[00:00:00] Donna Watson: You watch your grandkids. I think you mentioned it. You said how many people may have seen your Children do things and you think, Oh, my goodness, this would be a funny book

[00:00:09] Dori Durbin: When adults are around kids, there almost always is a moment when they say or do something so adorable that we casually say, oh, that would be a hilarious book.

[00:00:20] Dori Durbin: IF you have personally thought something a kid said or even did would be hilarious as a book, then this episode you should probably watch and get some motivation. Today's guest is a program management specialist whose grandson, Imari, inspired her to go beyond just recalling his cuteness to actually creating a book around it.

[00:00:41] Dori Durbin: Welcome to the show, Donna 

[00:00:42] Donna Watson: Watson. Thank you for having 

[00:00:44] Dori Durbin: me. Oh, thank you for being here. I always feel bad for our listeners because they don't get to hear our pre talk before the interview, but I love the fact that you have such a huge heart for your grandson and that you have such a diverse [00:01:00] background.

[00:01:00] Dori Durbin: So one of the things that listeners won't know is that you actually have a couple degrees that are business related. You're a program management specialist, but you have a business administration and a marketing degree. So can you tell us just a little bit about your background and how you've already been helping kids 

[00:01:19] Donna Watson: and students?

[00:01:21] Donna Watson: Yes I have an associate's degree in business administration and I also have a marketing degree from University of Maryland Global Campus, which is where I currently work assisting students.

[00:01:36] Dori Durbin: And how do you work with them? Exactly what do you do?

[00:01:39] Donna Watson: So I, I help students to get matriculated into their desired programs, like help to chart the path in which they want to take. Removing any barriers that's preventing them from reaching those goals. 

[00:01:55] Dori Durbin: THat's no 

[00:01:55] Donna Watson: small task. No, I've been there. Actually, I've started [00:02:00] first at Prince George's community college.

[00:02:03] Donna Watson: I got my business degree from Prince George's community college. And I started there as the assistant to the vice president just assisting students. Motivating them to, to continue on to get their degree, even when they feel defeated,

[00:02:19] Donna Watson: And from Prince George's, then I went over to University of Maryland, which I've been there for about five years. But I don't know, I just always had a passion for kids, even when my youngest, he's 25 now, but even when he was in school, I always found myself if I had to go up there for any reason, I wasn't chastising him. I was chastising other people kids, because I feel it.

[00:02:44] Donna Watson: It takes a village. And so kids always was a passion of mine. I always wanted to make sure that they were on the right path. And so if any way I can help assist a child to be on that path, then that's what [00:03:00] I would like to do. 

[00:03:01] Dori Durbin: THat takes a real special talent to take, especially college students who maybe aren't motivated and really find what their why is and help them reconnect.

[00:03:11] Donna Watson: Yes. 

[00:03:12] Dori Durbin: Thank you. Yeah. Yeah. And . So it was really interesting to me to read your bio and see that and then turn around and have you write a children's book for your grandson. So can you tell us a little bit about, like, why it was that Imari was so inspirational that he actually, his person, his being actually drove you to create.

[00:03:35] Dori Durbin: As children's 

[00:03:36] Donna Watson: book. At that time, Imari was my only grandchild. I have since had another one two months ago. But he was my first grandchild. You know what they say with your first grandchild, he just was my passion, my motivation my, my joy. I call him my sunshine, like S O N S H I N because he brings [00:04:00] me sunshine even on my rainy days.

[00:04:03] Donna Watson: On my rainy days, he gives me so much joy in my life. And so I would say at the young age of maybe one month, he was doing a lot of cooling and babbling and, we'll just have him on the bed and we'll be talking with him and he just be really acting like he's having a conversation and the most adorable conversations I would say, even to this day, he has with my husband, his pop.

[00:04:28] Donna Watson: And I always say, God, if only we knew. What a child is really saying. So I'm always with my camera phone, just recording everything. So I started out by creating his own Instagram page which is called conversations with the Mari, because I wanted to capture everything. And then my phone stall it.

[00:04:51] Donna Watson: Being too full, so I figured if I downloaded over to his own Instagram page, I can have it forever, but from the [00:05:00] Instagram page, naming it conversations with the Mari, I thought I could put it in a book and that's how the book 

[00:05:08] Dori Durbin: was born. Such a really cool idea.

[00:05:11] Dori Durbin: And to be able to memorialize his being, so young and the cuteness that you're envisioning. I love that you're transcribed that into a book too. 

[00:05:21] Donna Watson: So my book , is me. Interpreting what I believe he is saying in this very light humor, funny type of way, if only really we could understand what a child is saying, they're saying something. I said what did it be a nice idea? If I interpreted what I believe he is 

[00:05:44] Dori Durbin: saying. 

[00:05:45] Dori Durbin: So is it a day in his life kind of story? 

[00:05:48] Donna Watson: Huh. Like a day in his life from the time he came into this world to I captured some moments of his Couple of months, even when we [00:06:00] celebrated him when he turned six months, his first time going on an airplane, his first concert, his first time visiting his uncle who lives in Atlanta, Georgia to when he turned one.

[00:06:14] Donna Watson: It's all of that is in the book. And then at the very end of the book to give readers something to look forward to, maybe a next book, it's, come watch to see, what I do next, something like that at the end. Yeah. 

[00:06:31] Dori Durbin: Aw, that's so cute. And I am of course, our listeners can't see your book, but the cover.

[00:06:38] Dori Durbin: Has a picture of him. You thought about six months old, like an actual 

[00:06:41] Donna Watson: photo. Yes, it's the actual photo. So inside the book, of course, it's illustrations. And just about all the illustrations are actual pictures that I've taken of Imari and his parents. And and I had my illustrator to illustrate the picture.

[00:06:57] Donna Watson: Some of them, of course, I just thought. [00:07:00] Out, and I said, draw a picture of the parents being exhausted and they feed in the bottle in his nose. I don't have an actual picture of that, but that's what I described to my illustrator to illustrate a picture like that. But the picture on the book was looking like a sunflower.

[00:07:20] Donna Watson: It's just he just was always into everything. So it was my son had. That he took and put his face through and I captured that picture. Like I said, I was capturing everything about his 1st year. It's your 1st grandchild. Yes I was capturing everything taking pictures and videos of everything.

[00:07:42] Donna Watson: And so then since I'm saying that babies babble a lot on the front of the book is like thought bubbles. And each bubble is like, a word, mama, Google, oops, you know. More greens, not again, wipe me. 

[00:07:58] Dori Durbin: I thought that was really clever, seeing [00:08:00] those, all those talking bubbles around, wOuld you mind reading us a little bit of your book? 

[00:08:05] Donna Watson: I'm not at all. I think the best place to start is the 1st chapter, which is the grand interest when he was born, which was August 17, 2021. so he'll be too soon next month. And so it says on August 17th, 2021. I was minding my own business. I was enjoying life in my own warm and cozy swimming.

[00:08:30] Donna Watson: Cool floating with not a care in the world. Sipping off fruit smoothies and eating whatever mommy had eaten that day. And out of nowhere, I felt this big push like a tornado. I wondered what was going on. Who was trying to infiltrate my living quarters? Someone was trying to evict me from my home. I put up a big fight.

[00:08:53] Donna Watson: I wasn't going out like that. I loved my home. It was my safe place. My baby cave. [00:09:00] I was holding on to whatever I could find. I braced my feet alongside the wall, but my head was being sucked out with every push. I tried crawling back in, but I heard this familiar voice saying to my mommy, breathe. And on three, let's push.

[00:09:19] Donna Watson: Wait a minute, is that you, daddy? I turned to look at him. He was so happy to see me. I said, you and mommy are the ones responsible for all this ruckus going on. You both could have at least given me advance notice. I said, put me back in. I'm not ready to come out yet. But once I heard my mommy crying, I knew I had to come out and save her.

[00:09:44] Donna Watson: I was ready to stop whoever was hurting my mommy. So when my daddy got to three, I jumped out and said, who is messing with my mommy? There were so many people in the room, but no one wanted to own up to it because they do. I will [00:10:00] put these paws on them. So instead I went to mommy. I lay on her chest to comfort her.

[00:10:06] Donna Watson: She looked at me. I looked at her. We looked at each other. And at that very moment, I knew I would love her forever. Aww. 

[00:10:19] Dori Durbin: I love that he's got a little bit of an attitude. Is he like that in real life? Yeah. 

[00:10:23] Donna Watson: He's got kind 

[00:10:27] Dori Durbin: of a put up your dukes kind of personality.

[00:10:32] Dori Durbin: Now, if he's two, I'm assuming he's heard this story at least a few times. 

[00:10:37] Donna Watson: Yes, I actually, when the book first arrived, I sat here and read it to him. 

[00:10:43] Dori Durbin: And does he recognize, at two, you recognize your name. Is he associating himself to it already? 

[00:10:50] Donna Watson: Not necessarily. He just said he likes the pictures, so that's with any book.

[00:10:55] Donna Watson: Yeah, he liked, loved seeing illustrations and. [00:11:00] Nice, vibrant colors and pictures. But he know that he's on the front of this cover. He knows that's his picture. 

[00:11:07] Dori Durbin: THe older he gets, the more he's going to be interested. How many people really know their story of being born and especially from the perspective of them being a little bit older and telling that story, right?

[00:11:19] Dori Durbin: Okay, I have to ask. This wasn't on my list, but as far as his parents go, how did they feel about having a book written about their son? 

[00:11:27] Donna Watson: Oh, they was excited. They knew I was writing it. I never let them see. What I was actually writing, they just knew that I was writing a book about Imari.

[00:11:39] Donna Watson: So they was actually excited. They also are on the back of the book. The parents and a picture of Imari sitting together because the book is dedicated to them.

[00:11:48] Donna Watson: Is 

[00:11:51] Dori Durbin: the new grandson or grandchild Imari's sibling then? 

[00:11:54] Donna Watson: Yes. Yes. His name is Kai. What is it again? I'm sorry. Okay. [00:12:00] I K H a I 

[00:12:02] Dori Durbin: Chi. I like that.

[00:12:04] Dori Durbin: So there's probably gonna be a second book about the two of them 

[00:12:09] Donna Watson: at some point. I've actually started the second prior to Chi being born again. You watch your grandkids. I think you mentioned it. You said how many people may have seen your Children do things and you think, Oh, my goodness, this would be a funny book who actually have Decided to move forward with it.

[00:12:28] Donna Watson: That's me because my grandson Imari is always. Losing the left sock. Oh, that's funny. Okay, so it will continue to be Conversations with Imari. So like this one is Conversations with Imari. What is Imari really saying? The second book will be Conversations with Imari. Where is my left sock? 

[00:12:53] Dori Durbin: I love that.

[00:12:54] Dori Durbin: This is so good. So then you can keep the series going, conversations with Imari,[00:13:00] meet Kai. 

[00:13:01] Donna Watson: Yes. 

[00:13:02] Dori Durbin: Yeah. Yeah. I think that's a really important point too. And if you're going into it to sell multiple books, there's a, there's a different process that you go about and a different kind of line of thinking.

[00:13:14] Dori Durbin: And when you're trying to produce something that is like sentimental and will reach just a very specific group of people, then you get it out there. You make sure that friends and family know about it and it gets sent out. It starts to spread by word of mouth.

[00:13:29] Donna Watson: And so far, I think I've may have sold maybe a hundred books and I would love to sell more, but honestly, when I was writing the book, it was more about the joy, the dedication to the parents, the joy that a Mari brought me that I wouldn't be disappointed.

[00:13:54] Donna Watson: If I didn't read back the amount that I put out, I would love [00:14:00] to. So I would love to, but I wouldn't be disappointed. 

[00:14:04] Dori Durbin: Honestly, Donna, it's still a pretty new book. It's that, yeah, for a hundred copies, that's really actually not too bad. One of the things that I think authors go to next, is, getting into the schools and talking to daycares and kindergartens and groups like that.

[00:14:19] Dori Durbin: So is that something that you've thought about doing 

[00:14:21] Donna Watson: next? yeS I'm definitely open to ideas of how to, get my books out there. I want to see about getting that children's hospital maybe and reading not only my book, but other books to kids. Again, children are my passion. Imani's father at the age of 8 had open heart surgery.

[00:14:45] Donna Watson: I always, after experiencing what he had to go through, just always wanted to give back. And we have done a lot of things for children's hospital. St. Jude made, a lot of donations. And I just know [00:15:00] when parents up there, how scary it can be, for both parents and Children and just having somebody up there with you to read to you to love up on you.

[00:15:09] Donna Watson: I know covid maybe Messing that up a little bit, but I'm definitely going to reach out to children's just to see if I could get on their volunteer list to read to them and definitely, read to them as an author. Now read my own book. 

[00:15:21] Dori Durbin: I think most authors find as they read their own books it's really rewarding to see the kids respond to your book and to have the parents connect with maybe the character, maybe the situation, maybe the parents in the story.

[00:15:35] Dori Durbin: But to see that connection is really very powerful. Which is right along what you already are. You're already an encourager, so that fits your book perfectly. 

[00:15:44] Donna Watson: Yes. Thank 

[00:15:46] Dori Durbin: you. Oh, you're welcome. Five years from now, ideally, what would be your plan as an author 

[00:15:51] Donna Watson: for you? 5 years from now, I would like to maybe be on conversations with the to have [00:16:00] maybe produce 5 because I've already written the 2nd, 1 to have 5 books under there.

[00:16:05] Donna Watson: I would even love for it to can turn into, a cartoon or something conversations with the Mari, but also I have prior to writing a children's book. I have another book that I started and it's been sitting on the shelf for a very long time because and that book is. To encourage people again it's to encourage people.

[00:16:33] Donna Watson: The name is when the next step to take is unknown. When you come across times that. You don't know which step to take, which way to turn, things have gotten, you have fallen, but you got back up. You're not sure what step to take. And I guess I've been this 1 been sitting on a shelf for a very long time because I have came to those crossroads where.

[00:16:59] Donna Watson: I didn't know [00:17:00] what step to take or what role to, so I maybe discourage myself because I'm like, how are you getting ready to try to encourage someone to take the next step when you yourself don't know what step to take? And then speaking with, a good friend of mine who I did a podcast with her that's the story.

[00:17:22] Donna Watson: It's I'm looking for an ending to the story. Not every story has an ending. It's another book is book two. Hopefully in five years, that book would have been written as well. 

[00:17:33] Dori Durbin: thIs sounds like a commitment to me. Is that the commitment right there? Yes, 

[00:17:38] Donna Watson: I 

[00:17:39] Dori Durbin: think, I think, as you're easing into being an author to, I think it will give you more confidence to put some things out .

[00:17:47] Dori Durbin: It's more personal than writing a kid's book , because it's directly related to you specifically and not Imari. But I think there would be a lot of power in having both and being able to reach out to the [00:18:00] adults and the kids 

[00:18:00] Donna Watson: as well. Yeah, the kids book was easy, when you, and I went for the adult book, I'm passionate about that too, but the kids book was.

[00:18:10] Donna Watson: Was easy to do. Yeah, it was just watching him and journaling and just being excited about his life. The things that he do, it's just. It was just a joy to watch, a joy to write down, and it's something that now he can have for, forever, 

[00:18:27] Dori Durbin: Yeah. Is there anything that you hope that parents get out of your book when they spend time reading this book with their kids? 

[00:18:35] Donna Watson: Just I guess humor. That was the point behind the book, so just to have fun with their own interpretations, basically, of what a child is saying, 

[00:18:48] Donna Watson: so honestly, I think it's for all age groups because it's an adult interpretation about a child. 

[00:18:56] Dori Durbin: Yeah. And I love the fact that he has some feistiness. The parents will love [00:19:00] that too. Donna, where's the best place for people to find you in your book? 

[00:19:06] Donna Watson: So they could find the book conversations with the Mari. What is the Mari really saying Amazon Barnes and nobles. They can find me on Instagram at to be prosperous. To be prosperous as well as a message to inspire. So I just created another Instagram and message to inspire you. Cause that's my website.

[00:19:28] Donna Watson: My website is being created. That would be around about my book and on that website, I will do blogs, encouraging messages each week. And so we'll also be a place where I will be, presenting, my next book. So a message, the number two, a M E S a G E number two, inspire.

[00:19:54] Donna Watson: That's on Instagram and also to be prosperous. On Instagram as [00:20:00] well. 

[00:20:01] Dori Durbin: I'm excited because I know that you've got this second book just almost wrapped up in your head and if you're pumping out five more books, that means that we have a lot to look forward to in the future from you.

[00:20:11] Donna Watson: Yes, definitely. 

[00:20:14] Dori Durbin: Thank you so much for your time today, 

[00:20:16] Donna Watson: Donna. I appreciate it. Thank you so very much. .