Bestselling Author Sheri Fink: Creating Magical Worlds, Living the Dream

by Cyrus Webb

Bestselling author Sheri Fink is someone I had known for years thanks to social media. She has consistently created magical worlds through her books, sharing her love of words and creativity with all ages. 

In 2012 we had the pleasure of having her grace the cover of Conversations Magazine and in 2018 we FINALLY sat down for our first in-person interview during one of my visits to Los Angeles.Whether it's online, on the page or offline she is the epitome of what Conversations is all about: positive vibes, inspiration and a tireless example of what is possible. 

As we celebrate this milestone in 2020 I reached out to Sheri about a follow-up interview. She accepted, and here is our latest conversation. 


Sheri, it is great to have you back in the pages of Conversations Magazine. Hard to believe that it was 8 years ago that you graced the cover of our publication. So much has happened for us both in that time. What has it been like for you to reflect on your success and accomplishments?
It’s an honor to be featured in your industry-changing magazine again. I look back over the past 8 years since that first magazine cover with tears of joy and gratitude. So much has happened, it takes my breath away. Since I started writing professionally in 2011, I’ve published 11 best-selling books in three genres, met and married my soulmate (award-winning author Derek Taylor Kent), and combined our imaginations to create an entrepreneurial business together. Our company, Whimsical World, has the mission of inspiring, delighting, and educating children of all ages while planting seeds of self-esteem and high achievement. Getting to do what I love every day with the one I love is the biggest accomplishment and greatest dream come true of all.

Have you always known that storytelling was something you wanted to do?
Ever since I can remember I’ve wanted to help people and to be a writer, a teacher, a mother, and a mermaid. As a children’s book writer, I am living my childhood dreams and getting to be all of those wonderful things every day. Even before I could write, I would make up stories and ask my mom to write them down for me. I’ve always loved the ability of words to stir emotions and inspire actions. I think it was my destiny to become a storyteller and to seek to empower people to live their dreams.

One of the things that happened for you is that you’ve built up an audience with young readers but you also released a book for adults, too. What was that like for you to expand your audience that way?
For me, the beauty of being a writer is getting to co-create an experience with the universe and to share it with the world in hopes that it’ll touch hearts and make a difference. I’m a free spirit when it comes to writing. I believe in writing from the heart. It would be easier to continue to choose the comfort of writing another heartwarming children’s book (which I love to do!). Instead, I chose the growth that comes with writing beyond genre lines and have written self-help, romance, personal development, and children’s books.  All of my books are about self-love and personal empowerment… regardless of the age of my intended audience.

We had a chance to meet in person almost 2 years ago. Social media, however, is something that has kept us connected. How has it helped you in building your brand and fan base?
I’ve had the opportunity to connect with so many wonderful people around the world through social media over the years. As a writer and a speaker, social media is a great channel for sharing my message and reaching a lot of people. I’m fortunate to get to connect with friends and Fans through Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Twitter. I love reading inspirational posts and cheering people on along their journeys. Fans sometimes come up to me at events where we’re meeting in person for the first time and say, “I’ve been following you on social media, and I feel like I know you.” And, they really do know me, because I share my authentic heart, hopes, and happiness with them. 

The latest book THE LITTLE DRAGON addresses two things I want to discuss what you: fear and friendship. First with fear. How have you not allowed fear to stop you in trying new things?
I believe in amplifying faith over fear. There will always be fear when we’re trying something new. I am committed to feeling the fear and moving forward with faith regardless of the circumstances.

One of my strategies is to connect deeply with the reason that I want or need to do something that scares me. When I get up in the morning and go for my dreams despite feeling afraid, the result is children believing in themselves and feeling empowered to go for their dreams and ambitions. For example, when I published my first book, The Little Rose, I started being invited to do speaking engagements. The prospect of standing on stage and talking to a big crowd terrified me. But, I also recognized that it was a beautiful opportunity for me to stand in my power and to inspire people, so I pushed through and did it anyway.

Courage is like a muscle, it gets stronger with repetitive use. Nine years later, I’ve done hundreds of speeches for thousands of people of all ages. I still feel nervous before I go on stage. I just don’t let that stop me. The more talks I do, the more courageous I feel, and the easier it becomes. The positive impact I can have on the lives of others motivates me to move past the fear and do whatever it takes to serve humanity as best I can.

Your friendships or association seem to be key to your rise. Talk with us about the importance of those we choose to surround ourselves with.
Publishing is a relationship business. The people we keep closest to us and choose to do business with can help or hinder our connection to ourselves. I’ve learned to trust my intuition and to always seek to create win-wins. My goal is to surround myself with friends, fans, and fellow writers who align with my values and vision for my life; people who uplift, nurture, and inspire me.

I choose to spend the most time around people with definite purpose, high integrity, strong work ethic, and abundant joy for the contributions they choose to make in the world. My intention is to be passionate, loving, and inspiring and to bring out the best in others. I genuinely want to create something that I love and to help people through my art. When I infuse my writing with the energy of those authentic desires, my creativity soars and my books attract the right audience who can most benefit from the messages in the books.

I’ve discovered that by honoring your intuition about the people in your life, you build a powerfully positive relationship with yourself. The stronger your relationship with yourself, the more confident you will feel as a creator and the better relationships you’ll be able to build with your fans through your writing.

What should we expect next from you?
I’m writing a self-help / personal development / teaching memoir book that will be debuting in November 2020. It’s a book I feel I was born to write. It focuses on enhancing the 5 aspects of life that make the biggest difference: Passion, Peace, Power, Prosperity, and Panache. I share a lot of my personal stories and my missteps along the journey while making it light and fun. The goal is to help the reader move into alignment with authenticity and action in order to live a juicier and more fulfilling life. I can’t wait for you to read it!

In the meantime, I’m releasing Amazon Kindle editions of all of my books and audiobook editions of my children’s books. I’m continuing to lead webinars and speak at online conferences to help aspiring authors write, publish, and market their books while building a business they love.

Whimsical World has several big secret projects in the works to debut in the coming months that will help spread hope and joy to children worldwide. It’s an exciting year ahead.

Any advice you want to share with aspiring authors or those who are looking to start following their goals or dreams?
It’s never too early or too late to go for your dreams. I’m living proof that everything is possible when you step forward in faith and take inspired action daily. Trust that you were given the seed of your dream for a reason. Start now, take small steps at first, and be open to the path that magically unfolds in front of you. It won’t always be easy, but I promise that it will be worth it. You’ll look back years from now in disbelief at how far you’ve come and, more importantly, you’ll feel deep gratitude for the person you became and the people you inspired in the process. I’ll be cheering you on all the way.

Thanks for the time, Sheri. So happy for you. How can our audience stay connected with you online? 
I love connecting with Fans, fellow writers, and entrepreneurs! You can find me and my books online at www.SheriFink.com and www.WhimsicalWorldBooks.com and on social media at: Instagram @Sheri_Fink   Twitter @Sheri_Fink    Facebook @SheriFinkFan Just follow the rainbow hair and you’ll find me!

Sheri Fink: Sharing Entertainment, Empowerment Through Storytelling

by Cyrus Webb

There is something about living your life on purpose that just completely changes the way you see yourself and your place in the world. When you are in alignment with where you are supposed to be and doing the work you were put here to do, it just seems as though everything happens the way it was intended to.

Don't believe that? Well, just ask children's book author Sheri Fink! In less than two years she has penned two bestselling books (The Little Rose and The Little Gnome) and has helped both children and adults see the world just a little bit differently. When i decided that I wanted to do something special in Conversations Magazine to inspire the younger generations, I knew that it had to include Sheri. Her stories of being comfortable with yourself and adapting to the world around you are just what we all need in order to make the most out of each and every day.

When I asked Sheri what it was like to have the success she has experienced over the past couple of years and to get the feedback that was coming in, her response was immediate: "It is amazing! I am so excited. I have the most amazing fans." She then added: "I am so grateful."

With both books it is obvious that the author wants to entertain the reader, but there are great lessons and messages tied into them as well. Sheri explained to me that the ideas "usually come from life experiences." And the pay-off for addressing those experiences has been great. Her readers can't seem to get enough. "It's one of my favorite parts," she says. "Just knowing that people are enjoying something that I am creating, and not just enjoying it but wanting more. It's such a joy." 


In fact, her readers can't seem to get enough! She relayed to me that she has had people emailing her about the latest book (The Little Gnome just released in late March 2012), wondering when the next one would be out!

So how did this all begin for Sheri? Her story is probably not too different from your own. "When I was little---around seven---I started writing my own books," she explained. "I was writing my stories, doing my own art. I really loved that. I was very creative. In my own world." However, like many of us, life happens and that which we love sometimes gets pushed to the back of my minds and our lives. "I lost touch with it for many years," she told me. "Then in my adult career I was going through a rough time and the story of the little rose came to me." Not yet at a place where she could entertain the notion of writing again, Sheri put it away.

Then in a strange twist of fate and the nudging of others who had heard about her idea for the book she had an epiphany. "Everyone thought that this is something that was possible for me," she said. It made her consider that maybe she really could do this thing that she had loved for so long. The rest, as they say, is children's book history!

For me what Sheri's story proves is that we all know what we are supposed to do. It's the doing that sometimes challenges us. Sometimes we just need the right people challenging us helps to help take the necessary steps along our journey. That, and listening to the voice that seeks to guide us each and every day.

I asked Sheri about that voice and what she has learned about the importance of listening to it. "That inner voice is everything," she says. "What I've learned is that it doesn't have to flow a certain way. As long as you are taking action that is all that matters."

Because she listens, it doesn't even seem like work for her. "I just have fun with it," Sheri told me. "I try and get in a good place---a place of joy---and it becomes so much easier. This touches me on such a deep level. It's almost like the stories are being told to me, and I'm just following along and asking what's going to happen next."

She is also in-tuned with her audience.  "I'm very in touch with my inner child. I can see the world pretty clearly. When I go into a room of kids, I am like a bigger version of them. I can see the beauty in them in a way that they haven't seen because they haven't had it reflected back at them."

At the end of the day Sheri wants everything that she does under her brand The Whimsical World of Sheri Fink to inspire and delight children while planing the seeds of self esteem in them. She wants them to have fun but also discover something unexpected about themselves.

And her advice for those who are looking to share their own stories? "Write completely from the heart," she says. "Don't make it difficult. Don't over-think it. Just enjoy the process."

Find out more about Sheri Fink and her amazing world at www.facebook.com/sherifinkfan.

"The Legacy of Reading Rainbow"

by Cyrus Webb (Conversations Magazine,September/October)



Reading Rainbow Theme Song
Butterfly in the sky
I can go twice as high
Take a look
It's in a book
A Reading Rainbow

I can go anywhere
Friends to know
And ways to grow
A Reading Rainbow

I can be anything
Take a look
It's in a book
A Reading Rainbow
A Reading Rainbow


When I was growing up, Reading Rainbow was one of those shows that was on my daily to-do list. From the theme song to Levar Burton's upbeat personality and introduction to new and exciting places, I looked forward to that show to take me away from where I was and to introduce me to new books along the way.

For me Reading Rainbow was one of my motivations to begin reading and eventually writing. Even if it was a subject that I didn't think I would be interested in, the show would at least challenge me to think outside of the box and want to give it a try. Then there were the kids like my self who had read books that they were excited to tell us about, and through them I learned how to talk with others about what I was reading.

Yes, Reading Rainbow changed my life and the lives of individuals all around the country. Through it a literary community was formed that started a movement based on books yet expanded to include a genuine interest in the world around us. After 26 years on television,more than a two dozen Emmys and gaining the distinction of being the third longest running program on PBS it was announced that August 27, 2009 would be the end of the popular show. I felt sadness not just for those of us who became better because of the show but for those who would never know the power it had to influence others and encourage a love or reading.


As my way of paying homage to Reading Rainbow and the lives it changed I asked individuals to share with you, our readers, the impact it had on them. Here are just a few of the responses:


"Here’s a factoid I find interesting. There’s a Twitter account with 2.5 million followers, from a now-31 year old named Justin Halpern called @shitmydadsays (www.twitter.com/shitmydadsays). He is only following ONE person, and that’s Levar Burton. I think that says something about the impact of Reading Rainbow." Will Craig, www.partnerswithparents.com

"I was growing up in the 80's and 90's and am such a product of Reading Rainbow. Today I'm a published author. I won't say that it was all Reading Rainbow's doing, however I loved that show. I can remember getting the books they mentioned out of the library at various times. That show was part of my routine. I think one thing awesome it did was it exposed me to various books and subjects I wouldn't have normally investigated." Anna M. Aquino, www.annamaquino.com

"I was a huge fan of this show...looked forward to it whenever it came on. I believe the excitement it fostered in me about books, and by extension writing, led in part to my current career as a freelance copywriter." Michael Schein, www.scheincommunications.com

"I grew up watching episodes of Reading Rainbow at school and at home and absolutely loved the show! Levar Burton was such a great host and really made me believe that reading books would take me on exciting adventures. Seeing how the show made children's books come alive really inspired me to write stories as a kid. Even listening to the theme song now brings a smile to my face and my heart. :) As a children's book author, I'm sad that the wonderful program is off the air because I know how important it is to nurture a love of reading in children." Sheri Fink, www.thelittlerosebook.com


"I absolutely loved Reading Rainbow growing up and I also really loved reading. And I still REALLY love reading. I have very happy memories of Levar -- 'you don't have to take my word for it!', the musical number about 'cooperation makes it happen,' the episode about "New York - the city that never sleeps!" The whole show was like a fun invitation to discover the joy of reading, which I think is the most important gift any kid can ever receive. As our country seems to focus more and more on standardized testing as a measure of literacy, we seem to have lost track of the basic truth that adults read because they WANT to read... so if we want to raise readers, we need to find ways to feed kid's innate DESIRE to read. I think Reading Rainbow did a great job of this and I'm sad it's not around anymore!" Rebecca Zook, www.zooktutoring.com

"Reading Rainbow was one of my two favorite shows as a kid and it had an enormous influence on me growing up. My mother raised my sisters and I mostly on her own in poverty, and it was a combination of her influence and Reading Rainbow that turned me on to books for as long as I can remember. It was depressing to here of the cancellation a couple of years ago, as I had hoped my children would be able to look forward to the show as much as I did. It filled me with a love for books I’ve never left behind, and I credit my eventual success in college and law school in part to Reading Rainbow. My strongest Reading Rainbow-related memory, though, stems from Marine Corps boot camp at Parris Island. On one of the days where we were doing grenade training, a recruit and I before the training began to debate whether Reading Rainbow or Sesame Street had the better children’s song. I very quietly started to sing the Reading Rainbow song to prove the other recruit wrong when, unbeknownst to me, a Marine instructor had approached us from behind. He lost it, and had me sing as much as I could remember as loudly as I could in front of the Marine recruits before getting back to training." Michael M. Giel


"Reading Rainbow always brought books to life in a way that made it fun to read, but my family took it one step further (probably at my insistence). We incorporated Reading Rainbow into our vacations. Because of Levar Burton’s adventures, we visited Dinosaur National Monument, the Renaissance Pleasure Faire, a restaurant in New York’s Chinatown where he ate on the show (which involved rewinding and pausing a taped copy of the episode over and over to get the right address), and more. As a now 26-year-old, I still want to visit the Boston Museum of Fine Arts where Levar x-rayed a mummy; that episode also cemented “Mummies Made in Egypt” as my favorite book at the time and inspired me to want to be an Egyptologist. When I visited Hawaii earlier this year, I was disappointed that my husband and I wouldn’t be traveling to the island where Levar learned about a’a and pahoehoe and couldn’t visit the studio of the artist who used the volcanic rock on Reading Rainbow. Between the loss of Reading Rainbow, the declining popularity of libraries, and Kindles/Nooks/iPads, I’m just not sure how children will learn to love reading as much as I did, and still do." Amanda Kelly

"Growing up, Reading Rainbow was my world! I truly feel that I stayed interested in reading because of this wonderful show. Today, I attribute a great deal of my success to my love for leisure reading. I was greatly saddened when it came time to say farewell to the show 2 years ago & I believe that its absence creates a real void for young people. The importance of reading isn't stressed enough in our society today; the show was incredible in engaging youth and making reading seem like a fun thing versus something young people have to do." Rina Shah

"The show inspired me to work in publishing, which I do now. It was also incredibly important to me when I had few friends at my new school." Nina Lassam

Have a Reading Rainbow story you want to share? Feel free to post it on our website with this story or email me at cawebb4@juno.com. We look forward to hearing from you and keeping the work of the show alive.