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- [00:01]
Zibby Owens
Hi listeners of Totally Booked with Zibby. This June we have one episode coming out every single day and to celebrate that, I've started the June Listening Club. You can sign up on zibbedia.com or you can just keep listening and every day there'll be a little quiz on Instagram. We're giving prizes away every single day this month. You're gonna get amazing stuff. You would all be invited to a party and a zoom at the end of the month to celebrate with a special certificate. So sign up on Zibbe Media today. Make sure following Totally Booked with Zy on Instagram and get ready to listen. Make it a challenge. June is crazy. Find some airtime for yourself. Put it on in the background. Get ready to listen, learn, laugh and enjoy life.
- [00:51]
Unidentified Voice
Race the rudders. Race the sails. Race the sails. Captain, an unidentified ship is approaching.
- [00:57]
Julia DeVillars
Over.
- [00:58]
Unidentified Voice
Roger, wait. Is that an enterprise sales solution? Reach sales professionals, not professional sailors. With LinkedIn ads, you can target the right people by industry, job title and more. We'll even give you a $100 credit on your next campaign. Get started today at LinkedIn.com results, terms and conditions apply.
- [01:20]
Jonathan Fields
Hey, this is Jonathan Fields, host of the Good Life Project podcast. Boost Mobile reminds me of what I love when someone reimagines what's possible. They have invested billions in building America's newest 5G network, becoming the country's fourth major carrier. They are doing things differently, offering a $25 monthly unlimited plan that never increases in price and letting you try their service risk free for 30 days. With blazing fast 5G and plans for all the latest devices, they're changing the game. Visit your nearest Boost Mobile store or find them online@boost mobile.com the Boost Mobile network, together with their roaming partners, covers 99% of the US population. 5G speeds not available in Hilarious.
- [02:01]
Unidentified Voice
This summer, Instacart is bringing back your favorites from 1999 with prices from 1999. That means 90s prices on juice pouches that ought to be respected, 90s prices on box Mac and cheese, and 90s prices on ham, cheese and cracker lunches. Enjoy all those throwbacks and more at throwback prices only through Instacart. $4.72 maximum discount per $10 of eligible items. Limit one offer per order. Expires September 5th while suppl discount based on CPI comparison.
- [02:38]
Zibby Owens
Hi, this is Zibby Owens and you're listening to Totally Booked with Zibby. Formerly Moms don't have time to read Books in my daily show, I interview today's latest best selling, buzziest or underrated authors and story creators whose work I.
- [02:53]
Unidentified Voice
Think is worth your time. As a bookstore owner, publisher, author, and obviously podcaster. I get a comprehensive look at everything.
- [03:02]
Zibby Owens
That'S coming out and spend my time.
- [03:04]
Unidentified Voice
Curating the best books so you don't.
- [03:06]
Zibby Owens
Have to stay in the know. Get insider insights and connect with guests.
- [03:10]
Unidentified Voice
Like I do every single day.
- [03:13]
Zibby Owens
For more information, go to zibbedia.com, and follow me on Instagram ibyowens Julia DeVillars is the author of Meet Me at Wonderland. She's also a contributor to On Being Jewish. Now. Julia is a best selling author of middle grade and YA books with millions of copies sold worldwide. One of her books became the Disney Channel movie Read it and Weep and she sold a TV pilot to cbs. Inspired by her life as a children's author married to a gang prosecutor. She also co authors books with her identical twin, most recently the books for the American Girl Doll twins from the 1990s, which caused a national viral meltdown that 90s dolls are historical. Julia started her career as a giant New Jersey sewer rat named Chuck E. G's Meet Me at Wonderland is a love letter to that sweet smelly time. She lives in Columbus, Ohio. Welcome Julia.
- [04:08]
Unidentified Voice
Thank you so much for coming on Totally Booked to talk about Meet Me at Wonderland. Congratulations.
- [04:14]
Julia DeVillars
Thank you. Thanks so much for having me.
- [04:16]
Unidentified Voice
Oh, it's my pleasure. I feel like I have to start in on the moose jokes like right away. Like this is a moose tweed. How's that?
- [04:23]
Julia DeVillars
Perfect. Anyone who likes a good moose pun might enjoy my book.
- [04:27]
Unidentified Voice
That's right. That's a big selling point. Okay, tell the listeners what your book is about. Sure.
- [04:33]
Julia DeVillars
Meet Me at Wonderland is a tween rom com and it's inspired by my high school job at Chuck E. Cheese at Chuck E. Cheese. So it's rivals to lovers. Opposites attract. It's got a you've got male theme and it's about 14 year old Coco Cooper and she's got a summer job as Morty the Moose who is the sweaty stinky mascot of her family's amusement park Wonderland. And then in a moose, cute, meet cute. She is sweating, she's gross, she's disgusting. She goes to the employee break room to get some fresh air, which trust me, you need when you're in one of those costumes and she knocks her antlers on the door and she stumbles into the break room, her moose head rolls off and that's when she sees the new hire who is a very cut Henry Forrest, a boy who is not happy about working at the moose.
- [05:27]
Unidentified Voice
Park and who promptly, like, takes his shirt off and flashes his abs to make even the most, like, look at her on the floor, like, totally disheveled, half in costume, and she's like, oh, my gosh, I can't.
- [05:40]
Julia DeVillars
Which. So I was gonna say all of that actually did happen to me. And it's based on a true life story of me and the Chuck E. Cheese. Oh, yes. I went into the break room, sweltering. I. I start to take my hat off, and I saw the cutest boy ever sitting in front of me. Tried to put the head back on, backed away, backed into the door, backed into my management, and basically that moose. Cute. Me, cute. Picture it as me in a New Jersey sewer rat costume. And you. You get the full picture. However, he did not take off his shirt yet.
- [06:11]
Unidentified Voice
Anyway, in your real life, you mean. Okay, but you eventually got together then?
- [06:17]
Julia DeVillars
Yes, I did. So first impressions really count me as a sweaty moose.
- [06:28]
Zibby Owens
Oh, my gosh.
- [06:29]
Unidentified Voice
I felt like. But didn't Chuck E. Cheese, like, weren't they, like, stationary on stage? I felt like they were, like, animatronic.
- [06:35]
Julia DeVillars
So in my book, there also are those creepy animatronic animals. And it's so funny because I set the book in upstate New York, and we, you know, we couldn't go too close to Chuck E. Cheese. So we've got a moose and some. Instead of a rap, we've got, you know, different upstate New York Adirondack animals on stage. And, you know, their eyes get stuck. You know, they're blinking here, their heads fall off, the robotics fall apart. So creepy animatronics is definitely a player in this book, too. But at Chuck E. Cheese, they also have people dressed up in costume. And when you start working there, everybody has to get in costume. If you fit the costume, you're in the costume. So not only was I Chuck E. Cheese, but I was a character called Mr. Munch. And that's enough said.
- [07:19]
Unidentified Voice
Oh, my gosh.
- [07:20]
Julia DeVillars
But this book, really. If you ever wanted to know what it was like to be in Chuck E. Cheese costume, I describe it in full sensory detail. I've never forgotten.
- [07:29]
Unidentified Voice
I actually was wondering as I read it. Cause I was like, how on earth would she know all this? Like, I'm thinking, did she interview lots of mascot people? How would she find them? Like, how do you. How would you. I was like. Then I was thinking, did she, like, go and, like, beg someone to just try it on? But this is a way better story that this was actually your life.
- [07:49]
Julia DeVillars
It's actually real life. And you know when people talk about, oh, what was your, like, what was your first job?
- [07:54]
Unidentified Voice
Babysitting.
- [07:55]
Julia DeVillars
Babysitting, yes. So I did babysit. But my first job where I had the paycheck. Paycheck was Chuck E. Cheese. And actually it was a hot spot to work back in Albany, New York, back in the day. But then. And it was truly fun. Think about it. You've got the, the ball pit, the arcade, the video games, creepy animatronics, creepy costumes you can run in and free, horrible tasting pizza. I. What else would a teenager mean?
- [08:20]
Unidentified Voice
Back then, I used to beg my grandmother to take me to Chuck E. Cheese anytime I visited her. That was like the main thing because they like didn't have one in Manhattan, as far as I know. Or if they did, my parents buried that fact deep somewhere, so I never learned of it. Yes, that was such a. My gosh, the joy of seeing the.
- [08:37]
Zibby Owens
Chuck E. Cheese sign.
- [08:38]
Unidentified Voice
But anyway, back to Wonderland. So Coco is actually the daughter of the owner of Wonderland and her mother is having health issues. She is dealing with a lot of stuff herself. Talk a little bit about. And her sister is working there. I mean, it's like a whole family to do. Describe the family relationships and talk about the mother's illness and your own story and all of that. That was like 10 questions. I'll just kick it. I'll just kick it. At this point, you talk, posit to me.
- [09:08]
Julia DeVillars
Well, the mother was a character that was close to my heart originally when I wrote this book. Well, I'll tell you the inspiration. I'll give you a little bit of backstory. So the actual idea for this book came as dramatic as it sounds. When I was in the ICU for five weeks, I had cancer and the treatment went really awry and my body shut down. So I was brought into the ic. I mean, it really shut down. Like hospice was called. They gave me 48 hours. I told my husband and kids, 48 hours. And, and we'll know. It could go either way. And when I was in.
- [09:45]
Unidentified Voice
Wait, and when exactly was this?
- [09:47]
Julia DeVillars
This was in August of 2022. Okay, so I'm almost at my. This is, this is wild. My book comes out on May 20th and May 20th was when I got my cancer diagnosis.
- [10:01]
Unidentified Voice
Oh, my gosh.
- [10:03]
Julia DeVillars
So it's so wonderful because it's going to erase that sort of trauma of that date for me and you know, with a, with a new celebration.
- [10:12]
Unidentified Voice
So wait, wait, slow down with a story. If you don't mind what. What type of cancer? And what went so wrong? Like, what happened?
- [10:19]
Julia DeVillars
So it's. It's really interesting. When the doctor told me I had cancer, which I was really blindsided by, they had told me I had hemorrhoids. So there's a wide gap there. And I'd never had hemorrhoids before. I thought, wow, this is like, a really, really dramatic situation. Now I feel bad for thinking anyone with hemorrhoids was, you know, overcomplaining, but it was, you know, scary and traumatic, and they told me it was anal cancer. And anal cancer is a really rare kind of cancer. And, you know, it's obviously not taking away the trauma of a cancer diagnosis at all. But as soon as people started asking me what kind of cancer it was, and forgive me, I'm Jewish. I'm a writer, you know, so humor is a coping mechanism for me too. And now that I'm out of the darkness and also, hopefully giving hope to anyone who's going through that journey right now that, you know, here I am with another book out after all of this. You know, I had six weeks of chemo and radiation almost daily and everything, so it was intense. But I still had to tell people the word anal, which really wasn't a word that I said too much in daily conversation. And there's sort of a stigma to it. And I remember one of the first people I told was our mutual friend Sarah Milanowski. Like, all roads lead to Sarah in publishing world. And she said, oh, anal cancer, that's so rare. You need to write a memoir. You know, about this. And then my other. Other writer friend called, and I said. He said, what kind of cancer is it? I said, oh, no, this is going to be the worst person to tell. I said, oh, it's anal. And he said, it's a body part. You know, the old sayings, you know, opinions are like buttholes. Everyone has one, yours just has cancer up it. Then he goes, oh, hey, if you Google it. Oh, wow, it pulls up. Wow, it pulls up some really spicy things. And then I just knew, and I said, all right, just go for it. And he said, you know, like a Beavis and butthead. And he said, she said anal. So people really helped me through the process of, you know, processing the fact that I had cancer, anal cancer. So I had, like I said, five days a week of chemo and radiation, and the goal was to do it in six weeks. And anal cancer, I don't want to scare anyone. Is very treatable. It's a curable form of cancer. But my body did not react well to the treatment. And through about two weeks in, I was feeling great. Three weeks in, I collapsed, and it all kind of fell apart from there. So it was rough, rough, rough times.
- [12:51]
Unidentified Voice
I'm so sorry.
- [12:52]
Julia DeVillars
Oh, thank you. It's, you know, it was really traumatic and. But again, I got the idea for this book because. Excuse me, I got myself a little choked up here thinking about all of this. My book's not out yet, so I'm not used to, you know, really talking about this quite yet. The doctors would, like, ask me these basic daily questions because, you know, I was pretty medicated. And they'd say, like, where was I? Who was president? Why was I here? And my husband told me later that I would say things like, you know, Obama's president, Ronald Reagan is president. I'm a JCC day camp. I'm here for a cold. And I answered every single question wrong. And then after, I'd yell, wait, wait, bring them back. I know the answer now. The president is somebody else. But one time they told me that I said I was at Chuck E. Cheese, and my husband said everything was dire and the room was somber, but people burst into laughter. They couldn't help him. They're like, who are you? I'm like, I'm Chuck E. Cheese. So flash forward to the next year. You know, I visited my editor at Simon and Schuster. We were talking about some embarrassing teen moments, and I kind of told her that story. So Chuck E. Cheese was on my mind. And then I told her about my high school. My own meet cute at Chuck E. Cheese. And that was the genesis of the book. So, you know the saying, this pain, you know, can be useful to you someday. I really, really tried to channel that.
- [14:15]
Unidentified Voice
Oh, my gosh, Julia. Well, tell everybody about your writing career before this. Like, what had been going on. I know obviously, more about it because I know you, but explain how you got into writing and the whole American girl thing and all of it.
- [14:31]
Julia DeVillars
Sure, sure. So I went to college for communications, which was as vague as it gets. And that was intentional. I thought, am I. Should I be in broadcasting? I knew I liked to write. What should I do advertising, Graduated with and thought, what do you do with communications degree? So I went to grad school. Of course, I did like school. I was always the kid in elementary school and middle school who, you know, I was one of the writers. I have an identical twin sister, Jennifer Jennifer. Roy and Jennifer and I were kind of always battling it out for who would win the Summer reading challenge. You know, who would read the most books or who would get picked for, you know, kind of a. To get the writing in the school paper. So we were a little bit of the readers and writers. I was always a book person. I went to grad school for journalism and I went to Ohio State. I was from upstate New York, but I moved out here to Columbus and I signed up for magazine journalism because I thought my goal was to write for teen people. I thought I would be great. I'd be interviewing celebrities, I'd work with teens. And I started the program and the day we walked in there was really sad news. The professor of the program had passed away. So they folded us into the hard hitting journalism program where you couldn't even apply if you didn't have five years at the Wall Street Journal. You were on the crime be very intense. And I was tossed into that world. So I thought, I don't know if I'm completely in place here. I tried. So I started taking classes in children's literature in the graduate department through the department of Education. And honestly, the professors weren't thrilled. They were looking down on it. And I ended up doing my thesis in conjunction with the children's literature department because once I went in, my professors would talk about a book and I would answer back. And they said, well, I haven't assigned it yet. And I thought, didn't everyone read that? I grew up as such a reader. So that's where I really found my place in children's literature and took it from there. And let's see, the first, I wrote a nonfiction book called Girl Wise and that was advice book for teens. And that kicked me off. And then my first novel was called How My Private Personal Journal became a bestseller, which was bought out by Disney Channel and became a Disney Channel movie called Read it and Weep, which was a highlight of my career. That was wonderful. And then I kept writing for this age group all the way through. And most recently before the whole cancer situation, my twin and I wrote the books for the American Girl historical twins. And when American Girl called us and said, oh, we're writing about twins and your identical twin author authors would you write for our historical line? And we said, great. You know, I'm thinking, is it going to be Felicity from the 1700s or Addie from the 1800s? Who, you know, who is it going to be? And they said it was the 1990s doll. And that caused kind of. It came out and people said, american Girl says you're old. The 90s is now historical, but that was super fun. We wrote books and we have dolls and I have a doll that looks like me. So, you know, it's, it's, it's been a good career.
- [17:48]
Unidentified Voice
Oh, my gosh. That is just amazing.
- [17:53]
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- [18:34]
Hannah
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- [19:30]
Unidentified Voice
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- [20:03]
So what made you go back to writing this book? Like when you said you even went in and met with your editor, how did you get to that point? How did you get from telling your family that you had 48 hours left to being in a big deal publisher meeting in New York City?
- [20:18]
Julia DeVillars
Hopefully that gives people hope and inspiration. There was a little step in between that that I think is really, really meaningful. And I'M getting a little teary eyed, about to tell you this, but when I came out of the hospital and again, I was there for six weeks, you know, I was still a mess. And honest, I had no emotions and I was really worried. I didn't feel joy, I wasn't laughing, I didn't feel sadness. I was really flat. And I remembered what Sarah Malinowski said, that you should write a memoir. So I looked online and I thought, you know, writing's supposed to be cathartic and it's always been my job and it's always been a joy, but I don't want to write anymore. You know, what do I have to give? I was really, you know, down and having some ptsd. Well, I actually took a class. It was the first time I've ever taken a class like this. It was called Personal Essays and Memoir. And it was offered by Zibby Workshops, the Zibby classes.
- [21:16]
Unidentified Voice
Oh my gosh.
- [21:17]
Julia DeVillars
I've never written a personal. I don't write about myself. Like, obviously my. I come through in my fictional characters, but I'd never really written anything from my own point of view. And I sat in class, it was, I think it was six. Say it was six weeks, for five weeks. And I offered support and encouragement advice to everyone else reading. And I thought, my brain, I have chemo brain. I'm not there yet. And then week five, the instructor said, you know, if anyone else still wants to go. And the good student in me said, oh, gosh, I have to step up here, I gotta do my homework. I wrote an essay and it poured out of me in two days. And I wrote this essay, I read it to the class and it was about my experience. Everything from the stigma of having anal cancer to, you know, being on my deathbed and how, you know, I got through it. And the James Cancer Hospital got me through it. And I just poured it all on the page and I said, okay, that's out. And the instructor said, you should submit this. I have a friend who's an editor at Newsweek. So I said, sure, send it over. Not thinking it would go anywhere. The next week it was published. I had no time to process, I had no time to think. Is this tmi? Because when you have anal cancer, there's a lot of bodily fluids and bodily parts you talk about with the symptoms and the treatment. And Newsweek published it and it was really meaningful, but it really made me realize, okay, I'm back, my brain is back, my emotions are back, I can write again. So when I went to New York. I live in Ohio. When I went to visit New York, I said to my old editors and my agent people, I'm back. I'm here. I'm back traveling. I'm back at it. And my editor said, come in. And she said, I think we have a space for you in upper middle grade rom com. And all of the joy that I'd been missing for the past, you know, eight months or so since all of this happened to me just came flooding back. And I thought, yep, this is what I want to do. So what a gift.
- [23:16]
Unidentified Voice
Oh, my gosh. And you can feel this sense of joy, this sense of humor in your writing. Your voice is so amazing. Like, just. I'm trying to think of, like, good writerly examples, but, like, when you have a sentence and like, between each word, you put a period, like, what is going on? Or it wasn't that, but it was something like that. And just the way with you use italics for emphasis. And like, you're just. It just feels like you can absolutely hear someone telling you the story. And the someone is actually this young girl who I don't know. And all of a sudden, I'm, like, transported back in time. So how do you nail this voice? Because you just really do.
- [23:57]
Julia DeVillars
Thank you for saying that. I'm smiling ear to ear again. The book's not out, so, you know, a lot of people haven't read it yet. And there's that nerve of, oh, I hope people respond to it.
- [24:06]
Unidentified Voice
So it's good. It's good. You don't have to worry.
- [24:10]
Julia DeVillars
So I love to. I know I'm finding from the people who blurbed it that it's a nostalgia read for adults, too. Like, it's one for teens, but it really brings you back to those emotions of, you know, your first crush and your first job and all of those. And it ends. And it's a very sweet romance. Not to give too many spoilers, but it may end in a kiss. So that's the space that we wrote for an authentic voice is always really, really important for this age group. And I love that. I do. I feel like I can tap into that voice and the joy, but also, you know, the trauma and the drama of being a tween and teen. It was my editor's idea to do a dual point of view, which I've done with my twin sister before, taking turns. But I've never written a boy character from a boy perspective. When I thought, oh, boy, I have to get into, you know, a teen boy's head, I had the Best teen focus group you can imagine. My author friends whose kids were Coco and Henry's age, other people volunteered from my childhood through friends I have now. And the boys really, really brought it. They shared their, their secrets, they shared their, you know, everything from what their favorite sneaker is today to. Or they'd say, oh, no, we wouldn't say this. They would read, you know, parts of my book. So I think that really helped with the authenticity too, you know, talking to these, these teenagers. And they're all thanked in the back of my book because I'm really grateful to them.
- [25:41]
Unidentified Voice
I love that. Well, you know, what's. Henry is pictured on the COVID with the soccer ball, but he shows up at the place because he's actually has an injury and, like, can't play soccer anymore. And it's like worried about disappointing his father. Like, you have so many different themes in the story. And he doesn't even like roller coasters. And yet, I mean, not to give things away, but he just might be on a roller coaster at the end. So whatever. I'm not saying anything, but we all have growth experiences over our summers. What should we learn from how the two of them in particular kind of grew over this one summer?
- [26:13]
Julia DeVillars
I wanted them both to come in with, you know, they have some family angst going on. They have, you know, this new experience of a job, which is stressful. And, you know, we look back and, you know, your teen years adolescents are not always idyllic at all. So I wanted them both to come in. In that uncomfortable space. Coco doesn't feel like she fits in. She had friend drama in school and she's putting a lot of pressure on herself that this is going to be the best summer of her life because it's her family's amusement park. And then she finds out the amusement park is in trouble. We bring in Henry, who was planning to go to Europe with his boarding school soccer team, and that's how he was going to spend his summer. And suddenly he's got an ankle injury that may or may not been a bit of his own doing, and he's got to work at a moose park. So they come in with that. But one of my main goals of the book was to show a healthy relationship. I didn't want it to be a toxic relationship, you know, for the. These two characters, they banter their rivals at first, but they're workplace rivals. You know, they're both trying to one up each other and the banter is strong. And I have to say, they're co workers who become friends and family to them, you know, start seeing the vibes between them before maybe they see themselves. So they've established a strong friendship, a bantering, fun, smart relationship, you know, that blossoms into. More. It's a rom com. I don't think that's a spoiler and it never veers into anything too toxic. So I wanted my readers to read what I think is a pretty healthy and aspirational relationship. Henry's a little aspirational, I have to say. He may or may not have been, based on some of the boys I dated that age.
- [27:57]
Unidentified Voice
I just remember, I mean, it doesn't feel like that long ago when all this happened. Like the fact that my kids are going through it now, I'm like, wait, how. How has a generation past? Essentially, I don't even know. And Julia, you were so kind to contribute to I'm Being Jewish now, the anthology. And so it's been so fun getting to know you in that context and everything. Do you want to share why you decided to say yes and anything about that?
- [28:24]
Julia DeVillars
That book is. It's such a blessing, as you know, as you well know, it's been on the USA Today best selling list for an ext. Extraordinary length of time because it's really resonating with people. My dad was a Holocaust survivor as a child and he didn't, he came over when he was 13. His father was taken away in the middle of the night and we have no idea what happened to him. So I grew up surrounded by a lot of Holocaust survivors, you know, and the trauma that comes with that, but also the joy, you know, of survival and you know, that community can bring. And, and when the opportunity to join the group Artists Against Antisemitism came, I thought, yes, of course I'll do that. And then when we heard that you were writing, you know, you were going to work on this book on being Jewish now, I thought, wow, I wish I could be a part of that. When I heard that you were turning it around in record time that has basically never been seen in much of publishing, still a high quality book, I was really shocked and I said, I must be a part of that, part of this. So I was very, very honored to be, to be included in the anthology. And it's beautiful. And we're going to have our first I'm Being Jewish now event coming up in Columbus soon. And we've really been. Become close and I've met so many of the other collaborators and contributors. It's. I mean, what a, what a thing. I don't even know what other. I'm a writer. I'm a loss for words. It's been.
- [29:56]
Unidentified Voice
Did I make up that you have a recipe from Ali Rosen? Did I get that wrong?
- [30:00]
Julia DeVillars
I have a so and I met Ali Rosen at one of your events that I attended in New York, and Ali contributed a recipe to meet me at Wonderland. Isn't that a bonus in a middle grade book? So if you're on the fence of whether you want to get it from the library or buy it, you're getting a recipe for chocolate mousse. Mousse.
- [30:25]
Unidentified Voice
That is so great. When I saw that in the back, I smiled. I was like, I bet they met through the book. But who knows?
- [30:30]
Julia DeVillars
That is how I met all through all roads. Point to Zivi. Oh, stop. It's true. I give. Facts are facts.
- [30:39]
Unidentified Voice
Anyway, well, Julia, I'm so excited for you. This book is great. I read parts of it out loud to my son and now I'm gonna give it to my daughter. And he loved it, so congrats. He's a tough critic, kind of deep in the Wings of Fire series, so maybe not his typical jam, but he, he was a fan. And my daughter's gonna eat it up, so I didn't let her take it till I could finish it myself.
- [31:03]
Julia DeVillars
I have to share. One of the highlights of my career was the author of Wings of Fire too. He stopped everyone saying, oh, my kid loves your book.
- [31:10]
Unidentified Voice
Oh my gosh, that's amazing.
- [31:12]
Julia DeVillars
Everybody's kid loves her book, so that's a good choice. Solid choice.
- [31:17]
Unidentified Voice
Solid choice. Well, thank you so much and congrats. Thanks for sharing so openly about your own experience. Sorry for delving deep right away. So I'm sorry, but thank you so much.
- [31:28]
Julia DeVillars
Never apologize. I'm always happy now to share, hopefully give people hope, educate. And also, you know, I've got book recommendations from being in the hospital. So thank you so much.
- [31:40]
Unidentified Voice
Thank you. See you soon. Bye.
- [31:43]
Zibby Owens
Thank you for listening to Totally Booked with Zibby, formerly Moms don't have Time to Read Books. If you loved the show, tell a friend, leave a review, follow me on Instagram, ibyoans and spread the word. Thanks so much. Oh, and buy the books.
- [32:05]
Unidentified Voice
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Hannah
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- [33:36]
Unidentified Voice
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