Kiara Maharaj shared their story and experiences with us recently and you can find our conversation below.
Kiara, we’re thrilled to have you with us today. Before we jump into your intro and the heart of the interview, let’s start with a bit of an ice breaker: What is a normal day like for you right now?
At moment we are about halfway to the publication date of my first published book, Watercolor Wizardry, which releases in bookstores on 3rd March 2026. So every day right now I am mostly doing work towards marketing the book, posting book logs on Patreon, answering any comments and queries about the book, and giving out the pre-order gift to everybody who pre-orders it before pub date. It’s a lot of admin stuff, so in between I enjoy winding down with my sketchbook and planning new books for the future.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I am a freelance author and illustrator from South Africa. I spend most of my time in my sketchbooks doing worldbuilding for my fantasy short story series called The Polkadot Files. In these stories the main character is a cowardly assistant to a god-like being, and together they travel the multiverse collecting tales. In the past I’ve mostly self-published my stories, but recently I’ve had the opportunity to work with Page Street Publishing for my upcoming book called Watercolor Wizardry. I am so excited for the release of this book. It’s been a dream come true.
Okay, so here’s a deep one: What relationship most shaped how you see yourself?
My relationship with my mom has been the driving force of not only my creativity and imagination, but also my business as a freelance author/illustrator. She’s also been my biggest cheerleader and my most inspiring muse. Her stories about adventures in India over morning tea is what really stuck with me after all these years, and I can slowly see it seeping into my illustrations as my work develops.
If you could say one kind thing to your younger self, what would it be?
It would be to keep going with stubborn persistence, and write that story that feels the most weird. I am a fantasy lover; I love dragons and wizards, faeries and gnomes. However these are all based on European folklore and mythology, and the most popular fantasy art features Euro-centric stories. My younger self would have loved to see more Indian inspired fantasy worlds to deep dive into, so I would tell my younger self to go ahead and write those stories even if it feels “weird” at first.
I think our readers would appreciate hearing more about your values and what you think matters in life and career, etc. So our next question is along those lines. What’s a belief or project you’re committed to, no matter how long it takes?
As a storyteller by nature, I am committed to creating the books I’ve always wanted to see on the shelves. Books take a lot of work, not only writing them but also illustrating them. Sometimes they have very little financial reward. But I can’t stop! I love to create new worlds and lay them out on pages for some other curious reader to explore it before bedtime. The whole process makes me feel thrilled to be an artist. It’s something I kept in mind while illustrating the tutorials for Watercolor Wizardry. I wanted the reader to feel part of the story as they completed each tutorial.
Before we go, we’d love to hear your thoughts on some longer-run, legacy type questions. If immortality were real, what would you build?
A whole library of magical books! Seriously I love a good book collection, from art books, encyclopedias, anthologies and banned books. The sad thing is books take a long time to create/build but if I were immortal then I’d have all the time in the world to fill a library with my books…
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.kiaraintheforest.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kiaraintheforest/
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