*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).
Hark Audio founder and CEO Don Mackinnon spoke to Cheddar about changing the user experience with podcasts through the company's curated Harklists.
Gemini, a popular cryptocurrency exchange, released a report this month looking at the crypto habits of 3,000 U.S. adults.
Disneyland has reopened after a 13-month closure. The iconic theme park in Southern California that was closed under the state's strict virus rules swung open its gates Friday and some visitors came in cheering and screaming with happiness.
An overnight stampede in Israel kills dozens, a look at the COVID disaster in Latin America, the economic repositioning in America, a new shortage to report and did people really answer the phone without Caller ID?
Singer-songwriter Kelly Rowland talked with Cheddar about her family, celebrating Black joy, and music in a, hopefully, post-COVID world.
Popular dance-fitness system Zumba turns 20 years old, and CEO Alberto Perlman talked to Cheddar about navigating the pandemic and looking forward to the return of more in-person instruction.
The headlines from President Biden's first speech to Congress, plus why he's got reason to be sounding optimistic about the state of the pandemic. And would you let a Walmart worker stock your fridge?
Siobhán Lonergan, chief brand officer for shapewear marketplace Shapermint, joined Cheddar to discuss the company's search for a "chief mom officer."
Justin and Taylor Norris, co-founders and CEOs of LIT Method, talked about the investment from Jay-Z in their fitness company.
Britney Spears has asked to address the court to talk about the conservatorship that controls her life and finances.
