Chandani Lama Is The Nepali Storyteller Who Is Revolutionizing The Children’s Book Industry Through Her Writing. Learn More Here!

Chandani Lama Is The Nepali Storyteller Who Is Revolutionizing The Children’s Book Industry Through Her Writing. Learn More Here!

Stories are magic, they can create other worlds, emotions, ideas and make the everyday seem incredible. They can teach us empathy and take us on terrific journeys. They can make us laugh, cry, jump with fright and then comfort us with a happy ending.  From a very young age we learn how to enjoy a story both for pleasure and to help us make sense of the world and ourselves. 

Perhaps the thing that makes us human is the stories -real and imagined- that each of us has inside. In fact, storytelling is essential because of its central role in human experience, culture, and history since the dawn of humankind. In addition, storytelling is deeply ingrained in the human psyche. Therefore, it conveys messages and insights in all sorts of scenarios!

In that context, Chandani Lama, also known as Miss Lama, is a Nepali storyteller who immigrated to the United Status many years ago pursuing her American dream. She is the author of “Ram’s Adventures Part 1 Ram and The Monster: A story about how strength doesn’t matter”, a children’s book based upon Nepalese folk tales and hopes to inspire young children to be smart and bold.

I am starting my book writing with stories based on Nepali folk tales. There seems to be no children’s book from Nepali community! It all started as a dedication to my late grandfather “Ram” who used to tell me these old tales from Nepal. I wanted to preserve this vanishing information and put it permanently in papers. I tried to get in contact with the big publication but everyone wanted me to get an agent. As an immigrant, I don’t have the resources and connections to get their attention so I had to publish my book by myself”, Chandani explains.

Since she was a child, Chandani loved movies. Part of her dream now is to share her stories, stories of immigrants like her, stories about magic, consciousness, reincarnation and adventure. She manages to stand out from the crowd because she is one of the few Nepali writers in the international market and she’s probably the one who is writing children’s books.

“I believed in movies and that’s how I have self motivated to be a storyteller and a philanthropist. I hope my stories will also reach young people and anybody who is looking for hope and positive motivation”, Chandani adds.

She aspires to be a storyteller, a problem solver and  philanthropist. What’s more, she hopes to leave the world by contributing in more positive projects. Chandani prays for world peace and wants the humans to love themselves, their communities and their planet.

“I am a very creative person and have a lot of energy. I am an aspiring UX designer too. My book writing is more of a social entrepreneurship. We plant three trees when a person buys a book. We have probably funded 39 trees so far. In short, creativity & connection are my life motto”, she shares.

During her path, Chandani has faced some big difficulties such as moving from another country and figuring it all out at age 25. It was also very confusing to understand the publishing business, she had to take classes and mentorship but it did not help. Big publications ignored her and she felt very sad but she couldn’t give up and just started to find ways to do things on her own! Currently, she’s really happy with the final product and her book has been very well received within the industry.

“If you’re trying to be a writer, a storyteller or a social worker, follow your heart, listen to your inner self, protect your inner child. Always be positive and be kind. We need kindness in this world. Gratitude, humbleness and good works come back. Even on the worst days, never leave your grace!, Chandani advises.

This year, she wants to publish the second part of the Ram’s Adventure series. Ram climbing Mount Everest is going to be the next story. Chandani also wants to motivate small children in this early phase of her time as storyteller. In addition, next year she will start preparing herself to write something political or controversial. You can buy Ram’s Adventures Part 1 here. To find out more about Chandani, follow her on Instagram here.