Meg Cabot, NO WORDS: A Novel
[0:01]Hi, I'm Sivi Owens, and you're listening to the award-winning podcast,
[0:05]Moms Don't Have Time to Read Books.
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[0:32]And now, back to our daily author interview site and a quick hello from some of my kids.
[0:36]Hi, hi. Hello.
[0:38]Enjoy the show.
[0:41]If you like this podcast, you will love my new anthology called Moms Don't Have Time to Have Kids.
[0:47]Here's a little snippet by one of the authors from the anthology.
[0:51]Hey, podcast listeners.
[0:52]My name is Brooke Adams Law, and I'm thrilled to have contributed to Moms Don't Have Time to Have Kids.
[0:59]My essay is called The World I Build for You.
[1:02]And what I really don't have time for is one ounce of guilt or shame about whether my body measures up to cultural standards
[1:10]after having given birth to two kids.
[1:12]Meg Cabot is the author of No Words.
[1:15]Meg was born in Bloomington, Indiana, and in addition to her adult contemporary fiction,
[1:20]she is the author of the best-selling, young adult fiction series, The Princess Diaries.
[1:25]Over 25 million, that's so many.
[1:28]Over 25 million copies of her novels for children and adults have sold worldwide.
[1:34]And many of them have or will be turned into movies and TV series.
[1:38]Meg lives in Key West, Florida with her husband.
[1:41]And if you've seen the movie, The Princess Diaries, it was based on this book.
[1:44]Welcome, Meg.
[1:45]Thank you so much for coming on Moms Don't Have Time to read books to discuss No Words and your amazing career and everything else.
[1:51]Oh, thank you so much for having me.
[1:53]It's wonderful to be here.
[1:54]Should I make a joke about you're having to find words for this interview and you're going to get that like a million times?
[1:59]I do.
[2:00]You know, this is actually my first interview about this book.
[2:03]So actually, that's good.
[2:05]It's refreshing.
[2:06]You can say that.
[2:07]Well, I feel like this book is like a guilty indulgence.
[2:11]I love it.
[2:12]Every time I kick back and I'm so amused and having so much fun reading it that it almost feels like I'm cheating or something.
[2:21]Like it's just so fun.
[2:23]It's so like, I love your sense of humor or, you know, I'm assuming, I mean, it has to be your sense.
[2:28]I just love it.
[2:30]I just, I'm like so into all of it.
[2:32]Thank you.
[2:33]So I just, you know, I look forward to reading it at night and just relaxing and I feel like pretending I'm in Florida, you know, in part of this.
[2:43]Anyway, so good.
[2:45]Because that's when I was hoping people would get out of it was that, you know, you're going away on this nice vacation.
[2:50]And it's going to be totally easy and fun.
[2:53]And then of course the main character is freaking out the whole time because she has to see someone she doesn't want to see, which hopefully doesn't happen to anyone in real life.
[3:02]But yeah, it's like doesn't matter the setting.
[3:05]Like you always are where you are.
[3:06]Exactly.
[3:07]Right.
[3:07]You know, you can't leave the anxiety in New York City.
[3:09]It always follows you around.
[3:10]Exactly.
[3:11]Yeah.
[3:12]So you still get to enjoy vicariously her wonderful trip.
[3:15]And then at the same time, you're like, what is she freaking?
[3:17]She's freaking out for the dumbest reason.
[3:19]I mean, ultimately she is because you know that it's a nice, fun, romantic book and everything's going to be okay because I feel like we're living in a time where that's what we want to read books where we know everything's going to be okay because life right now is so crazy.
[3:33]Totally.
[3:34]There's something very comforting about it.
[3:36]And I love just how it's all set in the literary world to have it's book festival and, you know, like the couple.
[3:42]What are their names.
[3:44]Yeah.
[3:45]Yeah.
[3:46]Like their funny relationship and like being so skiddish about everything, even like the pool and what diseases are in the pool and like how could you swim and did you not look out the window?
[3:56]We crossed a bridge and like it's just so funny.
[3:59]It's like anyway.
[4:00]Well, yeah.
[4:01]I was really missing book festivals because we haven't gotten to have any for about a year and a half now.
[4:06]I haven't been to any.
[4:08]And so I thought it would be really great to vicariously go to a book festival in the book.
[4:13]I'm writing.
[4:14]So that's what I did.
[4:15]And I have to admit that I did kind of insert people that I know and miss.
[4:19]Oh really.
[4:20]I say in the, you know, in the acknowledge.
[4:23]None of these authors are based on real people.
[4:25]Some of them kind of are.
[4:26]So I was.
[4:27]I hope that people don't recognize themselves, but I know who they all are.
[4:31]And I'm very lovingly.
[4:34]And I am like, I got to visit with you guys.
[4:36]So maybe if they figure out who they are, I'll be like, yeah, you, you and I would do a book festival in my mind.
[4:42]In the book.
[4:43]I love the guy on the plane.
[4:45]It does all the magic.
[4:46]Oh my God.
[4:47]Creepy.
[4:48]You know, we're.
[4:49]Thank you for agreeing that that's kind of creepy.
[4:51]That has happened to me at book festivals where I'll be on like the author bus on the way to an event at like eight in the morning.
[4:57]And it's usually not magic.
[4:59]It's usually like somebody with puppets will suddenly spin around and start like doing puppets.
[5:04]In my face.
[5:05]Like, and I haven't even had caffeine yet.
[5:07]And they'll be like, Hi, man.
[5:08]The festival.
[5:10]I'm like, Oh my God.
[5:11]And it's always man.
[5:12]I'm sorry.
[5:13]It's always man.
[5:14]I'm just like, stop it.
[5:15]That is not cool.
[5:16]And some glad that you agree.
[5:18]But that is creepy.
[5:19]So I'm like, no, that's fun.
[5:21]I want you.
[5:22]It's not fun.
[5:23]That is not that.
[5:24]So time in a place.
[5:25]People haven't read the book yet.
[5:27]Or like, what is this book about that I'm telling you.
[5:29]It's all the author secrets that happened on book festivals early in the morning.
[5:33]And late at night after the festival is over the weird stuff that goes on.
[5:38]Oh my gosh.
[5:39]Sexual.
[5:40]Even like how they were all talking about the donor reception that they like had to go to and the free food and the alcohol.
[5:47]And like the servers who were like,
[5:50]you're like, anyway, so funny.
[5:53]I mean, so yeah, it's like, you know, making fun of like, you know, just just excess and the need to show off.
[5:59]And it's like, no, this is to character in any way.
[6:02]It's true.
[6:03]But it's fun.
[6:04]And I'm not putting book festivals down.
[6:06]I'm actually on the board of the Key West literary seminar, which I love.
[6:10]And we are going to have this year fingers crossed.
[6:13]And so I get to see a lot of the ins and outs from the point of view of somebody who's planning one of these as well.
[6:18]Okay.
[6:19]So as well as going to them.
[6:20]I also am now on the end of okay, who are we inviting is this person going to get along with that person.
[6:26]So that's kind of where the idea for this book came from as far as two authors who really do not get along ending up being at the same book festival.
[6:33]Because I've experienced that from the point of view someone who plans these things and it's very funny.
[6:39]Or it could be a disaster.
[6:41]As someone who is like has is more like an attendee type of person.
[6:45]Like it never occurred to me some of the behind the scenes things are how often you would have to be with the person.
[6:51]I mean, I guess it depends on the location.
[6:53]It's not like book con or something, but you know smaller islands.
[6:57]Exactly.
[6:58]If this festival happens, you have to let me know because I don't know if you've watched the movie Vivo yet.
[7:03]It's like, or if I know of it.
[7:05]Yeah.
[7:06]Okay.
[7:07]Well, part of it takes place in Key West.
[7:08]And so my kids thought it was like a made up place and I don't know.
[7:12]It's a real place.
[7:14]And now of course they want to go.
[7:16]So anyway, come on down.
[7:19]So more than barrier.
[7:21]Just it.
[7:22]Yeah.
[7:23]So that's hilarious.
[7:24]Did you when you were writing it like what was it like to write it?
[7:27]Did it all just like come right out or do you like, did you have to plan it or like what was that whole thing like?
[7:32]I think probably you've talked to other authors about this.
[7:34]It was weird because you're writing during the pandemic.
[7:37]And I just kept going this is so weird to have people be shaking hands.
[7:41]And of course in this book kissing and making out doing more than making out.
[7:44]I'm like, is this ever going to happen again?
[7:46]And I know it is.
[7:47]I know people from experience that I have people in my family and neighborhood that are hooking up.
[7:52]And so I know people are doing that.
[7:54]But from my point of view being a married lady for many years or what are people even going to ever do this again.
[7:59]So that part was was very fun.
[8:01]But then I just decided, you know what?
[8:03]Yes, people are going to do this again.
[8:05]It's all going to be okay.
[8:06]And I'm just going to go with it.
[8:08]And we are going ahead with our book festival.
[8:10]So that part was probably the hardest thing to overcome.
[8:13]Just the uncertainty at the time I was writing this book because vaccines hadn't even come out yet.
[8:18]And but the rest of it just really did flow because it was so much fun to write about a book festival that I was not going to.
[8:24]And I had no stakes in it.
[8:26]So that was that part was fun.
[8:28]And then just getting the point of view of this very tense New York writer, who's the main character.
[8:34]Joe really needs vacations.
[8:36]She needs to go out of the New York winter and into this Floridian atmosphere where there's a beautiful pool at her hotel.
[8:42]And she's just totally going to lay back and she's getting a huge stipend.
[8:46]She doesn't know why, but she's very excited that they're actually paying her to go on this free vacation.
[8:51]And to really just enjoy it until, of course, she finds out that her rival and the guy she hates more than anyone else in the writing community is also there.
[9:01]And then she in her opinion, everything.
[9:03]She's she's practically going to leave.
[9:05]But then her friend, her writing friend commissers are no, you need to stay.
[9:07]You need to face face your demons.
[9:09]So that's kind of what the book is about is.
[9:11]She doesn't have words because she's got writers block.
[9:14]And then this guy he is very bad at verbalizing what he needs.
[9:19]So he can write it down, but he can't speak very well, which is how he keeps putting his foot in his mouth.
[9:24]So it's a good to me.
[9:26]It's kind of a good summary of what it's kind of like to be a writer.
[9:29]Sometimes you can't write and sometimes you can't speak.
[9:33]Usually at the worst time.
[9:36]I also love how you poke fun at authors.
[9:40]Because Joe is a middle grade author.
[9:42]I really like an early reader is middle grade.
[9:44]And that people are always coming after her saying like, I used to love your books.
[9:47]And you're like, why do I have to be the person that you used to love my books?
[9:51]Yeah.
[9:52]And she compares it to being one of the actors who was on friends.
[9:55]Like everybody comes up to Rachel.
[9:57]Jeff Francis is like, oh, I used to love your stuff.
[10:00]Oh, and she's like, oh, my God.
[10:02]You know, I still do things.
[10:04]I still write things.
[10:04]I'm still acting, and she's so mad,
[10:06]because every bit, but she finally, she learns it.
[10:09]It's okay.
[10:09]It's okay to be everybody.
[10:11]The person who, I don't want to give it away.
[10:13]But maybe the person who, your book's meant so much to somebody
[10:16]because they learned to read from your books,
[10:19]or your books, or what captivated them
[10:21]and made them become a reader.
[10:22]And so she's kind of getting used to that.
[10:25]And she's like, okay, maybe it's okay to be who I am,
[10:27]but then of course her rival is the guy who's books,
[10:30]everybody's reading now.
[10:31]He's the guy, he's kind of,
[10:33]I don't want to say he's Nicholas Sparks,
[10:34]because he's not, he's not, I was gonna,
[10:36]yes, apparently I'm the Nicholas Sparks,
[10:38]I'm like, oh, okay fine.
[10:39]But he's not, but that's kind of who he is.
[10:42]A little bit.
[10:43]That's what his books are.
[10:44]I tried to, so in the book,
[10:45]you can read little sections of his new book
[10:47]that has just come out.
[10:48]And I'm not saying I tried to make them like Nicholas Sparks,
[10:51]every since I failed at doing that.
[10:53]So, but I did.
[10:55]I had him on this podcast.
[10:57]Did he, did you?
[10:59]I'm sure he's, I've never met him.
[11:00]So, no, I am sorry.
[11:02]I'll send you the,
[11:03]yeah, you know what I'm gonna go on?
[11:04]No, I'm not, I'm not, I'm sorry.
[11:06]It was a while ago that people.
[11:07]Well, not that long.
[11:08]Okay, we won't talk about that anymore.
[11:11]No, no, it's fine.
[11:12]I mean, it's funny.
[11:14]It's almost like, you know,
[11:15]there's this whole like it's never enough for authors, right?
[11:18]Like, it's never enough.
[11:20]Like, it's not okay that Joe is this massively successful.
[11:24]Author with this whole kitty cat series or whatever you want
[11:26]to call it, that like everybody in the world knows
[11:28]sort of like dog man or something like that, right?
[11:31]Right?
[11:31]It's just like, yeah, right or something.
[11:34]Yeah.
[11:35]You know, now it's something else needs to be done.
[11:36]And I don't know.
[11:38]No, it's true.
[11:38]She's definitely suffering from horrible writer's box
[11:41]because her rival said something mean about her in an interview.
[11:44]And so now she can't pass it.
[11:46]And she's, she's got a problem.
[11:48]And that's why she's one of those people
[11:49]who can't let go.
[11:50]She can't let it go like in frozen.
[11:53]Yeah, exactly.
[11:53]You need to learn.
[11:55]So that's, that's what the book is about.
[11:56]And I have friend like tries to psychoanalyzer
[11:59]and it's like, is this because you're done?
[12:01]You have to find him a nursing home or an old age home
[12:03]and she's like, what?
[12:05]Yeah, exactly.
[12:07]It was, it was fun to write.
[12:09]So how did you like tell me about,
[12:11]so you also wrote The Princess Diaries,
[12:13]which of course you're telling me,
[12:14]like another family favorite here,
[12:17]I mean, you're just winning points right in left.
[12:19]But how did you get your start like being a writer?
[12:24]And how did you come up with these like breakout hits
[12:27]and all of that?
[12:28]Thanks.
[12:29]You know, the Princess Diaries really was inspired
[12:31]by a family incident that happened.
[12:33]My mom after my dad passed away,
[12:35]my mom started dating one of my teachers,
[12:37]which is really what the Princess Diaries to me is about.
[12:39]It's about a girl who's obsessing
[12:40]because her mom is dating one of her teachers.
[12:42]And then incidentally, my agent was like,
[12:46]that's not enough for a story.
[12:47]Like something else needs to happen.
[12:48]She can't just have her mom be dating her teacher
[12:51]and be freaking out.
[12:52]She's like, there needs to be a more of a hug.
[12:53]So I had a couple of ideas.
[12:54]And the one that seemed to be the best fit
[12:56]was that she turns out to be a princess,
[12:58]which is so ridiculous that,
[13:00]but it could happen in real life, you know?
[13:02]So I wrote it realistically like that's something
[13:04]that could happen.
[13:05]And to my surprise, people seemed to really like it.
[13:08]I'd never thought that it would be a big hit
[13:11]or that it would be made into a movie,
[13:13]starring Julie Andrews, you know,
[13:14]Whitney Houston kind of picked it up
[13:17]out of the slush pile, really took it to Disney.
[13:20]And then the next thing I knew,
[13:21]it was being made into a movie.
[13:22]And I got to quit my day job at NYU.
[13:25]I was working as an assistant manager of a dorm there.
[13:28]It was crazy.
[13:29]And then after that,
[13:30]I just was able to write full time.
[13:31]It was a total, my gosh, I know.
[13:34]It was amazing.
[13:35]So I blame my mom for all of it.
[13:38]That's my backstory.
[13:40]My friend was cycling and analyzing me.
[13:43]She'd be like, it's her mom's fault.
[13:44]So yeah, that was great.
[13:46]And yet also, totally bizarre.
[13:49]Wow.
[13:50]But it couldn't, was that your,
[13:52]so what were you doing?
[13:53]When did you first write enough?
[13:54]Oh, oh my God, no.
[13:56]I loved to write.
[13:57]I just have always since I was a little kid,
[13:59]I grew up my dad was a college professor.
[14:02]And just always had books around my mom taught reading.
[14:05]She was an elementary school teacher,
[14:07]really early on in their marriage.
[14:08]And then she quit to stay home with the kids.
[14:10]But they always encouraged us to read.
[14:12]And then when we didn't have any books in the house,
[14:14]because we'd read them all,
[14:15]she'd be like, go write your own here.
[14:17]Here's a pencil and some paper, go write your own book.
[14:20]And my brothers didn't go for that at all.
[14:22]But I loved it.
[14:23]So I would sit there and I would write my own stories.
[14:25]And I just never stopped.
[14:27]And she told me that, because I kept asking her,
[14:30]I was like, how can I get published?
[14:31]And she was like, well, it's really hard.
[14:33]And you know, you need to probably think about getting
[14:35]a day job if that's something you're serious about.
[14:37]So I did take typing in high school.
[14:40]And I planned that my day job would be
[14:42]that I'd be somebody's administrative assistant,
[14:44]which is what I became at NYU,
[14:46]because I could type really fast.
[14:48]And then on the side, I was trying for years to get published.
[14:51]And just kept writing.
[14:53]I was writing historical romance novels,
[14:55]because I heard that there's a $1 billion industry
[14:58]in romance novels.
[14:59]So I was like, I think I have a solid chance.
[15:01]I'm not sure.
[15:02]So I wrote those and I wrote another name for a while.
[15:06]And that worked out.
[15:07]But then I was still writing other stuff
[15:09]just to see what would happen.
[15:11]Wow.
[15:12]Is this your real name or not?
[15:15]Oh my God, team hate me, laugh so hard.
[15:18]I'm copying you.
[15:19]I'm sorry.
[15:20]That's okay.
[15:21]Yes, Meghan Patricia Cabin is my real name, Meghan Meghan.
[15:25]I wrote a Patricia Cabin.
[15:26]I can still find my historical romance novels.
[15:28]But I think they're out of print.
[15:30]That they're very, very steamy.
[15:33]Yeah, oh my God.
[15:34]They're making me laugh so hard.
[15:36]I have another clue.
[15:38]So why did you not give up?
[15:42]Like after all that like, okay, so not that,
[15:45]I mean, not that being a, obviously you're successful
[15:48]in what you were doing.
[15:49]It's just like why, or did you just love it?
[15:51]Did you just enjoy the process?
[15:53]Like in why did you pivot to mainstream?
[15:56]Not mainstream, but what do you call?
[15:58]I don't know.
[15:59]Not social performances.
[16:00]Yeah.
[16:01]Well, you know, I got rejected so much.
[16:03]Those first few years, I couldn't even get an agent.
[16:06]And I kept getting rejected.
[16:07]And, you know, it actually is because of my husband.
[16:12]He would see me getting these rejections.
[16:14]And I'd be like, you know, I should just quit
[16:16]because I'm never gonna get published.
[16:18]And he's like, he actually said to me, you know,
[16:20]I love, he loves playing golf.
[16:22]And he's like, I'm a terrible golfer.
[16:23]But I love doing it.
[16:25]So why would I quit?
[16:26]Just because people are telling me that I'm terrible,
[16:28]but I enjoy it.
[16:29]So if you enjoy something, keep doing it.
[16:31]And why not keep trying?
[16:33]So I kept trying.
[16:34]And thank God because it's look what happened.
[16:36]Yeah.
[16:37]And how is his golf?
[16:38]It's terrible.
[16:39]He rarely plays anymore because he's found other things
[16:43]he enjoys doing, but yeah.
[16:46]No, it's weird because his brother is a golf pro.
[16:48]Like, there's a little family rival where you're going on.
[16:52]But he's found other things he enjoys doing.
[16:53]Thank God, one of them is cooking.
[16:55]So he's like, oh, the chef and the family.
[16:57]Yeah, I know.
[16:58]I encourage that one, yeah.
[16:59]Yeah, that is like the biggest boon to a relationship.
[17:04]Somebody has to be good at cooking or at least
[17:06]willing to try.
[17:08]Yeah, I mean, it's amazing.
[17:11]And I saw that this is part of a series.
[17:13]Is that right?
[17:14]It looked like it was.
[17:15]Yes.
[17:15]So this is book number three, but it's not
[17:18]that they are the same characters.
[17:19]They're just all set on the same island.
[17:21]So you can pick this one up without having read the others.
[17:24]But then maybe it will inspire you to want to read the others.
[17:27]And I have a fourth one kind of jelling right now
[17:30]in my head.
[17:31]I haven't started writing it,
[17:33]but I don't have to do like date when it will be out
[17:35]or anything like that or even a title.
[17:37]I have some plot and some characters.
[17:39]So that's good.
[17:40]So better than not.
[17:42]I know, right?
[17:44]Yeah.
[17:45]I know, I'm very happy.
[17:48]That's excellent.
[17:49]Oh my gosh.
[17:50]So what advice would you have for aspiring authors?
[17:53]Well, obviously don't give up.
[17:54]If it's something you really love doing,
[17:56]no matter what anybody says, just keep trying.
[17:59]I was always open to criticism.
[18:01]So I got rejected, but I would often get with my rejection
[18:04]letters a little piece of like a nugget of encouragement maybe
[18:08]or even like, you know, we don't,
[18:10]I wrote a lot of medieval romances.
[18:14]And at that time, medieval, nobody wanted medieval.
[18:17]And they're like, you know, we're not interested
[18:18]in your nights of the ground.
[18:21]Evil body romances, but we're looking for this other,
[18:26]it was Victorian at the time.
[18:27]If you could do Victorian, we would like that.
[18:29]And so I did.
[18:31]So just like, or you know, you actually write really not
[18:34]very inspiring male dialogue.
[18:36]So I was like, oh, I need to work on that.
[18:38]And I went and I started listening more,
[18:41]which was really great advice to men talk
[18:43]instead of me doing all the talking,
[18:45]which was very hard for me because, you know,
[18:47]when men are talking, you naturally want to say things.
[18:51]Well, depending on what you hear.
[18:52]But when I stopped talking so much and I started listening more,
[18:55]I was able to write more realistic male dialogue, which,
[18:58]but that was like some really good advice.
[18:59]So, you know, I started listening, kind of taking the advice
[19:03]I was getting in my rejections and kind of following it.
[19:06]And that really helped.
[19:07]As soon as I started doing that,
[19:09]I started getting published, which we weird.
[19:11]Like sometimes people get rejections and they're like,
[19:13]they're completely wrong, but they're not always wrong.
[19:16]Often they are, not always.
[19:18]So sometimes you have to.
[19:20]I tried to sell a book when I was 20,
[19:23]but not always.
[19:24]Sometimes they're completely wrong.
[19:26]You know, I found all the rejection letters that I had saved
[19:30]for a book I tried to sell when I was like 20.
[19:32]And in my head, it was like this debilitating failure
[19:35]and like everything was bad.
[19:36]And, you know, and then I went back and I read them.
[19:39]And I was like, oh my gosh, like I should have,
[19:41]like that was actually specific feedback.
[19:44]And maybe I shouldn't have given up on that.
[19:46]And what if I had tried this and oh, like I,
[19:50]you know, like selective memory.
[19:51]You just like take out all the bad.
[19:53]Like all I saw was no.
[19:55]I didn't like read the letters until recently.
[19:58]Yeah.
[19:58]No, exactly, yeah.
[20:00]it's really true. I was able to kind of go through it and go, okay. Let me try that. But I mean,
[20:06]there are some things that you're like, no, I'm never doing that. No way. Because that
[20:10]don't feel like that's true to the story. But it does a few little things you can change. Then
[20:14]why not try it? You know, originally, the princess diaries, the character was 30 years old.
[20:19]And she really yeah, because I was 30 when I was writing it. And then my agent was like,
[20:23]this literally makes no sense that she's 30 and she's so upset about her mom dating her teacher,
[20:29]like, what is going on? Maybe try making her 14 and I went up fine. Okay. That's really stupid,
[20:34]but I'll do it. And it worked. So you just never know everyone's in a while. Maybe you should
[20:40]take someone's advice. Even if you don't agree with it, it might not be the worst idea. Oh my gosh.
[20:46]And I started out as I told you at the beginning on your website, you have an essay that you say
[20:51]you'd like to republish every year and 9, 11 about your experience, which was not light, funny,
[20:56]and musing at all. You know, heavy and, you know, I mean, written obviously in your style of
[21:03]like approachable and relatable, you know, all of that good stuff. But what a story that day in your
[21:09]husband. I mean, oh my gosh. Anyway, I encourage anybody to go to your website and read it,
[21:14]especially around now. It's just 9, 11, around the corner. And by the time this comes out, it
[21:19]would have happened, but that was really moving. Thank you. Yeah. I just think it's important that
[21:24]people remember what that day was like. There are people now who are born who don't, you know,
[21:29]weren't even alive, obviously when that happened. And what's so weird about 9, 11, and I always
[21:33]forget too. Princess Diaries, the movie came out in August of 2001. And then September,
[21:39]2001 is when 9, 11 happened. And so it was just such a terrible year for me personally. It was
[21:46]like the greatest year. And then the worst year has like, my husband worked across the street from
[21:51]the World Trade Center. And I didn't know that day if I would see him again and for a couple hours.
[21:55]And then thankfully he was fine. But I just it was such a day of such
[22:01]terrible lows. And then in tremendous highs, because so many people I know were so brave that day
[22:05]and just did incredible, incredible things that I want people to remember. So I do post the same
[22:11]essay every year, just as a reminder. And I'm really honored that people teach that essay in
[22:16]classrooms now to kids who weren't around, obviously, when that happened. So they can know what
[22:21]it was just like for an average person who had nothing to do with it. Just what I saw out my window
[22:26]and in my neighborhood and with friends of mine and stuff. So, you know, I hear I get a lot of
[22:30]positive feedback from that. So that's all. And even though it's not in my stuff, because I very,
[22:35]very upbeat most of the time, that day was not a day that for being upbeat. But thank you.
[22:43]Thank you for that. Now it was powerful. And I'm currently reading this other 9, 11 book and
[22:49]doing a bunch of 9, 11 stuff. This is called Saved at the Sea Wall. It's by Jessica Duong.
[22:53]Oh, yeah. It's a boat lift. Yeah. You should really, it's so cool. Thank you for that.
[22:58]Anyway, what are you reading by the way? Well, you know, it's funny. I don't really, I often read
[23:04]upbeat things right now. I'm actually reading the premonition by Michael Lewis, which is about
[23:08]the pandemic, which has been really interesting. And but I'm reading another book at the same time,
[23:13]which is well matched by gender Luca. The fun, it's a fun romance. So I'm like, I have to read
[23:19]like funny things and then temper them with not so funny things. So yes, I like to alternate
[23:25]hence your book and the same. Yeah, I go back and forth. I'm like, you know, yeah. Wow. Okay.
[23:31]Well, Meg, this is so fun. And I'm sorry. I should have started out by saying,
[23:36]what's your book about? And then I just like jumped in because I was so excited. So sorry to make
[23:40]you have to like back pedal halfway through and describe it. Hopefully my enthusiasm and, you know,
[23:47]it's just so nice to like be able to fall into a book like this. Thank you. It was particularly
[23:53]enjoyable and really great. So well, thanks. Thank you for having me. This was really fun chat.
[23:59]All right. We'll take care. Thank you. You too. Bye bye.
[24:03]Thanks for listening to this episode of Moms Don't Have Time to Read Books. Don't
[24:07]forget to follow me on Instagram at zebi Owens and at Moms Don't Have Time to Read Books.
[24:12]Also sign up for my newsletter at zebiowens.com and sign up for my virtual book club and meet lots
[24:17]of authors on Zoom every other week. Thanks so much to Steve and Ryan in fact, texture sound
[24:22]for the sound editing. And thank you to Morning Moon Productions for providing this fantastic intro
[24:26]and now trim music.