Meet Vanessa Kapadia | Author and Illustrator of the ‘It’s That Time of Year Series’

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

Hi Vanessa, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
I wanted to create something to help my son — something that wasn’t available when I was growing up but that I would have loved to have had: something that would have helped me understand my culture while being raised away from India. So one day, I had the idea to create a fun and interactive book series for kids to learn about their Hindu culture, one that incorporates universal concepts like counting, number recognition, and fun games to practice shape recognition. I submitted an inquiry to a self-publishing agency and heard back within a few hours, which marked the beginning of my journey. Since then, I’ve published two more books as part of my series and brought its management under my own business instead of continuing through the self-publishing agency.

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.
What I’m most excited and proud of is that I have created and published three books in this world that have had an impact. These books were created in my little bedroom while my son was sleeping. They have gone on to win multiple book awards, including the NYC Big Book Award and the Purple Dragonfly. After writing my first book, it brought back some childhood memories—things I had completely forgotten about. As a child, I created a book series about a girl and her adventures. I remember how excited and proud I would feel when I finished a book. As I grew up a little, I had this one teacher who kind of turned me off the writing path. So it felt like a full-circle moment where I was able to accomplish something that was so dear to me when I was younger.

The process to publish a book was really foreign to me, and my previous background and experience were so different. So learning everything that came along with it was an extremely steep learning curve. But I YouTubed and Googled my way through it and asked for help from those with more experience as I went along.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I like to stay grounded; my favourite things to do are experiences in nature. So, if my best friend was visiting, I would take her to see Phillip Island to watch the penguin parade. It’s a fair drive, so we would have time to talk and just enjoy each other’s company on the drive down.
Then, I would stay the night there and do some fun activities like mini golf, followed by having lunch by the beach.
Afterward, I would take her to the thermal hot springs so we could relax and unwind. As I get older, I’ve found that I really value inner peace, so many of the things I do help me to achieve that, whether it’s connecting with nature or just enjoying some time to relax and feel good.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I want to give a shoutout to my amazing sisters! They have been my biggest supports not just in this series by reading and proof-reading and looking at all the edits with me but also in my life. They have always been there for me by helping me, guiding me and supporting me. I can’t thank them enough!

Website: https://itsthattimeofyearseries.systeme.io/951d3572

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/itsthattimeofyear_series?igsh=MWU5NTE4MWNyamt4cA==

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/itsthattimeofyearseries?mibextid=LQQJ4d

Image Credits
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