When Linda Ripa’s dreams of becoming a model or actor were stunted, she decided to try another avenue. Ripa became an author in 2002, publishing her book, “The Ladybug Blues,” which she illustrated as well.
While bedridden post-accident, someone handed Ripa some coloring pencils, and she began to remember her love of drawing when she was a child. “My nickname as a little kid was Ladybug, so I drew some,” she shared in her New York Times interview. ”My little nephew, Mikey, would come in to visit and I would hold the papers up with my arms and draw for him. And I would tell stories to him and my son.”
Eventually, one of her stories about a ladybug feeling different from her insect friends drew the attention of her younger relatives. She decided to write it down, and her family encouraged her to go further with it. “I didn’t think it was anything more than a story to tell Mikey and my son,” she recalled. ”I wrote and drew a few more. My father and my sister and my mother said: ‘These are great. You should publish these.'” In the end, Ripa’s changed career path ended up being a positive experience. “It is so rewarding to go to a reading and have all these little faces light up when you read them a story,” she said.
