ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Indiana Rivera
Indiana Reyna Rivera is a native of San Francisco with Hispanic roots from the 60s. A natural storyteller, her first vivid memory of storytelling was sharing make-believe stories with a circle of friends.
At age 10, she volunteered to read to the kindergartners in her school and it became the highlight of her day. She was intoxicated by the enthusiasm of the children while reading at story time. This is when she told herself that one day she would be reading her own books to the children.
Billy the Seed is a story inspired by her three daughters, Jacquelyn, Jennifer & Celine. Starting 35 years ago Indiana would sit her daughters down one after another, as she did with friends as a child, and tell them the story of Billy the Seed.
As fate would have it she met a talented illustrator and graphic designer, Nancy Diaz, and together they started a digital marketing agency, Nindy Design Studio:
Indiana knew that Nancy's gifted artistry would prove to be the perfect partner for Indiana and Billy the Seed one day would be brought to life.
It has been 48 years since little Indiana told herself that one day she would write children's books and today Billy the Seed is the proof that words matter and dreams come true.
Indiana is co-founder of Nindy Design Studio, a bilingual women-owned and operated digital marketing agency. She studied Sociology at San Jose University in San Jose, CA, and is the proud mother of 3 accomplished daughters.
When not brand strategizing and writing she enjoys world travel, hiking, and travel photography, and of course telling stories to whomever she finds whenever and wherever those travels take her.
ABOUT THE ILLUSTRATOR
Nancy D. Conde
Nancy Isabel Díaz Conde an illustrator born and raised in Yucatán, México enjoys bringing stories to life with her whimsical and never-ending imagery and love for the arts.
Nancy's passion for the arts and reading stories developed at an early age influenced and encouraged by her mother Nancy Conde Ramírez, a primary school teacher and former professional dancer whose love of teaching and everything children spilled over to Nancy. She also cherishes time spent with her grandmother, Hilda Ramírez Farfán, whose most precious memories were daily reading time at lunch when she was a little girl in pigtails.
Nancy studied art for several years at the prestigious Bellas Artes Art Institute in Mérida, Yucatán and earned the title of Best Artist at several local painting contests competing against many very talented artists.
Soon after she discovered her love for digital painting and graphic design. The blending of her own watercolor techniques and digitalization led her to find her calling. Nancy aims to create illustrations that will foster a love of reading in young readers the same way her grandma did for her.
She started working with Indiana in 2013 when they both discovered their mutual love for helping entrepreneurs and small businesses from logo to launch with out of the box strategic marketing and never seen before graphic design.
This is when they established their bilingual digital marketing agency, Nindy Design Studio.
Nancy received an MBA after her degree in Marketing and International Business. She also earned certification as an English Teacher at Centro de Idiomas del Sureste, México.
When Nancy is not helping her clients with amazing graphic designs or exploring a new imagination world with her children’s book paintings, you may find her spending time with her husband and family or going on an adventure with her pup Rex.