Meet Sanjay Nambiar, Author of Maybe (A Little Zen for Little Ones)
What inspired you to become a children's author?
Business writing is my “day job” (I’m a freelance copywriter), but I’ve always dreamt of developing more creative stories and becoming an author. When my daughters were born five years ago (they’re identical twins!), I fell in love with children’s picture books and the freedom of the format. It feels incredibly fulfilling to finally pursue something I’ve wanted since childhood. For many years, I was a bit distracted in the business world – I worked in several different types of marketing and finance roles and even earned an MBA. But now I’m following my calling. It’s exhilarating, but also very daunting!
How did you come up with the idea for Maybe (A Little Zen for Little Ones)?
While many ancient Zen stories are powerful and poignant, they feature farmers, monks, traditional prose, and other elements that make it hard for modern audiences to relate to them. I want my books to tell wise fables through the lens of today’s world, with kids as the characters instead of farmers or animals. I hope that makes the beautiful themes within these stories more accessible for our modern culture.
How long did it take to get Maybe (A Little Zen for Little Ones) published?
The journey to publish Maybe (A Little Zen for Little Ones) took about two years.
Your book won the Mom's Choice Award. What does that mean to you as an author?
As an author, any positive review, reward, or honor is a tremendous boost. The Mom’s Choice Award Silver Medal let us know that there is an audience that wants and appreciates what I have to write. One can’t underestimate the power of such positive feedback.
As a publisher, winning the award provided significant validation for our book and access to important co-op advertising and marketing opportunities. It created valuable social media, online, and offline communities to highlight our book. I feel we have many important messages to deliver (Zen stories for kids and adults!) and the MCA medal is significant support in this endeavor.
Do you have a favorite topic to write about?
I love writing about topics that will impact children and adults in positive, meaningful ways. The A Little Zen for Little Ones series does this through Zen topics, but I also have many other concepts that I hope will achieve these goals.
What do you hope children will learn from your book?
I feel that we have developed a book that is positively impacting parents, children, and communities. So many moms and dads have told us that they love the messages in Maybe (A Little Zen for Little Ones), and that their kids identify with the concepts. I hope that kids (and adults alike) will read our books and learn to be in the present moment more completely. In a sense, I hope they will learn to be a little more Zen. We’re trying to make Zen accessible to the next generation.
Children's authors don't always get to choose who illustrates their books. Are you happy with how your illustrations turned out? Are the characters as you imagined them?
Absolutely. My wife, Priya, who also is my editor, managed the illustration process. Our approach was a bit different – we worked with a team of illustrators and gave them specific guidance through every step of the process. Between Priya’s creative direction and the artists’ talent and creativity, the illustrations matched our imaginations.
Just like the story itself, the book’s illustrations juxtapose modern graphics with traditional backgrounds (watercolor scenes with computer graphic characters) to transpose the old into the new, thus creating an accessible context for deeply meaningful concepts.
Are you working on any other books?
Yes. Maybe (A Little Zen for Little Ones) is the first title in the A Little Zen for Little Ones series; the next should come out in summer 2012, with another following in fall/winter of 2012. Two more titles are planned for 2013.
Find out more about Sanjay Nambiar and Maybe (A Little Zen for Little Ones) by visiting alittlezen.com.
You can also find Maybe (A Little Zen for Little Ones) on Twitter (@littlezenones) and on Facebook.
Business writing is my “day job” (I’m a freelance copywriter), but I’ve always dreamt of developing more creative stories and becoming an author. When my daughters were born five years ago (they’re identical twins!), I fell in love with children’s picture books and the freedom of the format. It feels incredibly fulfilling to finally pursue something I’ve wanted since childhood. For many years, I was a bit distracted in the business world – I worked in several different types of marketing and finance roles and even earned an MBA. But now I’m following my calling. It’s exhilarating, but also very daunting!
How did you come up with the idea for Maybe (A Little Zen for Little Ones)?
While many ancient Zen stories are powerful and poignant, they feature farmers, monks, traditional prose, and other elements that make it hard for modern audiences to relate to them. I want my books to tell wise fables through the lens of today’s world, with kids as the characters instead of farmers or animals. I hope that makes the beautiful themes within these stories more accessible for our modern culture.
How long did it take to get Maybe (A Little Zen for Little Ones) published?
The journey to publish Maybe (A Little Zen for Little Ones) took about two years.
Your book won the Mom's Choice Award. What does that mean to you as an author?
As an author, any positive review, reward, or honor is a tremendous boost. The Mom’s Choice Award Silver Medal let us know that there is an audience that wants and appreciates what I have to write. One can’t underestimate the power of such positive feedback.
As a publisher, winning the award provided significant validation for our book and access to important co-op advertising and marketing opportunities. It created valuable social media, online, and offline communities to highlight our book. I feel we have many important messages to deliver (Zen stories for kids and adults!) and the MCA medal is significant support in this endeavor.
Do you have a favorite topic to write about?
I love writing about topics that will impact children and adults in positive, meaningful ways. The A Little Zen for Little Ones series does this through Zen topics, but I also have many other concepts that I hope will achieve these goals.
What do you hope children will learn from your book?
I feel that we have developed a book that is positively impacting parents, children, and communities. So many moms and dads have told us that they love the messages in Maybe (A Little Zen for Little Ones), and that their kids identify with the concepts. I hope that kids (and adults alike) will read our books and learn to be in the present moment more completely. In a sense, I hope they will learn to be a little more Zen. We’re trying to make Zen accessible to the next generation.
Children's authors don't always get to choose who illustrates their books. Are you happy with how your illustrations turned out? Are the characters as you imagined them?
Absolutely. My wife, Priya, who also is my editor, managed the illustration process. Our approach was a bit different – we worked with a team of illustrators and gave them specific guidance through every step of the process. Between Priya’s creative direction and the artists’ talent and creativity, the illustrations matched our imaginations.
Just like the story itself, the book’s illustrations juxtapose modern graphics with traditional backgrounds (watercolor scenes with computer graphic characters) to transpose the old into the new, thus creating an accessible context for deeply meaningful concepts.
Are you working on any other books?
Yes. Maybe (A Little Zen for Little Ones) is the first title in the A Little Zen for Little Ones series; the next should come out in summer 2012, with another following in fall/winter of 2012. Two more titles are planned for 2013.
Find out more about Sanjay Nambiar and Maybe (A Little Zen for Little Ones) by visiting alittlezen.com.
You can also find Maybe (A Little Zen for Little Ones) on Twitter (@littlezenones) and on Facebook.
Stacie Theis / beachboundbooks@yahoo.com / copyright 2012