*By Samantha Errico*
Fashion designer Rachel Roy and daughter Ava Dash noticed that very few young adult novels featured Indian narratives. So they decided to write one themselves.
"We realized there have been so many retellings of Greek myths, so we decided that we wanted to be the first," Dash told Cheddar. "So we went through and found a story that really spoke to us."
"I asked her if she knew any Indian myths," Roy said of a telling interaction she had with her daughter, "and she said 'no, you haven't taught me any.'"
According to Roy, who is half-Indian, the book was also inspired by her father, who was born in Bangalore, India.
Eventually, the mother-daughter pair settled on "96 Words for Love," a story about young love and self-discovery. The coming-of-age myth follows a 17-year-old girl who "falls in love and forgets who she is," Dash said. The title, she added, refers to all 96 ways one can say the word "love" in Sanskrit.
Roy said that while she was developing the story, her then-teenage daughter was facing some of the same challenges as her fictional protagonist.
"What do I do next? Is it what my parents want me to do? Is it social media and what I see reflected in entertainment wants me to do?"
Above all, Roy said, she wants to empower her daughter to celebrate "what makes us beautiful both on the inside and on the outside."
For full interview [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/fashion-designer-rachel-roy-writes-young-adult-novel-with-daughter).
Cheddar's own Shannon LaNier reports from the world premiere of Disney's live action remake of The Little Mermaid, starring Hallie Bailey as Ariel.
Actress Scarlett Johansson is opening up to Variety about her legal battle against Disney. The actress filed a lawsuit against the entertainment giant back in 2021 over the decision to release Black Widow in theaters and streaming at the same time, a move she says hurt the film's box office potential.
Actor Jonathan Majors was confronted Tuesday with a revised domestic violence charge stemming from a woman’s allegations that the Marvel star twisted her arm, struck her head and shoved her into a vehicle in New York City in March.
A petit basset griffon Vendéen named for Buddy Holly won best in show at the Westminster Kennel Club dog show Tuesday night.
A woman's love of music and singing was passed down to a special member of her family - her dog. Now they're singing duets together.
The 147th annual Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show kicked off Tuesday at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. Cheddar News went behind the scenes to see how dogs and their handlers have prepared for this moment.
The top entertainment headlines for May 9, 2023.
Singer and YouTube star Dani Apple taught her dog, Clarence, a special trick: singing along with her while she's rehearsing.
'Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3' brought in $114 million domestically in its box-office debut in North America.
The top entertainment headlines for May 8, 2023.
