children's book from Chapter 8! (Don't try this at home)

Eric brought up a new question to my podcast, one pertained to the Own Voices discussion: should a writer be limited to their own experiences, gender, and ethnicity?  Another topic he wanted to address and we talked about is the demise of the story picture book, picture books for older readers, and graphic novels.

I hope you give a listen and enjoy. Here is Eric's website. He has many books coming out this year. https://www.ericakimmel.com/

One of my favorite creative souls in the world, Ms. Elisa Keleven is here on my podcast! 

We talk about art, social justice, crazy publishing trends, family, loss, and the love and salvation of making art. 

From refugees to wars, to the current COVID 19 crisis in India (today is May 12- 2021) we talk, we lament, we try to make sense of the world.

She tells us about how her anthropomorphizing objects fed her imagination as a child and we explore the merits of anthropomorphizing, and how we naturally make connections that way.

We agree how picture books are the most challenging works of art, and they're not just for children, and how our constant connection to all the joy and pain in the world, courtesy of the new digital age, can be brutal on artists. 

Elisa is the celebrated and award-winning author and illustrator of over twenty-five books. Please visit her website and enjoy her distinct art and voice, in case you already are not familiar with her gorgeous creations. 

I call Elisa the Chagall of picture book art. Because I adore Chagall and Elisa.

https://www.elisakleven.com/

Hope you enjoy our talk. Please subscribe to my podcast and please keep on creating. Creative people make a better world. 

Thank you Elisa for your time, your insight, and the love you spread through your books.

So many of you lovelies have asked me in the past decade, "How can I become an author?"

Have a listen and let me know your questions and feedback so I may have a follow-up podcast and we can learn together.

Please send your questions to me via my website and my Instagram account.

Happy Writing!

So many of you lovelies have asked me in the past decade -

I'm a fiction writer, and some or all of the above might be made-up for fun, but maybe they are based on actual events of my life.

Aside from laughter, many of you want to have an introduction and an idea about how to start. I hope this episode sheds a light on your new path toward writing and publishing your work in the method which suits you best.

I'm hoping to create more episodes based on your questions, comments, and feedback.

Thank you for listening to my podcast. Please find out more about me on my website and send your questions via my website www.minajavaherbin.net or www.minajavaherbin.com 

or my two Instagram accounts @javaherbinwriter      or  @minajavaherbintalkinghere

I don't check anything else! 

Your questions and comments will help me create another podcast as I will address them all at once.

Happy writing everyone.

Margo Porras is the author of, Growing Up in La Colonia: Boomer Memories from Oxnard's Barrio

Please have a listen, you'll be happy you did. And do read her book. You'll love it as I did.

In this podcast, we have suspense, as she couldn't find her book. 

Drama! As we made each other cry. 

Comedy! As we made one another laugh.  

And believe me when I tell you there is also a needed and future award-winning documentary in here too. 

We also talk about creativity and how, in order to nourish it, we need to make space and time for it in our daily lives. 

Margo also cohosts a very entertaining podcast called Books Vs Movie Podcast here's a link 

https://bookvsmovie.libsyn.com/

Hope you enjoy my podcast. Please keep in touch and find us on social media too. Thank you.

www.minajavaherbin.com

Years after I wrote and submitted My Grandma and Me to my publisher, I met Lindsey. Sometimes it takes a while for a publisher to find just the right person for the very important illustration section of any picturebook. 

I couldn't be more thrilled to meet her through this process. We are definitely a good match. 

In this episode, we talk about life, creativity, and offer a glimpse into the way we worked on My Grandma and Me.

You can see Lindsey's art and read more about her on her website -

http://www.lindseyyankey.com/

Thank you for listening. Please follow me on my Instagram pages, javaherbinwriter, and Mina Javaherbin Talking Here, where I'll leave notifications about my upcoming podcasts and you can share your thoughts and questions with me. 

Thank you.

MIna Javaherbin 

Martin Dorey is my guest. I talk to him from the shores of California to the shores of Cornwall, England. Please forgive the little wobbles here and there since my voice hits the satellite, then he'll reply and his voice will hit the satellite before getting back to me. Well, you know the drill. It's a big deal, isn't it? And guess what? Humans thought of this and created it! I'm positive we can also fight plastic and clean up our earth, together.

In this completely unscripted episode, I talk to Martin about one of his books, Kids Fight Plastic. We talk about using less, reusing more, and how his book can help us all to use less plastic. 

It's important to get to know plastic and understand its low recyclability.

Here we also talk a bit about politics, because one can not avoid politics when one talks about trash!  

I'm so grateful for Martin's time. and I hope you take this opportunity to hear him out. 

I'm new to podcasting and I promise to learn to talk less and control my excitement. Thanks for your patience and support. 

Please learn more about Martin and what he's doing to help our planet by reading his books and visiting the sites below. 

https://www.2minute.org/

http://martindorey.com/