By Tammy Reese
Author, Illustrator, and Entrepreneur Dr. Amina Yaqoob started her career creating children’s storybooks on educational, fiction, affirmation, and fantasy topics. Now, as the Founder of Morality Tales, she continues to develop children’s story books and customized books. Dr. Amina will soon release the book series, “Minah, the Supergirl” and launch the first book of this series entitled “Finding My Superpowers” in late 2022.
In our current climate, where education is key in kids’ lives, we are overjoyed to highlight such an inspirational woman as Dr. Amina Yaqoob, who has dedicated her life to empowering the youth throughout her writing and creative career.
Heart of Hollywood Magazine readers, please enjoy our interview!
Tell me about who you are and what inspired you to become an author.
I have a Ph.D. in Plant Biotechnology and defended my dissertation in 2021. I’ve served as a Research Associate at the Centre of Excellence in Molecular Biology (CEMB) at the University of Punjab for the past few years. I am a founder of Morality Tales, a private company developing children’s story books and customized books. I am a story writer and Illustrator. I love traveling, canvas painting, sketching, cooking, digital drawings, and gardening.
I started freelancing to create children’s storybooks on educational, fiction, affirmation, and fantasy topics. I got the opportunity of working with some renowned children’s storybook authors like Dr. Pamela Gurley, Author Caryn Lee, Danicia C. Tate, and several other children’s literacy associations. I must say, those collaborations actually boosted my confidence and polished my skills immensely, so I started to think about creating my own storybooks for children.
On a typical day, how much time do you spend writing?
It depends. Writing children’s story books and then illustrating them is something I love to do. I take it passionately rather than just professionally. I need to estimate the time I spend writing and illustrating. Sometimes, if I don’t feel creative, I don’t do any work the whole day, and some days I do nothing except write and illustrate.
Join The Club
Can you share what you are working on right now?
Yeah, sure, I am working on an interesting book series, “Minah, the Supergirl,” and launching the first book of this series entitled “Finding My Superpowers” in November.
What were the key challenges you faced when writing this book?
The big challenge was the character design of Minah. I envisioned creating a mixed-race little girl with a spark in her eyes, who is curious to find out the answers to her queries and is kind-hearted. It took me 2–3 months to gather ideas and explore different character ideas. I want to acknowledge Rania and Mona, my friends, who assisted me in creating the character of Minah.
What is the most challenging part about writing for you?
Idea development is the most difficult part, and the second most challenging part is to build the courage to initiate the story writing following that idea. Once you start writing, the word selection, how the story flows, editing, proofreading, and the illustrations are not that big deal. All these steps get completed one by one easily, but the most challenging is to “get started.”
Are you working on anything at present you would like to share with your readers?
I am working on several things, like introducing the “Morality Tales” at different forums, planning local book reading events, and creating customized books for my clients. I want to tell my readers that I offer my services of creating customized storybooks for children of different nationalities and cultures. I would love to collaborate if anyone wants me to assist them in developing their storybooks.
How can people connect with you, find your books, etc.?
People can connect with me at the official website Moralitytales.com and on social media and email addresses there.
Instagram: moralitytalesbyamina
Twitter handle: @MoralityTales
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100087593566661
Those interested in illustration services can contact me via Fiverr: https://www.fiverr.com/users/aminayaqoob429/seller_dashboard.
Get featured! - Heart Of Hollywood Magazine
Subscribe
Contact us
TAMMY REESE
Tammy Reese began her career as a theater actress performing in 60 live stage shows a year with The Media Unit TV and Stage Production Company. She also directed the weekly live TV show Rough Times Live.
Eventually, she went to Empire State College to obtain her degree in media studies. After graduation, she did more theater and wrote and produced her own videos to spread awareness on social issues through the arts.
Tammy is an award-winning journalist and is best known for her legendary interviews with Sigourney Weaver, Meagan Good, Laurence Fishburne, Mona Scott- Young, B. Scott, Jackie Long, Omar Epps, Joseph Sikora, Tonya Pinkins, Carmen Electra, Giancarlo Esposito, Leon, Patina Miller, Nelly, RL, Neyo, Bobby V, Geena Davis, Michael James Shaw, Syleena Johnson, Courtney Kemp, Keith Robinson, Janet Hubert, Tom Arnold, Donell Jones, Slim and Mike of 112, Michole Briana White, Matt Cedeño, Raven Goodwin, Amber Riley, Serayah, Ginuwine and many more.
Heart Of Hollywood Magazine Contributor
For more information on Tammy and to meet our other Heart Of Hollywood Contributors click on the link below: