Today we’d like to introduce you to Mariam Mohamed.
Hi Mariam, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
When I first immigrated to America with my family of 7 and a half (my mother was pregnant with her 6th child) I was absolutely over the moon! I’ve heard my neighbors and relatives back home speak so highly of America, and I wanted to see for myself what all this hype was about. I was eager to start school and make new friends, but more than anything, try American pizza.
Ever since I was a little girl, as young as 7, I knew I wanted to write and share my stories. I’ve always had a vivid imagination and a hunger for knowledge. The beautiful thing is, there is quite literally a book on almost any and every topic you can think of. A good book can take you on many adventures all over the world and can move you emotionally, spiritually, and intellectually. So as a young adult, I knew I wanted to become an author, so I could have that same impact on readers.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
The only dilemma I faced, was not being able to see and read more about protagonists/leads with similar cultural experiences. What I mean is, diversity was lacking in the libraries I grew up around so, I decided to be the change I wanted to see in my community and began writing stories for the underrepresented and misrepresented readers. Growing up as a young immigrant child in Texas, while being African, Muslim, and a girl, I quickly realized children who looked like me, were left out from these stories. Even the young me understood that this wasn’t fair.
I would be lying if I said this road has been an easy one because it hasn’t been. But by keeping my eye on the end prize, and holding myself accountable to meet certain deadlines helped me get further.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I’m currently a school teacher by day and author by night. I’m a math intervention specialist and work with small groups of students teaching math skills, I love my job and have always dreamt of helping students feel confident in their academics, because I’ve always been that struggling student myself. Math was actually my least favorite subject.
I feel really blessed to get to do the two things I love the most, which are to teach and write. I’ve had three books published so far and I’m currently signed to an agency in West Hollywood. I’m still writing but now am focusing on writing screenplays.
Is there any advice you’d like to share with our readers who might just be starting out?
Sometimes some people might discourage you and make you feel as if your story is not good enough to share. They are wrong! I believe EVERY story is worth sharing, but it’s all about the delivery.
The first step which is the hardest sometimes, is to just start. It doesn’t matter how much or how little you write each day, but try to get yourself into the habit of writing on a regular basis. I would also advise reading the kind of books you want to write. This isn’t necessarily to imitate those books but to get an idea of what is working and selling in the industry now.
Contact Info:
- Email: mmariambooks@gmail.com
- Website: mariammohamed.com
- Instagram: mariama_09
