Meet Tanisha Chambers: Children’s Author

We had the good fortune of connecting with Tanisha Chambers and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Tanisha, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
Well for me I had a few different thoughts, when creating my brand I wanted something that would live on forever and leave a lasting impression was really important to me and truly one of the reason I started my business. I wanted something that could also create residual income for my little sister Zuri and that she could be proud of me for doing. Lastly there were not a lot of books with black characters in them and I wanted to change the narrative and be the person to bring change to the children’s book industry. For many years we did not have a seat at the table and I wanted for Children’s of color to be seen and know that they matter and that they do have books with characters that looks like them.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
So I have been a self published children’s authors for the last three years and I currently have three children’s book and one coloring book. Right now they are all stories about my little sister. My first book Zuri and the Monster, Zuri Day of Pranks and Beauty defined by Me. All of my books I try to teach a message that goes along with my books my first book my message was to teach kids to be fearless in their dreams so my saying is “Fear < Dream More” and I teach kids this because for years I was scared about putting my work out in the world in fear of the thoughts of other people. I had to get to the point in my life where I just went for it or I would have never overcame my fears of putting my work out. “Zuri’s day of Pranks” the purpose of writing this story was to just showing black kids being kids and having fun and being with family wanted to change the narrative of what we saw in movies and bring back a vibe like Family Matters or the Fresh Prince and my last Children’s books means the world to me because I was able to touch on beauty and loving yourself just the way you are and I talk to girls about this book because it’s really important that they remember to wear their tiaras daily and I also read this books to boys because I want them to know how to treat little girls because one day they will grow up to be husbands and have kids and other female family members. Also with this last book I was able to put some of my poetry in this, which I usually don’t share at all so I’m proud of myself for that. For me I’m not truly sure what sets me apart from other however I know what I do is so much more than trying to make money, I truly love writing books and just being able to share a piece of me with the world! I take pride in my craft and I know kids remember and my stories and I hope to make a different in one of their lives. I am most proud of just putting mused out there it’s never easy to show the world who you are and for people to want to know more about you, your life and try to get personal in knowing more about Zuri. So I’m proud I was able to open up over the years and be me. Well it took a lot of late nights researching and reading and listening to YouTube and many nights up on the phone with the publishing company trying to understand bleeds, paper quality, dimensions and so much other publishing stuff that I had no clue about. Definitely was not easy I did not have much directions and figured a lot of things out on my own with trail and error and not having the funds to pay someone to help me with certain problems that came about was frustrating. I was the first in my family to do something like this so most times all someone could give me was a listening ear. Even today I experience challenges and trying to figure out the direction I want my brand to go in . So it’s daily work of me brainstorming and watching videos on different techniques of the children’s book world. Well I learned to be patient along the way and that everything will happen in its timing and that if you want results you have to put the time and effort in to help yourself. I want the world to know that being a self published author is not easy and that we put a lot of work and hard earning money into our brands and not that many of us wouldn’t want to give our books for free if we could for books reviews, it’s the fact that we are still a business and put a lot of work into our final products and don’t have the backing like traditional children’s book authors.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I would probably take them in the downtown area of Philadelphia to Cuba Libre restaurant in Philadelphia it’s a Mexican restaurant and their food is amazing (might make you slap your mother.. lol) but, seriously the food is to die for. We would do some site seeing maybe near the art museum and check out some shops i would then go and hangout down Columbus Boulevard near South Street near the pier. The next day I would goto Manayunk a lot of different shops and restaurants. One day I would show them around chestnut hill side of Philadelphia which is similar to manayunk with the small shops and restaurants. For shopping the place to definitely go is King of Prussia mall. I am Jamaican so probably want to find a Jamaican party that we could enjoy a night out. I think one of the best Jamaican food is quality taste their food is really good. Would also probably drive up to New York to site see and go shopping . Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
So there are so many people that mean the world to me and have supported and pushed me and supported me through my journey of being a self published author. My mom always knew I was going to write a book and continued to push me and motivate me even when I felt like giving up. Huge shoutout to Zuri because if it was not for her and her daily activities, my books would have never been brought to life! Thank you to my co works Rick, Sherrie and Sasha, Twanita for listening to all of my stories over and over until I made final decisions. My aunt Isha for just always believing in me. Lastly the many supporters, schools, organizations that gave me an opportunity to come out and meet their students to do story time.

Website: Tanishachambers.com

Instagram: Zuriadventuresbooks

Facebook: Zuri Ad

Youtube: https://youtu.be/qx1IZ_Pi-xg

Other: https://www.amazon.com/s?k=tanisha+chambers&ref=nb_sb_noss