*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).
For the first time ever, the Special Olympics and students at the Parsons School of Design partnered to create tennis and track and field outfits for athletes. The line is called 'Be Brave' and it's goal is all about celebrating athletes with disabilities with outfits that allow them to perform their best. joining us now is Stacey Hengsterman, president and CEO of the Special Olympics New York and Nigel Barker, fashion photographer and Special Olympics Champion Ambassador joined us to talk about the collection.
For the first time in 60 years of human spaceflight, a rocket is poised to blast into orbit with no professional astronauts on board, only four tourists.
Gavin Newsom easily keeps his job, Apple drops the new iPhone and more, Facebook knows how harmful Instagram is for teens and the death of a comedic giant.
Your palm could soon be your ticket into a concert. Amazon says it is bringing its palm-recognition technology to the Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Denver and it will be available at other venues in the coming months.
Massachusetts’ governor has activated the state’s National Guard to help with busing students to school as districts across the country struggle to hire enough drivers.
If you want to dine indoors, go to a gym or attend an event at an entertainment venue in New York, you'll need to show proof that you have had at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.
"The business has gone down at least 35 to 40 percent, and we expect it to go down a little more," said Pedro Zamora, owner of Cantina Rooftop in Manhattan. "But on the other hand, I feel good to do that because it's the way to end the pandemic, and I urge everyone if you aren't vaccinated to get vaccinated as soon as possible because it's only for the good of our community."
Carlo's got Cheddar Chief Fashion Critic Baker Machado to discuss all the looks from last night's Met Gala. But first, the news: it's recall day in Cali, the booster shot debate, why you should update your iPhone software immediately, and more.
When is a mandate not a mandate? Jill and Carlo discuss the White House's federal vaccination efforts, a horrific case of mistaken identity in Afghanistan, a history-making U.S. Open and what you missed from the VMAs.
Carlo and Baker have the latest on Biden's sweeping new vaccine policies. Plus, the possibilities of a cancer vaccine in your lifetime, 9/11 reading recommendations, and Love, Hate, Ate.
Cheddar recs "Billions," "Only Murderers in the Building," and a "New York Stories" collection.
