Author Spotlight April 2021

 

    

Author Spotlight April 2021

Ni'matul-ain Muhammad is an author and artist in Washington DC.

Ni'matul-ain Muhammad 's interest in writing stories started after watching her favorite cartoons as a toddler. She has been drawing ever since. She has never had trouble loving her skin or her race. However, her stories mainly revolve around children of color since doing research and learning how children seeing themselves in characters affects their outlook on life.

Her books are educational in that they teach school subjects, life, and world lessons, and encourage creativity.  The books were also inspired by the author's own experience with working and volunteering to look after children. Her first book 'What Does Kitty Want?' was inspired one day when a hungry cat followed her home from the grocery store. "What Does Kitty Want?' has been featured on Stories with Santa, E Life Presented: Black Wall Street Renaissance, and Dream spire. Ni'matul-ain Muhammad has also donated books to schools and voluntary virtual reading programs through the Briddell foundation. She has also done in person readings at her elementary school, Muhammad University of Islam where she graduated as the valedictorian.

Her new book 'Right Wrong or Both?' Is about two children preparing for an African wedding while learning homophones and other grammar. It was inspired when the author discovered she had ancestry in west Africa. Her next book will be about healthy eating during Covid-19. Some of her later books will teach children monetary skills and encourage them to study technology.

Ni'matul-ain Muhammad went onto attend Mckinley Technology High School, a magnet school, where she majored in Information Technology. Her after school activities included volunteer work teaching art to children and working part time teaching computer programs. After graduation from Mckinley Technology High School, Ni'matul-ain Muhammad was looking to create engaging art. She graduated from Morgan State University with honors and dual degrees in Illustration and Screenwriting and Animation. In college, she took a design class that inspired her to make the art of her first book "What Does Kitty Want?" like a coloring book to match the activities in the back. Her next book "Right, Wrong or Both?" Is her first computer graphic designed book. The art style is simple in that three shades of one color were selected and used to fill in each different item. She has also won the Martin Luther King Breakfast cover design competition and the Get Smart logo design competition at Morgan State with innovative concept ideas. Currently she vends her books on the street and on Amazon. She aspires to publish novels and one day make films and television shows with her stories.

 

Questions for Interview

1) What inspired you to become a writer?

 

I loved writing since I was a toddler. I would write and draw all the time when I was little. One day I was drawing at the store with my mom, and I realized I wanted to write stories.

 

2) Who are your favorite authors?

 

I love the book series by JK Rowling and Tui T. Sutherland. I also read comics like Black Sands by Manuel Godoy and Tuskegee Heirs by Marcus Williams and Greg Burnham. 

 

3) Where do you receive your ideas for your books?

 

I get them mostly from life experiences. My first book was inspired by meeting a real cat on my way home. My second book was inspired when I learned about my ancestry. My next book will be about healthy eating during Covid-19.

 

4) What kind of advice can you give to future writers?

 

Don't give up on a story if you love the idea. Learn as much as you can about writing. There are books and YouTube videos you can look to for tips.

 

5) Are you working on any new projects now? Please talk about them.

 

I am working on my first novel and my third picture book. My novel will be a fantasy novel.

 

6) Share a memorable story from your childhood that changed you forever? 

 

Once I was writing a story and I wanted it to be like the cartoons I saw on TV. I told my brother my ideas and he said they were too predictable. It's a funny story but it did make me want to focus on my more unique ideas.

 

7) What are your future plans for new projects?

 

I hope to make movies and TV shows from my stories.

 

 

 

8) If you can change one thing in your life, what would it be? 

 

I would like to travel more.

 

9) What is the overall goal of your books and projects? 

 

My goal is to teach children life lessons that can help them be ready to have a peaceful adult life.

 

10) Do you have any final thoughts for your community or others? 

 

If you have a dream remember there is always a way. You just have to learn as much and size every opportunity

 

Thank you so much for sharing with us. Good luck on everything you do now and the future.