Behind the Pages - BElieve in YOUrself!

I seem to do my best writing on planes. I'll blame it on my gypsy roots, or maybe the many years I spent as a contractor, traversing the globe to save the world from the dangers of landmines (seriously!). Whatever the reason, as I boarded my flight to Pittsburgh, looking forward to a nice drive up to Buffalo for the Make Lemon Aide for Cerebral Palsy Foundation 5k, I was in my creative zone.

I had suggested to my friend Amy Rosvally that she should write a children's book. Amy is an epic novel herself - we met on the pyrotechnics team at Universal Studios and were instant sparkly BFFs. She wore pink steel-toed shoes and was a "woo!" girl like me, she told goofy jokes and enjoyed riding the roller coasters on our breaks, she was super smart and didn't mind proofreading my screenplays, and she like to blow stuff up. We were destined to be friends.

Amy was also "The Pole Comedian." Now, wipe away those judgmental images of pole dancing. After just an hour or two of attempting to learn how to do some of the basics of Amy's craft, I had a newfound respect for the strength, flexibility, artistry, and yes, athleticism, that went into pole routines. But Amy took it to a whole new level, mixing in her spunky sense of humor and love of entertainment to create these amazing characters in her pole routines. From Charlie Chaplin to Richard Simmons, Amy was not afraid to try on any persona that might bring some laughs to her audience.

Did you see that episode of America's Got Talent with the pole dancing T-Rex? Yup, that was Amy. Though that show was a little too scripted to give her a real shot at showing off her skills, it was another step in the journey of sharing her message with the world.

Amy wasn't always the bold, confident, curvy gorgeous girl you'll see all over social media. And she may not fit into everyone's ideal image of the picture-perfect body for a pole dancer. When she was a little girl, she was chubby and wore braces and had frizzy hair that wouldn't cooperate. But she also had a family that loved her dearly and taught her to believe in herself enough to dream big no matter what anyone said - even when the things people said were very hurtful.

So Amy doesn't just dance on a pole and post photos of herself for the fun of it (or to open herself up to the ruthless internet trolls that are still stuck in their childhood bully roles). She performs because she loves it, because it's who she is, and because by putting herself out there, she can help others to believe in themselves and encourage them to be their own kind of beautiful, no matter what anyone says.

So that was the inspiration for BElieve in YOUrself!, a children's book that was written in less than three hours in the air between Dallas and Pittsburgh. Two or three minor collaborative changes later, on the return flight, we had a finished script. The next challenge was bringing the story to life with illustrations.

No one could have done a better job with this project than Archangelo Crelencia. He had his own personal connection with the story of a little kid who was teased in school for having big dreams. So he willingly took on the task of creating characters based on Amy and her grandmother, Bubby, and taking us all on the emotional journey of childhood through his art. I think all three of us shed some tears throughout the process as we watched the story come alive. (Warning: you may want to have a tissue or two on hand the first time you read this, but I promise there's a happy ending!).

If you or your little ones need a little extra encouragement or reason to believe, this story book will make your hearts happy. There's even a coloring book to go along with it (and I don't care how old you are, coloring is fun!). And of course it's even available in Kindle, so you can download and read on your iPad and keep the softcover book safe forever since the illustrations are definitely worth framing!

Take Amy's advice (and her Bubby's). Be you. Unapologetically, proudly, boldly, but kindly. Just be you. That's as beautiful as anyone can be.