Read Ebook {PDF EPUB} Growl Power! by Deborah Gregory Growl Power! The world’s #1 eTextbook reader for students. VitalSource is the leading provider of online textbooks and course materials. More than 15 million users have used our Bookshelf platform over the past year to improve their learning experience and outcomes. With anytime, anywhere access and built-in tools like highlighters, flashcards, and study groups, it’s easy to see why so many students are going digital with Bookshelf. titles available from more than 1,000 publishers. customer reviews with an average rating of 9.5. digital pages viewed over the past 12 months. institutions using Bookshelf across 241 countries. Growl Power! by Deborah Gregory and Publisher Open Road Media Teen & Tween. Save up to 80% by choosing the eTextbook option for ISBN: 9781497677210, 1497677211. The print version of this textbook is ISBN: 9781497677210, 1497677211. Growl Power! by Deborah Gregory and Publisher Open Road Media Teen & Tween. Save up to 80% by choosing the eTextbook option for ISBN: 9781497677210, 1497677211. The print version of this textbook is ISBN: 9781497677210, 1497677211. Author on Growl Power of 'Cheetah Girls' It's easy to pick author Deborah Gregory out in a crowd. The journalist and fashion designer spends a lot of time decked down in loud, bright, cheetah-print clothes. She brings this motif to her home as well and even to the clothes her dog wears. So is it really a surprise that Gregory told NPR's Farai Chideya her teen book series, "The Cheetah Girls," was only a matter of time. Ms. DEBORAH GREGORY (Journalist and Fashion Designer): I had a boutique in SoHo and you can imagine exactly what it looked like. And it was this wild, plus-size boutique. And I made this wild looking leopard, cheetah clothes, and the fashion editor of Essence would come in, borrow clothes from shoots, you know, that's what they do, you know - fashion shoots. And that's how first you get it. I got the idea about writing. And so I started badgering her. And she let me start writing fashion beauty. Then, you know, fast forward, I did an article on liposuction in Essence where me and my girlfriend went and had liposuction. I used to love doing those personal essays, where you actually go out and do something and write about it. And the liposuction, needless to say, got a big response. And I was on Oprah, and as a writer from Essence, and it was a show about liposuction. So that's how first the editor at Hyperian contacted me. So she just got my phone number from another writer - Joy Duckett Cain, as a matter of fact, an editor - and said you're really funny. I saw you on Oprah, the show about liposuction. And she said, have you ever thought about writing for kids? And I said no, but you know, it's funny - I said, you know, someone else. I said mm, interesting. She said while, you know, if you take a meeting and you know, and if I came up with something that they liked, you know, we'll make you an offer. And that's exactly what happened. FARAI CHIDEYA: So how did you come up with - when you were asked for the treatment? How did you come up with these characters? Ms. GREGORY: They gave me… This is what was the impetus for me, was the fact that they said there were not enough books with urban characters, actually the word they used is black characters, African-American. CHIDEYA: You know, you talked about the need for having more black characters… Ms. GREGORY: Yeah. CHIDEYA: - and your main character, Dorinda, is African-American. She was a foster child. You were also raised… Ms. GREGORY: I were also in foster care. CHIDEYA: Yeah, you were raised… Ms. GREGORY: Right. CHIDEYA: …in foster care. Ms. GREGORY: So you can say, I just pulled from myself. It was - that's how I created the characters. It was just for myself, and so that, you know, it's just a conscious decision I made. Okay, I'm going to make one of the girls Latin because New York is 25 percent Latin, that's all. It was just a marketing thing in terms of I always feel that they're under represented too, by the way. So you now, what I did was I went to the bookstore, and I looked, and I was shocked. The books were boring, and there weren't enough books with, you know, different characters. It was all pretty white. And I thought, hmm, this is not right. You know, technically, I am biracial. You know, I'm half black and half white. So what it is for me is such an explosion of multiculturalism because that is what fascinates me. The other part of my decision why I went ahead and did this, this was in 1998 - there was this huge article on the papers about the kids failing the reading exam. And that 40 percent of the children in the public school system were going to have to go to summer school to prepare to retake the reading exam. So there again, it was. So it's about making it interesting enough that they want to read. Like, you know, how we have our escape fiction as an adult. That's all I was creating for kids. CHIDEYA: And finally, when you were younger, who was your inspiration? Someone, you know, who was real or fictional that made you feel like you had cheetah power? Ms. GREGORY: I didn't have that when I was younger. I grew up in foster care, and it was a very difficult, difficult situation. And I didn't have that. I didn't grow up with dreams. And my dream - my big dream was to get out of foster care. So I didn't get any of that really until I was an adult and the person who inspired me as an adult was my psychotherapist. I went into psychotherapy at the age of 22. She's the person - she's the one who encouraged me to become a writer. She's the one who tried to help figure out what are my skill set, what is it that I have to offer so that I could sort of, you know, overcome a lot of the struggles that I was having. So I would say it was her. CHIDEYA: Well, on that note, Deborah, thanks so much for sharing your growl power with us. Ms. GREGORY: Growl power forever. COX: That was Deborah Gregory, creator of the "Cheetah Girls," a series of novels for teens, speaking with NPR's Farai Chideya. For more of growl power, and to hear Deborah Gregory recite the "Cheetah Girl" credo, visit our Web site at npr.org. Copyright © 2007 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information. NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by Verb8tm, Inc., an NPR contractor, and produced using a proprietary transcription process developed with NPR. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record. Deborah Gregory. Deborah Gregory had already achieved success in several careers, including working as a fashion model, entertainer, and magazine columnist, when she was approached in 1999 by Disney to create a series of books aimed at young African American girls. Because of her flamboyant personality and her flair for words, Gregory was just the right person to reach a marketing segment that had been traditionally overlooked. The first in what would come to be called the Cheetah Girls series, Wishing on a Star, was released in September 1999. Since then thirteen more books have been published—one almost every six months—with each following the adventures of five hip New York teens who are trying to break into show business. Gregory has essentially created a Cheetah Girls dynasty. In addition to books, there has been a Cheetah Girls movie, which was released on the Disney Channel in 2003. There are also numerous Cheetah Girl products, including CDs, T-shirts, and fashion accessories, all guaranteed to give young girls "growl power." From foster care to fashionista. Out of the five Cheetah Girls, Deborah Gregory relates most to Dorinda because, like her character, the author grew up in the foster-care system. Gregory was born in Brooklyn, New York, where she, her mother, and five siblings lived a homeless existence on the streets. When she was just three years old the family was picked up by the police; Gregory's mother was institutionalized and the children were separated and placed in various foster homes. As an adult, Gregory never managed to locate her mother, but she remained close to several of her sisters. While she was growing up Gregory lived with four different families. She also lived for a time in a group home. To combat feelings of loneliness the young Gregory looked inward and found a fabulous world of fantasy. She would create outrageous outfits, all sewn by hand, and practice in front of the mirror for hours pretending to be a famous singer. "My dreams were never dreams that I thought could come true," Gregory explained on her Web site. "They served more of an escape from the extremely painful existence of growing up in foster homes with people who were mean to me and other foster kids." " There is a little Cheetah Girl in every girl, no matter how big or small her dreams are." When she was eighteen Gregory finally left the foster system and struck out on her own. Realizing she had a flair for fashion she worked her way through school at the Fashion Institute of Technology, which is part of the State University of New York. Following graduation she headed for Europe, where she spent a year as a model. Upon returning to the United States, Gregory attended Empire State College in New York, graduating with a bachelor's degree in English in 1986. Flair for writing. A born and bred New Yorker, Gregory settled down in SoHo, an artsy district of Manhattan, and opened her own fashion boutique. The boutique flourished for a few years, but after her business partner pulled out, Gregory was forced to close the shop. Jobless, she turned to some of the many contacts she had made over the years. One of them was the fashion editor for Essence, a leading magazine geared toward African American women. The editor had frequently used Gregory's designs in fashion shoots, and she suggested that the former boutique owner try her hand at writing. After a successful trial run, Gregory became a contributing writer for Essence in 1992. Eventually she was given a monthly entertainment-news column called "Chit Chat and All That," where she frequently covered stories about female singing groups. Gregory recalled her own early ambitions when she spoke with Linda Jones of the Dallas Morning News : "When I was younger I wanted to sing. I had all the clothes, I had the flamboyant quality, but I just didn't have the voice." That flamboyance served Gregory well in her writing career, however, and soon she was contributing to a number of top magazines, including Vibe, More, Us, and Entertainment Weekly. While Gregory was making her mark in the magazine world, Disney Publishing was tossing around an idea for a new book series that would center around five teen girls who form a singing group. Throughout the 2000s the teen-girl market had proven lucrative for Disney, a company that produced hit TV series, such as Lizzie McGuire, starring pop star Hilary Duff (1987–), and big-screen offerings, including Freaky Friday (2003) and Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen (2004), featuring break-out teen Lindsay Lohan (1986–). This time around, however, Disney specifically wanted their teen characters to have a different flavor. They approached Gregory to pen the series, knowing she had her finger on the pulse of girl-group trends, plus they thought she had just the right sense of fun and flair. The jiggy jungle of the Cheetah Girls. On her Web site Gregory claims she came up with the idea for the Cheetah Girls while lounging on her leopard-print bedspread, wearing leopard- print pajamas, and propped up against leopard-print pillows. "I realized I had the answer all along, right at my heels," she explained. "I guess you could say I created the Cheetah Girls right out of my leopard lair." Gregory's five teen characters all wear leopard and cheetah prints, and according to Linda Jones, they are "divas-in-training." Following Disney's request, Gregory made sure her five ninth-graders were from a diverse mix of backgrounds, although according to Gregory the publishing company had originally indicated that the girls should all be African American. "That's not my reality," she told Jones. "To me it was very important that the characters be multicultural because that is the reality of the world." Therefore, Galleria is African American and Italian; Chanel is of Dominican, Puerto Rican, and Cuban heritage; Anginette and Aquanette are African American twins who originally hail from Houston, Texas; and Dorinda, who grew up as a foster child, is not quite sure what her ethnic origins are. Although fashion, fame, and fortune are uppermost in the minds of the Cheetah Girls, Gregory felt it was important to fill her characters with a sense of morals. According to Essence, "These sisters are not all glitz and glare, they do have solid-gold values." In fact, Gregory created what is known as the Cheetah Girls Credo, a code of conduct that gives the teens strength and empowerment. Among other things, Cheetah Girls must show respect for their parents and others in authority; they support their family and friends at all costs; and they embrace, rather than judge, people who are different. A big part of the code is self-reliance. Gregory says: "A true Cheetah Girl doesn't spend more time doing her hair than her homework. Hair extensions may be career extensions, but talent and skills will pay my bills." Gregory does feel that the Cheetah Girls serve as good role models, but she does not want to appear preachy. "We want to be silly," she commented to Linda Jones. "The Cheetah Girls don't litter, they glitter. Sil-li-ness." To get her message across, Gregory built an entire Cheetah universe, filled with her own unique lingo. The girls struggle to make it in the "jiggy jungle," which is the place where dreams can come true, and they fantasize about making buckets of "duckets," or money. Most important, each girl has to tap into her own "growl power," to become a success. As Gregory explains on her Web site, "Talent is only one part of a very big equation out there in the jiggy jungle. You have to have growl power to show the world that you got it going on!" Real-Life Cheetah Girls: Adrienne Bailon and Kiely Williams. Two of the cast members of The Cheetah Girls movie, Adrienne Bailon and Kiely Williams, know what it is like to be part of a singing group since they are two-thirds of the real-life R&B trio 3LW (Three Little Women). The original third member of 3LW was Naturi Noughton (1984–); Noughton was replaced in 2002 by Jessica Benson (1988–). The group was formed by Williams's mother, Denise, who was looking for an outlet for her talented daughter. Kiely Alexis Williams was born on July 9, 1986, in Alexandria, Virginia, but was raised in Annandale, New Jersey, along with her four sisters. She was surrounded by music from a very early age since her mother Denise was a music manager. Williams's first big break, however, was as an actress. When she was just five years old, she appeared in a television pilot directed by acclaimed actor Robert DeNiro (1943–). But by her early teens it became apparent that Williams's first love was singing. As a result, her mother Denise held auditions and hand-picked two other girls to be part of a group that would showcase her daughter's talents. Denise Williams became the group's manager and 3LW was officially launched. Adrienne Eliza Bailon adds a Latin flavor to the group since her parents are of Puerto Rican and Ecuadorian descent. She was born on October 24, 1983, in Ecuador, but she was raised in New York City when her singer-songwriter father, Freddy Bailon, immigrated to the United States to seek fame and fortune. Even as a young girl Bailon performed for family and friends; she also sang in the church choir. In 1999, Bailon's choir appeared at Madison Square Garden, where the sixteen-year-old was singled out by Latin pop star Ricky Martin (1974–), who was also on the bill. Martin invited Bailon to sing back-up vocals at his performance later that night. Williams, Bailon, and Noughton spent the early part of 2000 perfecting their sound and trying to land a record deal. They were quickly signed by Epic Records, and in a whirlwind of promotion their first album was released in December. 3LW's self-titled debut album sold more than one million copies and spawned such chart-toppers as "No More (Baby I'ma Do Right)" and "Playas Gon' Play." That same year 3LW contributed a song, "Til I Say So," to the soundtrack of the hit teen movie Bring It On they also made their acting debut, appearing as a fictional group called Blue Mascara on the Nickelodeon series Taina. In 2002, 3LW released their second album, A Girl Can Mack; just a few months short of the fall release, however, Noughton announced she was leaving the group. After auditioning thousands of hopefuls, Jessica Benson won Noughton's slot. For the next two years 3LW traveled the United States on promotional concerts, and their videos became staples on the MTV series TRL (Total Request Live). In 2004, the group contributed a number of songs to the movie soundtracks of Love Don't Cost a Thing and Barbershop 2. Bailon also took time out to appear in another Disney movie, playing a disc jockey in 2004's Buffalo Dreams. The trio plans to release their third album, titled The Point of No Return, in October 2005. From page to screen. The first book in the series, Wishing on a Star, was released in September 1999 and was received with such enthusiasm that Disney signed Gregory to produce a new volume every six months. By 2005 there were thirteen Cheetah Girls books, including Growl Power (2000), Oops, Doggy Dog (2002), and Growl Power Forever (2004). There were also several Cheetah spin-offs, such as The Cheetah Girls Quiz Book (2005) and The Cheetah Girls Supa-Star Scrapbook (2005). In 2003 Disney decided to cash in on the Cheetah craze by producing a made-for-television movie based on Gregory's bestselling books. To guarantee plenty of girl appeal, top teen celebrities were cast in the leads: Raven (1985–), star of the Disney series That's So Raven, played Galleria; Sabrina Ryan (1986–), fresh from the CBS soap opera The Bold and the Beautiful, was cast as Dorinda; and two members of the R&B girl group 3LW, Adrienne Bailon (1983–) and Kiely Williams (1986–), played Chanel and Aquanette. Aqua's twin sister Angie was not featured in the film. The Cheetah Girls movie was not generally accepted by critics, who dismissed it as shallow and rather cliché. Marilyn Moss of the Hollywood Reporter called it a "noisy, seen-it-all-before" film that is "frenetic from start to finish." But Gregory did not have critics in mind; she was writing for her audience—tween girls, who are aged nine to twelve and just on the brinkof being teenagers. Tweens loved the movie, just as they loved Gregory's books, and as Disney hoped, the Cheetah Girls proved to be profitable business. Fans snatched up CDs featuring music from The Cheetah Girls and bought DVDs and T-shirts— anything Cheetah-inspired. There was even talk of a television series based on the film, which would beco-produced by Gregory and pop sensation Whitney Houston (1963—). The cheetah-licious Deborah Gregory. The Cheetah Girls may be fictional role models for young girls, but Deborah Gregory is a living, breathing inspiration. Through hard work and perseverance she survived the hardships of her Brooklyn childhood to become a bona fide star. In between churning out tween books, she is working on her first adult novel. She also recently launched her own design company called Cheetahrama, which offers original cheetah-licious creations. Despite her success, however, Gregory never forgets her roots. She is putting together a one-woman show called Leopard Lives that focuses on her personal recollections of growing up in the foster-care system. Gregory has also worked tirelessly as an advocate for other foster children. She is a member of the National Association of Former Foster Children,has been recognized by the New York City Human Resources Administration for her efforts on behalf of children, and has received a citation from the New York Association of Black Journalists for writing about the foster system in the United States. And she will continue to empower young girls through her Cheetah books. It is a good thing, since, as Gregory comments on her Web site, "Unless a girl lives in a glass house with glass slippers on her feet, life will require her to call upon her Cheetah Girl powers—her strength, vulnerability, and courage on countless occasions." For More Information. Books. Gregory, Deborah. The Cheetah Girls: Growl Power. New York: Jump at the Sun, 2000. Gregory, Deborah. The Cheetah Girls: Growl Power Forever. New York: Jump at the Sun, 2004. Gregory, Deborah. The Cheetah Girls: Oops, Doggy Dog. New York: Jump at the Sun, 2002. Gregory, Deborah. The Cheetah Girls: Wishing on a Star. New York: Jump at the Sun, 1999. Periodicals. Jones, Linda. "Deborah Gregory's Cheetah Series Provides a Plot Twist for Kids' Books." Dallas Morning News (May 3, 2000). Powell, Imani. "Books to Film: The Cheetah Girls." Essence (April 2003): p. 118. "What's New on the Bookshelf?" Essence (September 1999): p. 168. Web Sites. Cheetahrama Web site. http://www.cheetahrama.com/ (accessed on August 23, 2005). 3LW Online. http://www.3lwonline.cjb.net/ (accessed on August 23, 2005). Cite this article Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography. MLA Chicago APA. Citation styles. Encyclopedia.com gives you the ability to cite reference entries and articles according to common styles from the Modern Language Association (MLA), The Chicago Manual of Style, and the American Psychological Association (APA). Within the “Cite this article” tool, pick a style to see how all available information looks when formatted according to that style. Then, copy and paste the text into your bibliography or works cited list. Meet Deborah Gregory. Writer, performer and designer Deborah Gregory ’86, at left, is the award-winning author of “The Cheetah Girls,” a series of novels for adolescent readers published by Disney Publishing Worldwide. She also has been a National Association of Black Journalists award-winning contributing writer for Essence magazine since 1992 and her work has appeared in Vibe, More, Heart & Soul, Entertainment Weekly and US magazines. A Metro Center graduate with a B.S. in Cultural Studies, Gregory also has authored a pop-culture column, “The Diva Diaries,” for Grace, a national fashion and lifestyle publication targeted at multi-cultural women. Gregory has contributed to several books including, "Men of Color: Fashion, Mission, Fundamentals," (Artisan Publishing); "Body and Soul, SoulStyle: Black Women Redefining the Color Fashion," "Essence Total Makeover Book" and "50 Most Influential People." Meet Deborah Gregory. Excerpted from www.cheetahrama.com. Want to know what the hype about the Cheetah Girls is all about? Find out here as author Deborah Gregory breaks down her cheetah-licious creation, the deal with "growl power," how to get diggity in the jiggy jungle and much, much more. What inspired you to create the Cheetah Girls? I was lounging at home in my leopard p.j.s lying on my leopard bedspread, propped up on my leopard pillows, wracking my brain trying to think what I would call my girls. I wanted to be a singer really bad when I was younger—used to whip up clothes that I sewed by hand and stand in the mirror pretending to be a singer. My dreams were never dreams that I thought could come true, they served more of an escape from the extremely painful existence of growing up in foster homes with people who were mean to me and other foster kids. Nonetheless, by the time I became a writer, and knew that I wanted to write something for the girlies (the editors at Disney Publishing approached me to come up with an idea while I was a columnist for Essence, penning an entertainment news column called ``Chit Chat and All That.’’ Once I wrapped my mind around the idea of a group of girls forming a singer group, I still had to figure out, ‘Who would they be? What would they look like? What would they call themselves?’ Then, just like in “The Wizard of Oz,” I realized that I had the answer all along, right at my heels. Who was I trying to fool? Just go with what I know! I guess you could say I created the Cheetah Girls right out of my leopard lair! The Cheetah Girls are urban creatures. How did you come up with their backgrounds? I created this whole universe based on my concept of modern-day life being parallel to the real jungle (lions, and tigers and bears, oh, my!). Naturally, that means, they had to represent more than just a singing group. These girls had to have a set of ethics for surviving in the jiggy jungle. They had to be crew. More than anything, I knew they had to be from different backgrounds—just like real girls. Galleria is half-Black, half-Italian. Dorinda is, well, she doesn’t really know what she is because she has been in foster care for as long as she can remember and nobody has really told her anything about her heritage. So, like me, there is some murkiness about her origins that it will take her a long time to figure out. Chanel Simmons is Dominican, Puerto Rican, Cuban. She is my Latin senorita. Aquanette has a twin sister (I know, I know -- Angie doesn’t get any play in the movie version -- yikes!) and originally hails from Houston, TX. She is sassy, loves hot sauce, and can siiiing! You know those southern girls that can tear it up in a church choir? That’s Aqua. When she comes to New York, she is hit with a different kind of diversity than she is used to in Houston. And, like all real girls, she has to learn how to adapt in her new environment. You created the Cheetah Girls Credo -- a set of ethics girls can live by. What exactly is a true Cheetah Girl? True Cheetah Girls have the skills to access their power, the skills to pay their bills, if you will. No matter how you slice it, girls must be prepared for life in the urban and suburban jungle. There is a little Cheetah Girl in every girl, no matter how big or small her dreams are (hey, let's face it, not all of us get to be supa-stars; somebody has to care for sick people and do other good and important things and that doesn't mean she doesn't need guts to get there too). Unless, a girl lives in a glass house with glass slippers on her feet, life will require her to call upon her Cheetah Girl powers -- her strength, vulnerability and courage on countless occasions. Girls have to know how to access their true power. And true Cheetah Girls are born for adventure. They have friends though and they always watch each other's backs. They also fight fair -- oh, you know, Cheetah Girls never get down and dirty with the oinkies, wallowing in mud. They just fight for the right to express themselves and protect their peeps. What exactly is growl power? Like animals, people run in packs. They get their identity from the group they hang with. Their crew, so to speak. You’ve got the jackals, the hyenas, the panthers, the gazelles, the tommy herds, and yes, the cheetahs, to name a few of our furry-fied friends. Cheetahs are courageous, fierce, tough when they have to be, yet vulnerable. They know the value of friends, family and defending their turf but fighting fair. Every Cheetah Girl possesses "growl power." Galleria, for example, is a natural communicator. She can make up words and rhyme on a dime. That's the gift she has to share with the world and because she has the growl power she is going to be able to do that. Without it, she may misuse her talents or not assert herself. This happens to girls a lot. They just sort of get lost in the shuffle. Talent is only one part of a very big equation out there in the jiggy jungle. You have to have growl power to show the world that you got it going on! Where is the jiggy jungle? The jiggy jungle is the magical place that exists inside every dangerous, scary, crowded city. It's that place where dreams really do come true. You have to find this place and not let anyone stop you from getting there. Growl Power! by Deborah Gregory. Writer, performer and designer Deborah Gregory is the award-winning author of “The Cheetah Girls” novel series (Disney Publishing Worldwide). The 22-book series (16 books written by Deborah Gregory plus 6 movie tie-in books including “The Cheetah Girls Supa Star Scrapbook,” “Cheetah Girls 2 X0X0 Postcard Book” and “Cheetah Girls Cheetah Chatter: A Dictionary of Growl-licious Lingo”) is about five talented teens who form a singing group and make their dreams come true in the jiggy jungle. The Disney Channel original movie produced in conjunction with Whitney Houston, “The Cheetah Girls” –based on the book series–airs this summer and stars Raven Symone, Adrienne and Kiely from 3LW as well as Lynn Whitfield. Deborah Gregory serves as a co-producer on the film project. The soundtrack album will be available on Disney’s Hollywood Records. In 2001, the series was chosen at the Blackboard Children’s Book of the Year. Gregory is also an NABJ award-winning contributing writer for ESSENCE magazine since 1992. Her work has also appeared in VIBE, MORE, Heart & Soul, Entertainment Weekly, US magazines. Her pop culture column, THE DIVA DIARIES, appears in GRACE magazine, the national fashion and lifestyle “reality” publication targeted at multi-cultural women. She is currently writing an adult novel as well as developing a one- woman show “LEOPARD LIVES” –a coming of age story about a foster child growing up in the New York City foster care system of which Gregory is also a survivor. She has performed segments of her work-in-progress one-woman show at the Women of Color Festival, winning the festival’s Best Comedy Award for 2001; Dixon Place, Caroline’s Comedy Club and Solo Arts Festival. Ms. Gregory has also contributed to several books including, “Men of Color: Fashion, Mission, Fundamentals,” (Artisan Publishing); “Body and Soul, SoulStyle: Black Women Redefining the Color Fashion,” “Essence Total Makeover Book,” “50 Most Influential People.” She also contributed to photographer Marc Baptiste’s book of nudes, Beautiful” (Rizzoli/Universe Publishing) as well as posed for the famed fashion photographer. The pictures are provocative and include a host of celebrities who also posed nude including Stacey Dash, Rosario Dawson, Vanessa Williams, Beverly Johnson, LisaRaye. 25 percent of the proceeds will go to photographer Mfon Essien’s breast cancer organization set up upon her untimely death. This year, Deborah Gregory also launched her company, CHEETAHRAMA, offering her original designs including hand-crafted decoupage art cases and hair accessories. CHEETAHRAMA mirror compacts, pillboxes, business card holders, cigarette cases and vanity cases which are sold at stores nationwide including the Studio Museum of Harlem gift shop. Ms. Gregory received her A.A.S. from Fashion Institute of TEchnology, then received a Bachelor of Science from Empire State University in 1986. She currently lives in New York City with her pooch Cappuccino who poses as the Cheetah Girls mascot Toto. Meet Deborah Gregory Author of The Cheetah Girls. Want to know what the hype about the Cheetah Girls is all about? Find out here as author Deborah Gregory breaks down her cheetah-licious creation, the deal with “growl power,” how to get diggity in the jiggy jungle and much, much more. And keep your eyes on the prize: Deborah Gregory’s next purr-fect tale, Catwalk (to be published by Random House) will reveal its paws in 2007!! What inspired you to create the Cheetah Girls? I was lounging at home in my leopard p.j’s. laying on my leopard bedspread, propped up on my leopard pillows, wracking my brain trying to think what I would call my girls. I wanted to be a singer really bad when I was younger—used to whip up clothes that I sewed by hand and stand in the mirror pretending to be a singer. My dreams were never dreams that I thought could come true, they served more of an escape from the extremely painful existence of growing up in foster homes with people who were mean to myself and other foster kids. Nonetheless, by the time I became a writer, and knew that I wanted to write something for the girlies (the editors at Disney Publishing approached me to come up with an idea while I was a columnist for Essence magazine, penning an entertainment news column called “Chit Chat and All That.’’ Once I wrapped my mind around the idea of a group of girls forming a singer group, I still had to figure out, Who would they be? What would they look like? What would they call themselves? Then just like in the `Wizard of Oz,’ I realized that I had the answer all along, right at my heels. Who was I trying to fool? Just go with what I know! I guess you could say I created the Cheetah Girls right out of my leopard lair! The Cheetah Girls are urban creatures. How did you come up with their backgrounds? I created this whole universe based on my concept of modern-day life being parallel to the real jungle (lions, and tigers and bears, oh, my!). Naturally, that means, they had to represent more than just a singing group. These girls had to have a set of ethics for surviving in the jiggy jungle. They had to be crew. More than anything, I knew they had to be from different backgrounds—just like real girls. Galleria is half-Black, half-Italian. Dorinda is, well, she doesn’t really know what she is because she has been in foster care for as long as she can remember and nobody has really told her anything about her heritage. So, like me, there is some murkiness about her origins that it will take her a long time to figure out. Chanel Simmons is Dominican, Puerto Rican, Cuban. She is my latin senorita. Aquanette has a twin sister (I know, I know—Angie doesn’t get any play in the movie version—yikes!) and originally hails from Houston, Texas. She is sassy, loves hot sauce, and can siiiing! You know those Southern girls that can tear it up in a church choir. That’s Aqua. When she comes to New York, she is hit with a different kind of diversity than she is used to in Houston. And, like all real girls, she has to learn how to adapt in her new environment. You created the Cheetah Girls Credo—a set of ethics girls can live by. What exactly is a true Cheetah Girl? True Cheetah Girls have the skills to access their power, the skills to pay their bills, if you will. No matter how you slice it, girls must be prepared for life in the urban and suburban jungle. There is a little Cheetah Girl in every girl, no matter how big or small her dreams are (hey, let’s face it, not all of us get to be supa-stars; somebody has to care for sick people and do other good and important things and that doesn’t mean she doesn’t need guts to get there too). Unless, a girl lives in a glass house with glass slippers on her feet, life will require her to call upon her Cheetah Girl powers—her strength, vulnerability and courage on countless occasions. Girls have to know how to access their true power. And true Cheetah Girls are born for adventure. They have friends though and they always watch each other’s backs. They also fight fair—oh, you know, Cheetah Girls never get down and dirty with the oinkies, wallowing in mud. They just fight for the right to express themselves and protect their peeps. What exactly is growl power? Like animals, people run in packs. They get their identity from the group they hang with. Their crew, so to speak. You’ve got the jackals, the hyenas, the panthers, the gazelles, the tommy herds, and yes, the cheetahs, to name a few of our furry-fied friends. Cheetahs are courageous, fierce, tough when they have to be but yet vulnerable. They know the value of friends, family and defending their turf but fighting fair. Every Cheetah Girl possesses “growl power”. Galleria, for example, is a natural communicator. She can make up words and rhyme on a dime. That’s the gift she has to share with the world and because she has the growl power she is going to be able to do that. Without it, she may misuse her talents or not assert herself. This happens to girls a lot. They just sort of get lost in the shuffle. Talent is only one part of a very big equation out there in the jiggy jungle. You have to have growl power to show the world that you got it going on! Where is the jiggy jungle? The jiggy jungle is the magical place that exists inside every dangerous, scary, crowded city. It’s that place where dreams really do come true. You have to find this place and not let anyone stop you from getting there.