*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).
The final trailer for 'The Marvels' is out now for the upcoming movie before it's officially released on Friday.
A Taylor Swift reporter has been hired at Gannett after the job listing really went viral online.
Two cubs from a rare species are making their debut -- two snow leopards who were finally unveiled at the Bronx Zoo in New York.
McCormick announced a limited-edition collection of Thanksgiving doughnuts ahead of the holiday. Duarte Geraldino and Kristen Scholer gave some of them a taste in-studio for your viewing pleasure.
A study published in the Journal Behavioral Processes found that cats actually express their happiness or aggressiveness through facial expressions.
Fitness expert Jillian Michaels joined Cheddar News to discuss her app that helps with exercise programs, meal plans, and the simplicity of living a healthy life.
Former Cheddar News reporter Ashley Mastronardi participated in the 2023 New York City Marathon and gave a first-person account of her race.
Tennis superstar Serena Williams was honored Monday night by the Council of Fashion Designers of America, which awarded her as fashion icon of the year.
The father of a man charged in a deadly Fourth of July parade shooting in suburban Chicago pleaded guilty to seven misdemeanors Monday in a case that centered on how his son obtained a gun license.
James Corden, the multiple Emmy- and Tony Award-winner who gave the world “Carpool Karaoke” is launching a new weekly show set for early 2024 on SiriusXM called "This Life of Mine with James Corden."
