MANAHAWKIN, NJ — Growing up, author Amulya Veldanda Vadali was always afraid of dogs.
“I used to be terrified of dogs,” Manahawkin native Vadali told Patch. She said she wouldn’t even go trick-or-treating, and would leave a park if she saw a dog there.
But that changed when she was 17. “I wanted to face my fear,” she said. And her family brought home a two-month-old golden retriever named Cosmo.
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“I was nervous at first,” admitted Vadali. “But he soon became my best friend in the whole world.”
Now, Cosmo is the center of Vadali’s series of children’s books. The first book in her “Diamond in the Ruff” series is called “Cosmo Faces the Forest of Fear.”
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“I love dogs now, and he helped me face my fear,” Vadali said. And now, Cosmo is teaching young children to have that same bravery.
The book, a second place winner in the animal category of the Purple Dragonfly Literary Contest, features the dog trying to protect his sister from danger when she goes missing on a family hiking trip.
Vadali, who always wanted to be an author and works full-time as a scientist, actually wrote the book when she was a student at Southern Regional High School. But about a year ago, she said she had some extra free time, and picked up writing again for fun. Her books are self-published, with two out now, and more on the way.
She also has another book called “We Are Important,” which delves into the importance and challenges of jobs like teachers, scientists, trash collectors and more. All of the jobs are portrayed by dogs, instead of humans. “It’s a bit of a fun twist on an educational subject!” Vadali said.
Vadali has visited schools across the state with her books, which she said is her favorite part. Especially when she gets to speak at schools in Manahawkin and nearby in Barnegat, Tuckerton and Long Beach Island. Getting to answer questions from students who go to the same schools she went to and seeing their reactions is her favorite, Vadali said.
She said that she plans to keep “writing as long as I can.”
“There’s so many funny things about Cosmo that I feel like I could keep writing stories about him forever,” Vadali said.
And the books serve another purpose. Cosmo turns 11 this year. So, these books are “kind of his legacy,” Vadali said.
“I want to make him live forever through his stories,” she said.
If you want to purchase Vadali’s books, you can find them on Amazon or at select Barnes and Noble stores throughout New Jersey (including at The College of New Jersey, her alma mater). You can also find her website here.
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