Good morning. How are you doing. I'm done a wonderful arrow. How
are you fantastic? Do you know how many lives you're going to change with
this book? I mean, I hope you know inside your heart that you
are speaking a language that has always been a kept secret or a reason to
go hide. Yes, yes, that is the goal. That is the
goal to change as many lives as possible. Absolutely, to put it into
book form by way of word as well as illustration. What was the journey
like for you? Because this didn't just happened overnight. This this was a
process. Oh, absolutely, absolutely honestly, quite honestly, this is truly
the journey from childhood, a childhood to adulthood. You know, I've talked
it algal since I was about a day old, and so having the skin
disorder, and going through all the challenges as a kid, as a teenager,
then as an adult with all of that, just compiling it all together,
this book truly was inspired from my own life experiences, not so much
of what I know experience, but what I wish I had growing up.
The confidence that is exuded throughout this entire children's book make the journeys just so
much worse it, so I'm excited. I would love to be in a
focus group with you to see how the young kids are going to what kind
of song is going to come from them when they My spots are part of
me. And just in case you forgot, I have patches. I mean,
I see you playing that guitar. But I would like to know what
their song is that they're hearing inside their heart. Because this page is filled
with music, I want to know what the song is. Oh my goodness,
that song is full of joy. That song is full of confidence.
The song is full of self love and true happiness, embracing who they truly
are, loving their spots, loving the skin that they're And that song is
a empowerment song, full of strength, full of hope, full of love
for self and others. It's just the song that not only children should be
singing, but even adults as well, to truly embrace who they are,
embrace their uniqueness, their unique skin, and to this love who they are.
That that is a very beautiful song that I want to hear myself,
absolutely, And I love the way that you know when it comes to that
self love, it's not conceit, it's not over confidence. It's self love.
Without us, we cannot have an outreach. Absolutely absolutely, I don't
think people understand it's how powerful it is to look past flaws and imperfections of
oneself and truly embrace and love who we really are to our core, despite
the flaws, despite the imperfections. That self love is such an empowering and
fulfilling love to have for yourself. And I really hope that everyone who reads
I absolutely positively love my Spots get some chance an opportunity to really feel and
embrace true genuine self love is an activation book because you identify a situation,
we create the conversation. Now we activate the conversation, and people's lives change.
Yes, yes, absolutely, that is That is how how life goes
right. There are situations and their experiences that we go through and that we
experience in our lives, and during their experiences comes you know, learning,
being able to grow. And what the book shows is that even though the
little girl is going through these different experiences and changes with her skin, and
you know, kids are very curious about her skin, she's taking those experiences
and she truly is exuding confidence and self love and she's growing, not only
growing as you know, a little girl who's loving and embracing her unique skin,
but also being able to help others grow so they're able to see that
we're all just human beings and should be treated as such with dignity and respecting
kindness. How did you meet up with Nina Mada? Because I mean,
I mean, the illustrations in this are just un unbelievable. I mean,
I mean the two of you have have created a collaboration here. Yes we
are listen. I truly believe we are like a powerful duo because with the
message behind the book, and also with her energetic illustrations and her talent combined
together, this really is a beautiful illustration, a beautiful message packed into one
beautiful book. I came across Nina through Harper Harper Has They're amazing, and
they basically paired us together and it has been nothing but magic ever since.
Love Nina. I'll tell you one of the one of the most brilliant parts
of the story is the opening where she's looking at herself in the mirror and
look at that smile. Look at that smile. Yes, yes, her
smile just gives so much joy, so much confidence, just looking at herself
and her reflection in the mirror, seeing everything about her, her spots,
just all of who she truly is, and loving that girl. Oh my
god, that's just self empowering with it itself. Yeah, it could be
getting you know, there is a spiritual energy about it. That's one thing
that I've always learned about. That smile, the energy that she has even
when she's dancing. There's just something about her that says, you know,
you can feel this way too. Just set yourself free, be a personality
of your own. Oh my god, that is just perfectly said. Truly
it is because you know that that's what I wanted the book to give,
right So when you see her and her smiles and everything that she's doing,
that you really see, Wow, if she can do it, I can
do it too. You know. I want that same freedom and liberation.
Could just be me and to love me for who I am and accept me
for how I am. So you hit it right there on the nail,
that back what I wanted, that mile and this beautiful little girl in the
book. I absolutely positively love my Spots exactly what I wanted the readers to
receive from it. There's gonna be adults that are gonna pick up this book,
and you know, they're they're gonna have memories of their childhood because they
struggled through this, and they're gonna find, you know, inner peace because
of you. Yes, listen, this book brought me interpeade. And I'm
an adult, you know, I'm an adult. I really look at this
book as a self loved letter to every reader who reads it, because it
was truly a self loved letter to me as I wrote it. It really
just brought so much joy and healing in a sense as well as an adult
while I wrote this book, because truly, had I had this book growing
up, who knows who I would have become and how much you know,
I would have loved myself way more sooner than I you know, did.
So I'm really hoping that this book does bring that inner healing to adults because
a lot of adults we need that, We need that for sure. You're
so right about that, because I mean, right away, I mean,
it was it was like, oh my god, the last time that I
was touched by the realism of everything around us. I remember growing up watching
Fat Albert, I mean, and the thing is is that with Fat Albert,
nobody was the same. And that's what I love about your book is
that you're not the same, but you can still have a very very happy
life. Absolutely absolutely, and I think that that is what brings the happiness
in our lives for every person, whether they have the ligo or they don't
have it. Algo is to understand that your super superpower is truly your uniqueness.
The super power truly is you know, there's no one like you,
and no one can do what you do right and just to adversity, even
end the book, there are not one child that looks exactly the same,
which I love that about the book as well. Thank you so much Ninia
for bringing out that diversity in the book as well. But that is the
beauty of it. No one is like another person and we all should embrace
our uniqueness and all of our differences. When you were writing the book,
did your inner child, that child of your past? What did she sit
next to you? Oh? My god? Yes. In fact, I
always saying I believe that my inner child wrote this book because really the words
that were pinned on this paper were the words and the encouragement that I needed
as a kid growing up. I didn't see superheroes or any characters in books
or even on television that looked like me. So because of that, I
didn't know how to embrace my uniqueness. Others didn't know how to embrace my
differences, so it was very difficult. I haven't did a ligo in this
skin disorder and being different, right, So I truly believe that my inner
child wrote this book and really put out the words that I wish I could
have heard as a kid to encourage me, to remind me that I was
beautiful just as I am. And my inner child has written a beautiful book
every child out there in the world, Yeah, to basically tell them and
remind them you're beautiful just the way you are. And brating a book like
this, you know, it's screaming for one more thing. A website where
people who are in hiding can come out of Oh. Absolutely well for those
that are looking to receive this beautiful story, this beautiful book, this beautiful
gifts what I like to call it. You can go on to HarperCollins dot
com and just type in I absolutely positively love my spots and she is available
to everyone. Also, she's available in retail stores and in every bookstore that
you can purchase books. What did you learn from this journey, because I
mean you're still a student in life. Oh yeah, we're always learning.
We're learning every single day. And what I have learned is that I am
able and capable of doing even the most wildest things in the world for me.
I never thought that a little girl who once select confidence and self love,
who I really didn't know my worth and value, could be the person
today inspiring others to love who they are, to understand their worth and value,
and to embrace themselves. So I've learned that I have a superpower as
well. All I have to do is to step out and take the risk.
Yeah. I love your attitude. You got to come back to this
show anytime in the future. The door is always going to be open for
you. Yes, invite me back and I'll be here. Well, you
be brilliant today. Okay, Well, thank you so much. Have a
great one.