Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
My name is Vanitha Vaidialingam. I live in Chennai, Tamilnadu, India with my husband. We have two daughters who are grown up and settled in their lives. We are grandparents to a lovely grandson and expecting to become grandparents for the second time.
My husband and I, retired from Government service in 2017. Since then we have been devoting our time to impart life skills to the underprivileged children in the slums in Chennai.
I turned author when I started telling stories to entertain my mother-in-law who was grappling with illness. My first book “War Within” is a collection of those short stories. My next book “Close Encounters of the Mystical Kind” is an autobiographical work and talks about my personal mystical experiences. This book won the Golden Book Award 2024. It has raving reviews from everyone who has read it. The birth of my grandson prompted me to try my hand at writing children’s stories and I have now written 5 story books for children and 4 activity books for them. Since I impart computer skills to the slum children I have written Practice Exercise books on MS Excel and MS Word for teaching these children. Currently I am working on a number of fiction, non-fiction and children’s books in parallel.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is named “Playing in the Rain”. It is a children’s picture book about a little boy who loves to play in rain puddles. When he hears that it is going to rain in the afternoon, he is very excited. What happens next, is the story… The character is modelled closely on my little grandson. Like my grandson, the character Tommy in the book asks endless questions.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I am spontaneous writer. I work on several books in parallel. All of them are in different genres. I pick up a book to work on depending on the mood of the day. Sometimes, I work on my spiritual books for adults or on my children’s book or on purely a technical book on Computers.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
I have read a lot of books and continue to do so. I think I was most inspired by “Autobiography of an Yogi” by Paramahamsa Yogananda in writing my book “Close Encounters of the Mystical Kind”. I don’t think I consciously adopted any single author’s style in any of my books. I just write as and when thoughts flow out of my pen and then edit any grammar or other mistakes in the draft. Generally, my original draft does not change much in terms of content and presentation.
What are you working on now?
As I said, I am working on a number of books in parallel.
Non-fiction: “Practical Hinduism”, “Secrets of the Upanishads”
Fiction: “Coffee Bytes–A collection of short Stories”
Children’s book: “Tony and Tina go camping”. (I do the illustrations myself).
Technical Books–“Website Development”
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I have done almost nothing to promote my books so far. I just enjoyed writing and publishing them. A few friends and well-wishers purchased my books and left a few reviews. I entered the social media in January 2024 with a specific intent of gaining visibility for my books. I am still finding my way around. But interestingly, my debut seems to have kickstarted organic sales of my books. I have sold a few copies of my Young Adult books and several copies of my children’s books suddenly.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Well experience tells me that it is not enough to write and publish books. It must reach the intended audience. Authors must learn to become marketers too.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
I think the best advice someone gave me is what I have just said. If you want someone to read your book, you must make the effort to reach it to them. So marketing is the way to go!
What are you reading now?
I am reading a book called “Girin Babu, Some Tea?” by an Indian author A.K. Sharma.
What’s next for you as a writer?
Writing energizes me and I love it. I hope to be able to continue writing in a variety of genres and I want my readers to enjoy what I am writing. I understand now that my readers are the ones for whom I am writing. I am working hard to write what they will like and to reach it to them.
What is your favorite book of all time?
I love the Harry Potter series and can read it again and again without getting bored. I think J.K Rowling is an amazing writer.
Author Websites and Profiles
Vanitha Vaidialingam Website
Vanitha Vaidialingam Amazon Profile
Vanitha Vaidialingam’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile