Valerie -Welcome to Bookworthy. Today we're talking with Dominique Okonkwo about her rhyming picture book, No Greater Love, which is going to be released in December. This book is a perfect tool to plant seeds of faith and guide children to understand just how much God loves them. I can't wait to share this sweet book and this author with you. Welcome to Bookworthy, Dominique.
Dominique- Thanks for having me.
Valerie, it is a pleasure. Since we are just a few weeks away from Thanksgiving, what is your favorite type of pie?
Dominique- Oh, that is easy. So, a big tradition in our family is pecan pie, pecan, or pecan pie, depending on your pronunciation. And I think one of the reasons why I love it so much is it's not easy to get outside of the Thanksgiving holiday, right? And so around this time of the month, it's easy to just walk into any grocery store and they're freshly baked and they're ready to go. Otherwise, you have to request them or buy them frozen, which is not the same.
Valerie- True.
Dominique -So that is my pie of choice. Not the same at all. Okay, we'll see. I'm, what is it? I'm in the South, so we call them pecan pies. So, I won't hold it against you, but do you prefer your pecan pie to be really loose or really rigid? I know there's a difference. Ooh, I like it to be, I like the crust to be, you know, more rigid. The inside is better when it's all gooey. And then lately, or the last time I purchased it, there was like chocolate drizzle on top, which was a new and exciting twist. And so, I'm not picky, it's hard to mess that up, but I do like it when the...Oh, gooey. So,
Thee crust is all put together and flaky and rigid.
Valerie- What is it? Pecan pies are really, what is it? We had, what is it? A Jack Daniel's pecan pie once. That was really good. I was just like, okay, I would have not normally put those two things together, but it was impressive. Well, Dominique, why don't you tell us a little bit about yourself and your family?
Dominique- So myself, I have been writing for a few years now. I live in Miami, Florida with my three kids and dog, Amy. My son, who was the muse for my first book, is almost, he's 16 now the middle one is 13 and my youngest is seven. And so, you know, we live in Miami, we enjoy the weather, and they inspire me to write these books. Because it's something that they'll say or something that we've done together, which would prompt a story in my head. And so, I owe a lot of my writing to my kids because they, you know, their imaginations and all their stories are wild. So that does help me in my creativity.
Valerie- It is really neat to watch our kids just explore our world and just remind us of that childlike faith that, you know, Jesus reminds us about in the New Testament, just that to believe and to understand and the wonder of it all. I think kids are great at that. Well, tell us a little bit about your latest book. No Greater Love.
Dominique- No Greater Love. I don't have the book, but I do have these bookmarks that I've been handing out. And so that's the cover there. And it's a young girl lovingly looking up at the sky and trying to contemplate all of life's mysteries and questions. And so it's a rhyming book that.
Is based on Ephesians 3, 18, 19, that talks about having the understanding of how wide, how long, how deep is the love of God and having that knowledge will give you the fullness of God. And, you know, it's I remember reading the scripture and thinking it's such a it could be hard for even an adult to grasp. But how do you explain that to a child? You know, like God loves you so wide and so deep and so how well, how wide, how deep and how tall, you know? And so I started just writing this poem about the different ways that God loves us, especially his children. And then that just became a book. And so I'm so proud of this little story because I think that, especially with the images, anyone, especially a child, would be able to grasp how much God loves them. It's one of those concepts that are so challenging to understand and for children, things can be very literal. They have a harder time with abstract concepts.
Valerie -Understanding God's love is a very abstract concept that, you know, even as adults, we have to remind ourselves of, you know, just how much God loves us. And I love that you're bringing that to children in such an easy way, walking through this girl's day and looking at the world around her and how that speaks to how much God loves you. Um, kind of what was, was it your kids that kind of inspired this book or just the reading through that book?
Dominique- It was reading through that verse in Ephesians and also a question that my seven-year-old had for me at the time. And she, because I think we were praying for a bed and I said something like, God is always watching over us. And she was kind of like, is he watching us right now? And I was like, uh, yeah, he's watching us. And she's like, and then when I sleep, will he still be watching me? And I'm like, uh, yeah, he can see everything, you know? But the way she said it was almost like kind of, you know, in a fearful kind of way. It's not, it's not bad. So, there's a passage in the book that talks about when she asks her mom before bedtime,
does he hear what I say? Does he hear my prayers? Does he like what I say? You know, those kinds of questions because they're real questions. Like to understand that, you know, that you're building a relationship with someone that you can't see, but they can see you, they're with you all the time. And so it just reinforces these things that children are still just trying to wrap their mind around, but in a way where they can understand the benefit and feel loved by it and not necessarily any kind of fear or confusion, you know. And so I think between her questions and then just, coming across that passage again, that's where all the stories just started to kind of unfold.
Valerie- It is one of those when you first think about the idea that God is always watching us, it does kind of give you that like, you mean everything I think, everything I say, everything I do is like, yeah. And you know what? He still loves you. He knows all the things and he still wants a relationship with us. And I think that that is the challenge and the joy of exploring that concept of how much God loves us. And so I love that you've done that for kiddos. When did your writing journey begin?
Dominique- So in 2011, I wrote a bedtime story based on the struggle that I had with my son at the time, because he would be afraid sometimes to go to sleep. And he was about three during that period. And so that night I wrote the story, and it was just a rough draft, but for me, writing, tends to help get things out of my head to put them on paper. So that's how that kind of started. And then I started to think about, well, you know, this would be a great children's book. Because again, I would buy faith-based books for my kids, but they weren't always so practical. We had a ton of stories of Jonah and the Well and Noah's Ark, and those stories are valid and they're great. But then if my son is afraid to go to sleep at night,
Howw do I reinforce the fact that he has nothing to fear? God hasn't given him a spirit of fear and timidity, those types of concepts. So I wrote that story. I added a prayer and devotion on the back. And then, you know, from then I just kind of didn't know what to do with it after that. So I actually emailed it to a friend, checked it out and just kind of went, went, fell apart. I never pursued anything. And then 10 years later, when there was just more information about how I could get this book out there, I brushed it off and pursued publishing it. And so that's book one in a series of three other, four other books around Super Obie. So that's kind of how I got started.
Valerie- Very neat. I've gotten to look through some of the adventures of Super Obi and that's sweet how you've taken just those concepts of fear and, you know, speaking up, you know, like show and tell and just, you know, those things that happen to our kids every day and putting a biblical context to it and reminding them of biblical truths. Cause as you said, you know, Noah and Joseph and Moses, they're all amazing stories that do reveal, you know, not to fear and be strong and courageous, but it is again, just hard to put biblical context into, or was it, this is the 21st century, right? Which one is it? But no, it is hard for children to kind of grasp those concepts and put those biblical ideas into their situations and I love how your books, The Adventures in Super Oby as well as this one, No Greater Love, are doing that for young kiddos. Did you always want to be an author, Dominique?
Dominique- I did, I always wanted to be an author and I would write poems. I would do growing up like spoken word or oratorical contests, whether you'd go from elementary school and recite poetry or you'd write your own like a short essay or monologue. And then that, you know, matriculated into like doing drama and doing like little plays. And I remember wanting to be a writer and wanting to be a journalist and, you know, and growing up in my household, those were not quote-unquote, real jobs. You know, it was like doctor or lawyer, pick one, you know. So I would just do it for fun. You know, I was on the yearbook staff, and I have a binder.
of poems that I've written since elementary school through high school and college that I've just kept over the years. When I go back and read some of this stuff, it makes me laugh, especially the younger things. It's like, what was I thinking? You know, and so to see now as an adult me actually. It's something that I've told myself, which is to always pursue the things that God has put in my heart to do. Even if I don't know how to do it or if it's hard, it is a reason why I have this want and this yearning to do this thing. And so being able to do it now after the fact is a blessing. I'm so grateful that I can do this because I could have easily just said, you know what, I'm not gonna even try, leave it alone. So It's fine. Yeah, but I've always written stuff.
Valerie- It's really neat. It's one of those hard things in our culture that we put almost more weight on certain career choices and career paths. We tend to neglect the creative side, because not see it as something we can pursue. And I love that our culture is kind of in a little shift of, you know, celebrating creativity. I think, what was it, the pandemic kind of helped us all kind of evaluate ourselves a little bit and be like, you know what, we are more than our nine to five job and the other we can explore these ideas. And, you know, it's, it's so fun to see, you know, how God wired you as a child and how you are, you know, moving into that and pursuing that so faithfully. Now, What is your favorite book?
Dominique- My favorite book, one of my favorite books is, I Know Why Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou. I remember reading this in school years and years ago. I'm not gonna give you the year, but. And I didn't understand it then. I remember liking it, but I couldn't really.
appreciate it for what it was. And then fast forward, I read it a couple of years ago, and reread it as an adult. And it's just the book, it took on a whole other meaning. And I think probably one of the reasons why it's one of my favorites is because it's the autobiography of Maya Angelou. And so when you understand how she grew up and what she's had to overcome in her lifetime and where she ended up and the impact that she's made to the literary world, it's phenomenal. It's encouraging. Her story is very, very inspiring. So that is definitely one of my favorites.
Valerie -Yeah, that is an amazing book. And it's interesting how, um, books that are required reading in high school to go back and read them as adults and to be like, hold on, I missed all of this. Or why did I read this as a 15-year-old? So I was like, what was it? All quiet on the Western front or something. I'm like, okay, why did we read this as teenagers? Cause it's a little strange, but It's neat to see how these, you know, both autobiographical stories like Maya Angelou's and then, you know, these classical novels that they do impact us different stages in our life, but they have such this ring of truth and encouragement that we can overcome hearts or circumstances that we can rise above our circumstances. And you know, it's one of those, you know, that's what I love about books is you can return to the same one, you know, and still learn something about yourself or even the author themselves also. Very cool. Now, what is your favorite children's book other than your own?
Dominique -Um, one of my favorite, uh, kids' books is if you could give a mouse a cookie. And, um, that was one that I would, I would want read to me over and over again. And it was one that when I started having my kids, I made sure I purchased for myself. And, um, it's funny because certain books that you enjoy as a kid when you get to read them to your kids or others.
Kids to relive, you know, their amusement and their joy in the story is so much fun because it's like, I remember the first time reading it, If you give a Mouse Cookie to my seven-year-old, and she was just cracking up. Like she was hysterical and I'm cracking up, and I know how it ends, right? But, and I think even as a book itself, the way it's so well written, you know, and nowadays you find a lot of children's books don't have as many words, because back then it would take you 10 minutes to get through. Now it's
like, you know, because of the tension span is of the not only the
Child of a parent, I know parents don't even want to sit and read a 10-minute book. But back then those books had so much more meat like Little Engine That Could, that's a long book or Make Way for Ducklings. Yeah, those books, they I mean, you'd have to put a bookmark and pick it up tomorrow type of thing, you know, and they don't make children's books like that anymore.
Valerie -Nope. Yeah. The Velveteen Rabbit was like one of my favorite children's books, but then I go to read it to my youngest and I'm like, this is long. This is a 20-minute reading session instead of a five-minute reading session. But it's so good. But yeah, it is one of those. It's, it's interesting to see how children's books have changed, and that you know, it is harder to sit down for some of those books that we grew up with. Now you've also done a, I think a devotional, right? You did like one called Remain in the Vine. Can you tell us a little bit about that?
Dominique -Yeah, I'm so proud of that. It's a woman's prayer devotional on the fruit of the spirit and it's 10 weeks. So it's nine weeks. It takes you through each fruit, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, self -control. And then I did like a fruit salad on the 10th week. So I took the seven days and I kind of mixed it up with as much as possible. And that started as a personal Bible study during COVID because there was just a lot happening and it was an area.
That I wanted to improve in as far as just, you know, having the spirit in everything, regardless of what was going on around me. And so I remember going through and journaling and writing based on the scriptures that I had found to support, you know, the study. And I was sharing it with the women in my family group. We have small groups for our church and they were like, oh my God, this is awesome. You should publish it. And I was like, you know what? I should publish it. I should publish it. And so that person likes picture books, especially, you know when you're self-publishing, you're responsible for finding the illustrator and doing all the work, editing and all that. When you're working with a traditional publisher, like for No Greater Love and working with Pericles, so they help a ton with that portion of things. But then when you do a journal, it's so much easier because you don't have to have illustrations done by a professional. I mean, for that book, I pretty much did everything except the cover, the cover work I paid someone to design. Initially, I did design my cover and it didn't come out the way that I liked. So at some point, I said, okay, I gotta get somebody to help me with this. But it's funny because that book has sold to a lot of churches and women's day events. And there's someone who reached out to me online about a book club that they had on the devotional. And when I see the impact of God's words, because the essential idea was I took the fruit of spirit and I found scriptures that supported that. And then I expanded on it with just some thoughts and I left room for journal prompts and there's room on the page to journal your prayer. And then I added stuff like prayer tracking, answered prayers, and then I added prayers of the Bible in the back. I even put coloring pages in the back of the journal. Because when I do my quiet times, I sit with a notepad, my Bible, coloring pages you know, reference material, so I said, it would be nice if I could get everything in one book. Especially if I'm doing it on the go, then I don't have to carry around like five different. And so, you know, it's, it's again, my mission is to try to do my best to do everything God puts on my heart to do because I truly believe there's a reason that I, you know, I have this, this vision or whatever this want to do this thing. And so I'm just glad that I was able to, and I'd like to do some more, you know, as time goes on and come up with something that I think will be beneficial for maybe, maybe for the kids this time, not so much just for women. Yeah. No, it's one of those, there's always that need for, uh, not just teaching ourselves about God's word, but teaching kids on how to connect with God's word. And, you know, it's one of those, I think was a couple of years ago, I decided to start doing daily devotions with my kids. Kind of each one has their devotional at night and it's, yeah, there's some nights that we just can't do it. And they're like, but mom, we have to do this. And it's sweet to just.
Valerie -build in those habits and have, you know, return me to the truth because sometimes their devotions are about all I can handle, depending on the day. So it's always sweet to have, you know, things that bring us back to God's word and remind us of like you said, how to pray, how to live out the fruits of the spirit and those types of things. Now, Dominique, what can we expect next from you?
Dominique -So I wrote somewhat of a companion book to No Greater Love, which is currently being reviewed. And so it's a similar book about a rhyming story, this time a little boy. And instead of just talking about the love of God, it incorporates God and science. And so boys tend to have as a mother, as a daughter, as in a son they tend to have different sorts of questions, you know, and their interests are sometimes a little different. And so, you know, why is the sky blue? And, you know, why is the ocean stops where it stops? And, you know, and so it answers some of those questions from a biblical perspective. Then I added actual scientific facts that are sprinkled throughout the story that support the notion of God and science being able to work together. And so, Again, you know, as an author, I just love to write stories that are faith-based and practical. I think that faith-based stories can be fun and they can also.
Teach and entertain. And I want kids to carry these books with them throughout their lives, you know, something that they can go back to and then share with their children, just like we share our favorite books with our kids. I'd like for them to do the same. And so I'm working on that. I am also working on a YA novel which, yeah, it's, I also have written some stories that are based on my Haitian heritage. And so just highlighting the beauty of the country and just being able to connect to children that have families from different places in the world, you know. And so that's also been part of the things that I like to write. So I'm always writing something. Like I said, it is therapeutic. It's a healthy distraction for me. And, you know, in the wee hours of the night, I make a choice to either, you know, watch TV or go to bed early, which I should probably do more of, or write. So I like to write.
Valerie- Too fun. As a mom of three boys, I love the idea of a book that engages their questions because, you know, it's what is it. And also, in Ephesians talking about how, you know, men want respect, and women want love and kind of, I love how, you know, no greater love does focus on that love element for the little girl and just that, that boys do like, how do
Things work? How do they operate? You know, how does this make sense? And it's, they, they, we operate differently. And I'd love both those books kind of speak to the heart of not just kids, but adults too.
Dominique -Yep, exactly.
Valerie -That's fun. I'm excited to hear more about that. Where can people find out more about you and your books, Dominique?
Dominique -So all my information is on my website, www.dominiqueOkonkwo.com. I encourage people to subscribe to the newsletter that goes out every other month or so. There's also if you wanna purchase books online, there's a discount code that you get once you subscribe. And then I am on social media at DOKWrites. I'm more active on Instagram than the others, but it's the same for TikTok and X and you know I'm working on those other things. I know it's like what else, but I just do a Google search, and I'll come up somehow some way but you know I try to stay current with posting, so folks know what's coming out and when. They keep adding more and it's like, can we consolidate this?
Valerie -Very exciting. We'll make sure to have those links in the description so that people can find you easily. Thank you so much for joining me today, Dominique.
Dominique- Thanks for having me, this was fun.
Valerie- And thank you for joining Dominique and me on this episode of the Bookworthy Podcast. Check the show notes for any books or links that we discussed and let us know in the comments what is your favorite type of pie at Thanksgiving. Be sure to like and subscribe to discover more great books together.
Happy reading!
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