I am delighted to share the debut release by Lakshmi Iyer…and more so, it’s the first children’s book I’ve shared about here on the Visiting Authors Blog. I met Lakshmi a few years ago on a train ride to a writer’s conference in Philadelphia. My writing buddy L.Ryan Storms introduced us. I was intrigued by Lakshmi’s parenting journey…and her writing talent. I just finished her book, Why is My Hair Curly? and the review is on Amazon — a I loved it! It was a delightful read that I hope to buy in paperback and give to my sons to read.
Welcome, Lakshmi!
Tell us about what you write.
My happy place is writing personal essays, reflecting on my experiences and sharing my life. I do it on my blog and on my Facebook page. The children’s book happened to me. Now that I have written one, I find myself outlining and dreaming of new characters.
When did your writing journey begin?
I have kept diaries as a child. I used to write for community websites in the early 2000s. When Google came out with Blogger, I was an early adopter writing about being an immigrant in a strange land, grappling with infertility without familial support, adopting children across racial lines and now parenting tweens and a kindergartner.
Writing for me has always been a way to reflect and make sense of the things I feel inside. It has been therapeutic. It has saved my marriage and my life in more ways than one.
What was your inspiration for Why is My Hair Curly?
Most mornings in my home start with standoffs between my daughters and me as I try to get them ready for school. I want to brush their hair, they want to do it themselves. There is a lot of angst, loud words and cursing. I felt this must be universal. As I mulled over the idea, I thought the hair could be a stand-in for anything that makes you feel different and how do you process those feelings and accept yourself for who you are?
Do you find inspiration in your own life for your writing?
Absolutely! Everything I write has a piece of my life in it.
Tell us about Why is my Hair Curly?
From Jean: The illustrations in the book are also amazing! I loved them.
This book is a labor of love. Growing up I only ever got to read books featuring people with white skin, blonde hair and blue eyes. I thought in English instead of my mother tongue Tamil because I read so much as a child. I would imagine the foods and the places. I would pore over the dictionary discovering meanings and places. It created in me a thirst for the world outside India.
As an adult, I want my children to see themselves in the books they read. I want the professionals in the book to be people like their mom and dad. I want the foods they eat to be featured in the books.
What this does is, it makes children feel seen. It validates their existence.
In this book, I feel proud to have done that. I have stayed true to the place where the story is set, the endearments between mom and daughter, the foods they eat. I love that children like mine can see themselves in a book.
Tell us about your experience with the publishing process.
The book is by Red Panda (children’s imprint of Westland Books, an Amazon company). They are a traditional publisher in India and because they are Amazon, the book will be available worldwide.
Avantika brushes and brushes, but there’s no keeping her curly hair down. How she wished her hair was straight and smooth like Amma’s and Appa’s and her brother Avnish’s. Their parents had adopted the two of them when she was three and a half years old and Avnish a six-month-old baby. Avantika often wonders if their birth mother had curly hair. There are so many questions in her head, the school year has started with hair-raising troubles, and Amma is busy at work. Avantika finds a confidante in the mysterious paati she meets in the park.
Why Is My Hair Curly? by Lakshmi Iyer is a delightful celebration of curly hair and the courage it takes to be yourself. This chapter book explores genetics, family dynamics and adoption identity through a light-hearted and sunny tale.
