Today we’d like to introduce you to Jasmine Owens.
Hi Jasmine, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I grew up outside of Dallas, Texas as an only child, and from a young age, I was always interested in expressing my creativity through writing stories and participating in oral reading competitions. I don’t recall what sparked my initial desire to write a children’s book, but I remember mentioning to a friend in college that I wanted to write one. I guess it was just in me from a young age! I didn’t know what it would be about, but I knew that the right inspiration would help me figure out my niche.
Fast-forward from that conversation in 2009 to 2016, and that is where my inspiration was born – literally. I had my first child, my daughter Jayli, and my husband and I were excited to build her a home library. We received a lot of great books as baby shower gifts and quickly made reading a part of our night-time routine. Before she turned one, I had become very conscious about adding more books with black characters to her library. I also become very reflective about my own career journey and the type of exposure and mentorship that I wish I would’ve received as a child. I didn’t know a lot of black professionals, let alone black women in my community, who could serve as role models and professional resources. I became very passionate about being intentional so that my daughter would have much more information to inspire her throughout life and from an early age. Therefore, I decided to write Girls Can Dream, as an introduction to my daughter and other little girls of careers where women, in particular black women, are often underrepresented.
We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
There have been different aspects to writing my first children’s book that have been smooth and others have been harder to navigate. The initial writing phase was a breeze because my book is an alphabet picture book. It only took a few months total to finish the writing and editing phases. Even though I started the book in 2017, it took a little over three years to get it published because finding the right illustrator was my biggest hurdle. Once I met Morenike Olusanya in 2020 through Instagram, the illustration process was so smooth and she executed my vision exactly as I had imagined. My current hurdle is marketing the book to the masses because it can be very expensive, and my publishing company, Roshon Press, is a new small business. I always tell myself to just take one step at a time instead of making myself feel overwhelmed by everything that I still have to get done.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I am a first-time, self-published author of the children’s book, Girls Can Dream. My publishing company, Roshon Press, emphasizes black, indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) stories to advance early education and literacy among children. I am proud of the recent success of my new book, which has sold more than 350 books since launching on March 2, 2021. More importantly, it makes me so proud to see pictures of little girls enjoying my book with their families. I am also constantly encouraged by my daughter to make sure that as many of her friends have a copy of the book. She’s my biggest, little fan and it’s all making this book journey worthwhile. When I created the book, I was also conscious about researching careers that were not as common and those with limited black representation. For example, you might not see a doctor or lawyer mentioned, but you will see a judge and dentist among other careers. Plus, I wanted the images to be reflective of black women and the diversity among us. So you’ll see black characters with different hairstyles, skin tones, and abilities from A to Z. This is what makes the book so unique and special for young girls to have in their home and school.
What are your plans for the future?
I am planning to have more spin-off projects from the book, like merchandise. I’m also on a mission to get it into as many libraries and elementary schools as possible. In addition, I want to expand into some charity work to spread literacy among communities that need it the most. I’m even considering the next book and turning this project into a series, but it will all focus on early career exposure. I am truly planning for Girls Can Dream to be much #morethanabook!
Pricing:
- $19.99 hardback
- $10.99 paperback
Contact Info:
- Email: info@girlscandream.org
- Website: www.girlscandream.org
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/girlscandreambook
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/girlscandreambook
Image Credits
Roshon Press
