Skip to main content

American Chronicle | Meet Children's Author Viji K. Chary

Today we have Viji Chary, author of the picture book, Porcupine´s Seeds.

Viji K. Chary lived in California nearly all her life. She went to school and college and also worked in the science field there. Chary and her husband raised their children with emphasis on science and music. In the process, she learned to be curious about various subjects, which later helped to spark her love for writing.

"Now my two teenage children and two young nephews keep me busy. My nephews love to read. They keep me in touch with my target audience," shared Chary.

She first became interested in writing in sixth grade when her English teacher asked each student to write a story. "At that time, I used to read the same books I loved over and over again. I found it hard to find other interesting books. I felt a story should have excitement. So, in my English assignment, the MC (main character) and her friend had a swimming race across a lake. While the MC was swimming, ´something´ pulled her leg. Scared, she hopped out of the lake and ran to the other side. The class voted my story the best! But, the story had holes in it. I didn´t know what pulled the MC´s leg. I just wanted excitement. And the resolution in the story was not strong enough. But, I enjoyed writing it so much that I decided be an author when I ´grew up´," shared Chary.
 Read the full spotlight at
American Chronicle | Meet Children's Author Viji K. Chary

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Five Tips for a More Marketable Children’s Picture Book Manuscript by Mayra Calvani

The world of children’s picture book publishing is extremely competitive. If you’re an aspiring children’s author, you need to make sure your manuscript is in excellent shape and has all the elements editors and agents look for before you begin the submission process. Here are five tips to make your picture book manuscript more marketable: Start right with the problem.  Many times beginner writers begin a picture book with back-story. It’s okay to have this back-story in the first draft, but be sure to get rid of it when you edit. Back-story is unnecessary 90% of the time and it only serves to slow down the beginning of a story, making it weaker. You want to grab the reader right from the start. So don’t be afraid to begin your story at the heart of the problem. It’s okay to set the stage with a sentence or two—but no more! Have a protagonist readers can relate to. Generally, children like to listen to stories about other children or animals with children’s characteristics. They

Interview Friday with multi-talented author, Cheryl Malandrinos

Cheryl Malandrinos is a freelance writer and editor from Western Massachusetts . A regular contributor to Writer2Writer, her articles focus on increasing productivity through time management and organization. A founding member of Musing Our Children , Ms. Malandrinos is also the Editor-in-Chief of the group's quarterly newsletter, Pages & Pens . Cheryl is a Tour Coordinator for Pump Up Your Book Promotion , a book reviewer, and blogger. Guardian Angel Publishing will release her first children’s book, The Little Shepherd Boy, in 2010. VS: Cheryl, I want to thank you for being my guest here on The Writing Mama today. I know being a parent and writer can be hard and I find myself asking if I am giving my three children enough attention throughout the day. I am sure you have been in my shoes from time to time. So to start here is the first question, how many children do you have and what are their ages? Cheryl: Thanks for having me at The Writing Mama, Virginia. I’m thril

Interview Friday with Author Donna McDine

Donna McDine is an award-winning children's author, Honorable Mention in the 77th Annual Writer’s Digest Writing Competition and two Honorable Mentions in the 78 th Annual Writer’s Digest Writing Competition. Donna’s stories and features have been published in many print and online publications, and her first book, The Golden Pathway , will be published through Guardian Angel Publishing as well as her second book, The Hockey Agony . Ms. McDine is a member of the SCBWI, Musing Our Children, and The National Writing for Children Center. VS: Donna, thank you for being my guest here on The Writing Mama today, we have worked together in the past at Stories for Children Publishing, however, I hear you have a picture storybook coming out this year and possibly another book in a year or two. Since working with Stories for Children Publishing and its many divisions, you seem to be even busier than before. What is it like being a writing parent with kids still in the house? Don