Evangeline Lilly, THE SQUICKERWONKERS, ACT 2: The Demise of Lorna the Lazy
[0:01]Hi, this is Ziggy Owens, and you're listening to the award-winning podcast,
[0:05]Momstone Have Time to Read Books.
[0:07]And speaking of books, I have two of my own books coming out this spring and summer.
[0:12]Princess Charming is a picture book, which debuts on April 19th,
[0:16]and bookends, a memoir of love, loss, and literature.
[0:20]Comes out on July 1st, and it is truly a labor of love.
[0:24]I hope you'll pre-order, order, and join me on tour as I go across the country.
[0:28]You can find out more at zibbyowens.com or bookendsmemoir.com,
[0:34]and you can follow me on Instagram at zibbyowens because I always post about everything.
[0:38]Enjoy the show!
[0:41]Evangeline Louis is the author of The Squicker Walkers Act 2, the demise of Lorna the lazy.
[0:47]Evangeline is a passionate reader and writer who made her publishing debut in 2014 when she
[0:52]introduced The Squicker Walkers to the world. Though better known for her portrayal
[0:57]of iconic characters in film and television, like her starring role in Lost, The Hurt Locker,
[1:02]Real Steel, The Hobbit, Ant-Man, Ant-Man, and The Wasp, the Canadian actress spends all her
[1:08]downtime creating world of her own. She says, acting is my day job, books are my life,
[1:14]and you can listen to our past episode on this podcast as well when she talked about the first
[1:20]Squicker Walkers book. Welcome back, Emily, and I'm so excited you're here again on
[1:25]mom's and I'm time to read books to discuss your latest Squicker Walkers edition, Lorna the lazy.
[1:33]Yes, the size of Lorna the lazy. Yes, which I couldn't believe the ending.
[1:41]I mean, I know you go ahead. I mean, you should believe the ending of you've read the demise of
[1:48]Alma the spoiled because you should be very readily prepared for the, I know, you know how logically
[1:56]you know what's coming, but then what it happens, you're like, no. Anyway, you know what I think
[2:03]that is exactly how children feel when they make bad choices. They kind of know what's coming,
[2:09]but then when my mom and dad actually come down on them and be like, you are grounded, they're like,
[2:14]what? How did you not know you were going to be grounded? You do exactly what you're doing the
[2:20]whole time. You did it intentionally. You did it against all of our rules and you're surprised
[2:26]and how this ended. It's so true. It's like you hold your breath and just wish and then
[2:31]yes, love to go. Of course, I've never happened that way. Yeah, very true. Okay, so we were just
[2:36]chatting. You came on this podcast. We were here in person together what two plus years ago and had
[2:42]this very emotional, amazing podcast where I was like crying and I think about it all the time
[2:47]still. I were talking about, you know, when, when we falter and then people are there to like
[2:52]catch the balls and catch us as we're falling and the safety net. It was so great. And anyway,
[2:58]it's been so nice to keep in touch. And that was your first book in this whole series. So maybe
[3:04]people haven't listened to the whole series to know about this quick or longer. So give a little
[3:08]back story on your whole children's book series and how that came to be and how here we are at number
[3:15]two. All right. Well, it's a very long saga. So I was trying to make sure it's because it started
[3:22]when I was 14 years old and I was a late bloomer when it came to reading and I was so at 14,
[3:28]I was really into Dr. Zeus. And I think it's sort of a double. It's a two-sided thing. So one,
[3:34]I was a bit late to bloom into reading. But two, I think that there is always a rediscovery of
[3:39]Zeus when you get older because as a kid, it's just cute and funny. And then there's some point
[3:45]in maturity where you reread a Zeus book and go, oh my god, there are some of the most profound
[3:51]life lessons ever in these little stories. And I think that was kind of happening to me a bit
[3:57]at 14. And I was inspired and I wanted to write my own stories like that. And so I wrote a story
[4:03]called The Squicker Wunkers. And I read it to my mom. And my mom was like, this is amazing.
[4:11]You should publish this. And I was like, you are my mom. You think everything I do is amazing.
[4:16]I'm not going to publish this. And she kept pasturing me about it for just periodically like over
[4:24]the years that passed after that. She would say, what have we happened to that little poem you wrote?
[4:29]It was so good. And you should really try and publish that. And so cut to, I'm a full blown
[4:36]adult. I have my first child. I'm filming the Hobbit. I've become an actress. And my whole life
[4:42]is completely changed. And I'm working with Peter Jackson at a place called The Wedda Workshop,
[4:48]where all of the creative stuff happens for his movies. All of the armor is made. All of the
[4:52]costumes are made. All of the special effects that are actually real and physical are made.
[4:58]and then applied to the film. And it's such an inspiring place to be. And everyone who works
[5:04]there is encouraged to have their own little pet projects that they work on. And kind of like Google
[5:09]how they encourage you to be always doing something of your own on the side. And I was like,
[5:14]I want to be doing something of my own on the side. I want to have my own little pet project.
[5:19]And so I brought, I think, about five of my stories. I've always written stories. I've always
[5:25]been writing since I was really, really, really young. And I brought about five of my stories to
[5:30]the head of the workshop and said, do you know, illustrators who might be interested in partnering
[5:34]with me on any of these? And a young man by the name of Johnny Fraser Allen really responded. And
[5:40]he said, if I were to do any of these, I'd like to do the squicker walkers. Because I have a very
[5:46]strong visual idea for this book. And he brought the book to life visually. And so it's a story
[5:52]about 10 vice ridden marionette puppets who all cannot seem to get past their vices. There's
[6:03]Lauren of Lazy, there's Andy, the arrogant mom of the mean, Gilles, the gluttonous, there's all,
[6:09]you know, just a slew of them. And hopefully across the 10 characters, we touch on something that
[6:16]every child reading these books will be able to relate to in themselves. And they go on these
[6:21]journeys that ultimately are cautionary tales from modern day brats, a tradition that I think
[6:28]has been lost to our detriment. I think it's really healthy for kids to be told cautionary tales
[6:34]as well as redemptive stories. And I think the pendulum is really shifted nowadays to mostly
[6:39]redemptive stories. And there is redemption ultimately in the squicker walkers. But first they have
[6:45]to eat their just desserts. And so the book, the series is going to be 20 books eventually.
[6:51]It's two series of 10 books each, one book for each character. And the first series is called
[6:57]the Demised series. So in each book, each character comes to an unfortunate decline.
[7:06]Very dark. I love that you at 14 were writing these incredibly dark fairy tales, like this whole
[7:14]twist on life. And I was sitting there, like, ready about how I felt when I had game 10 pounds,
[7:19]like ready for 17 magazine. And you're like, twisting Dr. Susan is like, I would love our 14-year-old
[7:27]selves to meet. Totally. My mom used to, oh, to this day, she always says to me, I don't understand
[7:35]how my very soft, sweet nature daughter writes such dark things. But I'm always
[7:44]I always ask myself the same question because I actually don't like to watch dark things.
[7:49]I don't like to read dark things. So why do I write dark things? Like when the power comes out
[7:56]of me. And I think that if you are one of those people, so I'm a perfectionist. And so I'm one of
[8:02]these people who spends my whole life trying to get everything exactly right. And I think that
[8:07]there's no room in that for the wrong in me or the darkness in me or the shadow side of me.
[8:14]And I think that as a very young person, I realized that there was this really safe and constructive
[8:20]place that I could explore that stuff. And that was through art. And so that's where I channeled
[8:26]any of my pain or any of my darkness or any of my struggles with my own vices or my own
[8:31]things about myself that I wasn't so proud of. And that way I could keep the external me squeaky clean
[8:38]and you know, not dive. Like I was never, I was never a big like party or a drug taker or
[8:45]like I was never the wild child rebel. I think that all comes out in my heart.
[8:51]I cut school once and it was like the most rebellious thing I ever did.
[8:57]Like wow, this is amazing. And I still like went back for the school play that night.
[9:01]So where does your darkness come out?
[9:04]How does that get out of you?
[9:06]Oh, I don't know. I don't know. I don't have that same, I mean, I don't know. Mine is more like
[9:14]coming out in anxious mess, you know, versus like, you know, there are different ways to be dark,
[9:20]I feel like. Absolutely. But with your perfectionism, I mean, it's funny when you're saying
[9:26]because I'm thinking well, even perfectionists are often open now about what lies just below the
[9:32]surface. I mean, I feel like before, maybe pre-Instagram, pre-authenticity movement essentially.
[9:38]Yeah. You could just like be like, oh, I did all my homework and I got these good grades and I
[9:42]did this and I'm doing this and that and the other thing and I'm just going to keep going and
[9:45]I'll keep all my stuff to myself. And now at least for me and I know for you, like, okay, well,
[9:50]here I am like laying on the floor like a mess. I'm going to post this. I'm going to share this.
[9:55]I'm going to, like, come forward. Like, so tell me about your-
[10:00]you know, what makes you do that and share and be open and if it's really helped you.
[10:05]Well, I have to say that's still something that I constantly grapple with as I'm, I'm a bit too old
[10:12]to be completely reinventing every single element of my, of my being, I think, because I,
[10:18]I see the authenticity movement and I think it's beautiful and I go, that's been in me all along.
[10:25]So I was always somebody who was writing memoirs and never publishing them.
[10:28]I would just write them and be like, I wouldn't care if everyone in the world knew about
[10:32]all this stuff. You know, this is fine for me because it feels like a point of connection.
[10:36]It feels like a point of compassion. It feels like a point of empathy. And so I always
[10:41]was like, yeah, we should, I never felt like I had to really hide the darkness.
[10:45]But then when I would look at what I actually manifested in my life and the things that I actually
[10:51]made public, I realized I kept a very tight lid on everything. So I wasn't ever publishing
[10:57]those memoir type things. And I was always very cagey and interviews. And I'd be, I got a reputation
[11:04]in the journalistic field and the magazines and whatnot is being somebody who wouldn't tell you
[11:08]anything about herself or her private life or, you know, I didn't want the world in that. It felt
[11:15]very sacred to me and like something where others didn't belong. And then I, as I watched the
[11:21]authenticity movement grow, I of course, again, intellectually was like, this is where I belong.
[11:29]This is who I am. And this is what I want to do. And I, and I dipped my toes in the water and
[11:34]number of times. And I continue to to this day. And there is a certain point where I sort of
[11:40]reach a wall and I go, doesn't feel right. It doesn't feel like this is for everyone because
[11:48]this is for people who I trust. And you can trust everyone. And then I do think that there is
[11:56]a balance to be had. I was watching, forgive me for bringing it up. But I was watching some images
[12:02]of the Oscars red carpet, you know, to bring up the Oscars. It's okay. I love it. They're like,
[12:10]it was like, people are really sick of hearing about the Oscars and the, the Will Smith thing. And
[12:16]yeah, but I, I just found myself realizing that after so many years of feeling like the Oscars
[12:23]were too stuffy, too pent up, too obsessed with like the class and sort of mystique of it all.
[12:30]And I wanted to like let my hair down and be a little bit more crazy and stylish and wild and
[12:35]cool. And just being frustrated for like 18 years of my career. Watching that happen now,
[12:41]I kind of understand the value of what was happening before a lot better.
[12:48]Did you know I'm like, there is some value to there is a balance to be had. There is a balance
[12:53]to be had between like completely taking away any space for reserve and containment.
[13:02]And just like everybody just sort of spewing all over everybody else all the time without
[13:08]any discernment. Versus the completely bottled up version of society where nobody's ever allowed
[13:14]to admit that they have a problem. No one's ever allowed to have a hair out of place. I mean,
[13:18]I think that we hit that balance when I was in my like youth and, you know, young adult life.
[13:26]I think you are so not old. Your people are listening to this. They're going to think you're
[13:29]like 85 years old. I'm not. I'm too old for that. In my youth, I do this. It's like younger than I am.
[13:38]I feel very middle aged right now. Like extremely. I'm 42. And as soon as I turned 40,
[13:48]there was this party who was like, I am now entraining to be an elder. I must fulfill my role as a
[13:56]mature adult. Like there is so there are so many people at my age who are still trying to be 20.
[14:02]And I don't think they're doing anyone any favors in doing that. Like I just feel like we need
[14:06]maturity. We need elders. And it's time for me to step up and be that.
[14:13]I don't know. I still like call my dad. I'm like, do you think I should take this medicine?
[14:18]I'm like, I'm 45 years old. Why am I calling my dad for his advice? I'm like, what medicine to
[14:23]take for COVID? Do you know what I mean? It's like ridiculous. So yeah, I don't know that there's an
[14:27]age where you're really truly a grown up. But yeah, I will say that age has performed to make
[14:32]dignities, particularly like the reading glasses and like all the things that are just like,
[14:37]oh, welcome to my 40s. You know, it's like, thanks. And there as well. I have reading glasses as
[14:41]well. And but I love them. I think they're so cool. Yeah. Oh my God. I love, I love the juxtaposition
[14:50]that's already organically arisen in this discussion between you and I because you
[14:55]recently wrote a children's book also is the amazing princess charming. And the juxtaposition
[15:01]between our two books could not be more so funny. I have to send us into you a coffee after this
[15:09]up. I read it, but I can't wait to actually know. I wasn't. I want a coffee. I want a hard
[15:14]coffee of yours too. Yeah, I will send you one for sure. You have this successful podcast career.
[15:21]You have the successful curves and author of these amazing anthologies. What made you decide
[15:26]you had to put your hat in the ring writing a children's book? It didn't even happen like that.
[15:32]As you know, I think, I don't know if you've been to him. But anyway, I have these authors
[15:34]salons downstairs here in my house. And one, but I am quite jealous. They sound awesome.
[15:39]Anytime you're in text, you know, I'll just have one for you. We can have like a big celebratory
[15:43]party. One of the authors who attended Karen Dukes said a friend of mine is start going to Penguin
[15:49]Random House with this new imprint. Have you ever considered doing a children's book? Because I could
[15:53]put you to an attach. And I was like, yes, thank you for being attached. And I was like,
[15:58]yes, I've written many children's books, but I've only tried to sell one. And that was so many
[16:01]years ago and whatever. So I had lunch with this woman, Margaret Anastas. And she showed me a picture
[16:08]of a girl. Well, it ended up not being this girl. But she said, here's a drawing of a character,
[16:12]Princess Charming. What would you do for the story? Like, you want to take a stab at it. And I was
[16:17]like, sure, I love assignments. This is great. It was like school. So like two minutes later,
[16:22]I was like, okay, like here's what I would do with the whole story. And she literally walked into my
[16:27]kitchen, grabbed no pet and showed me how to write children's book. Like how many pages she broke it
[16:32]down with the lines. She's like, now you have to go take your story, write it and put it on each page.
[16:37]And then I did that like an hour later. And on the way to school, pick up that of like the ending
[16:43]and called her and she's like, that's great. And then that was really it. I had one meeting with her
[16:47]in her office. And I brought my laptop and we hammered away at it. She's like, okay, I think you have
[16:52]enough to go on here. Why don't you just take that home? And I was like, let's just finish it.
[16:56]So we just finished it right there in her office. And now I have a second one coming out,
[17:01]also about Princess Charming. And then it became this book. So it's just crazy. But the whole story is
[17:05]based on my daughter, my elder daughter, who like would try everything when she was younger and just
[17:09]couldn't seem to find her thing. And it seemed like everyone else around her could. And I finally
[17:14]told her, you know what? Your thing is that you never give up. Like seriously, like you pursue
[17:18]it. You try everything. And that is your thing. So that's where the paper. Oh, that's so sweet.
[17:23]It was very long winded, but that's how it came to be. And one and a long winded at all. I
[17:27]I'm still stuck on the fact that you were like, yeah, I love the sign. I do. You and I could not
[17:33]be more opposite. I have been approached on multiple fronts by either a publisher or, you know,
[17:38]another business thing. This is the book we want to write. Would you be interested in writing it? And
[17:42]as you know, writing is my first passion. It's all I want to do with my time. It's what I do for fun.
[17:47]It's what I've done for fun my whole life. And I'm like, it's feel like an assignment. No,
[17:55]no, I don't want to do that because for me, it has to just like pour out of me. It has to be
[18:00]inspiration. It has to like come out of like the depths of my person. It has to come. I can't be
[18:06]told like write this. And I'm like, okay, you know, what if you're like, ooh, an assignment?
[18:12]I know. I don't know what that says about me. They're like, right. Right. An essay about an
[18:17]object that has meaning. I'm like, yes, great. I'll have it to you in an hour. I'll tell you what
[18:22]it says about you. It says you'll always be very successful at this. Whereas I will always be
[18:28]beating my head against the wall and like essentially that wall will just be a team of marketers
[18:32]being like, we can't mark this. Why are you just write the other thing we asked you to write? Why
[18:37]why won't you write your assignment? You alluded to writing something about like work a holism
[18:42]and all that. Are you writing that or it's just like in your head or tell me about that?
[18:46]So that's that's actually interesting. That's morphed. It keeps morphing. So I think that one was
[18:53]going to be very memoir asked. And I've also alluded multiple times already in this conversation
[18:58]that those types of books that want to come out of me. And I think the struggle I have,
[19:04]and this is where again, your way of sort of working is always going to be so much more successful
[19:10]than mine is I find myself constantly trying to catch up or keep up with how much I change and evolve
[19:19]all the time. So I'll be writing something like like about three years ago, two years ago,
[19:25]for about two years. I was deep in the trenches of facing my or work a holism. And facing that
[19:30]down was very involved. And there were so many layers to that. There were physical layers,
[19:35]where I was very, very sick. There were emotional layers where I was dealing with childhood trauma.
[19:40]And then there were like mental layers where I was trying to overcome mental habits that just
[19:45]were really deeply entrenched. And so I wanted to write about it. And so I start writing raw
[19:51]material. Like I said, poor is out of me. You know, it just comes out. And like I just
[19:56]puke on paper. And it all just comes out. And it's raw. And it's really authentic.
[20:00]and it's really vulnerable. Sounds amazing, by the way.
[20:03]Well, if she was the thing, is that it could be.
[20:07]If I then took that material and then the year after,
[20:12]like really honed it into a book. And what happens is the year after
[20:16]I move into like a new period of growth and evolution.
[20:21]And I'm like, oh, now what I'm dealing with is X, Y, and Z.
[20:26]And that starts to come out of me. I'm like, oh, and I just start writing that.
[20:28]So I have 40 years of, well, promising, 35 years of rings of raw material,
[20:38]that I have a box full of journals from when I was starting when I was eight years old.
[20:43]Like a huge box. I probably have 50 journals from the course of my life.
[20:48]I have a memoir that I wrote when I was like 20 that my older sister kept for me.
[20:52]I have like copious amounts of files on my computer.
[20:57]I have files. I mean, the amount of notes on my phone, you know, just random.
[21:02]And I, I like never seem to find the discipline or the time to just sit down and turn that
[21:08]into something, which is what I'm trying to, I'm trying to do this year.
[21:12]So I'm going to channel from your energy when I start.
[21:16]First of all, you should write this for Zippy books. I started a publishing company.
[21:20]I don't even know if I told you that. We're doing whatever I told you I told me not to do it.
[21:25]Yes, don't do that. I was like, you've got enough on your plate.
[21:27]I didn't. I didn't do it when I talked to you. You convinced me not to do it.
[21:32]And there were a lot of good reasons with that whole situation that I decided I wasn't ready.
[21:37]But then a year later, I went back to it. And now I have good partners and a great team.
[21:41]And it's, it's really fun and it's great. And we have amazing books we've acquired. We've acquired
[21:45]like 16 books. Anyway, you should do it with, well, I won't, we can talk about this later,
[21:49]but I feel like you should talk with us because, you know, you need somebody to help you
[21:54]with the, with like the sculpting of it, right? Like you're like, you know, you're making all
[21:59]this fabric. And we just need to like, you know, turn it into a dress, right? Yes. Yes.
[22:04]And that is definitely what I need on all fronts of my life. I need a Zippy Owens.
[22:11]The stitches on the edges of things, because my edges are all frayed.
[22:16]But your fabric is shimmering and beautiful. And sparkly and like people can't get enough of it.
[22:21]So it doesn't matter what shape it's in really. So that, that's why. So teamwork, that's where
[22:27]teamwork happens. You know, different strengths, different shapes. And I'm going to be really
[22:32]meta now, but I'm going to bring this back to the teamwork of like, because I actually think this
[22:37]is really important. This is something I like to get on a soapbox about, but the teamwork of molding
[22:41]and shaping little ones minds through story. How much they need stories like Princess Charming that
[22:49]are really showing them a world that is the hopeful world. We want them to believe they can live
[22:56]in. They believe their parents can build for them. They build, they believe that they can build
[23:03]for themselves. Like in order for a child to grow up and be aspirational about like really making
[23:09]the world a better place, they have to have at some point imagine what a better place could look
[23:14]like. And I think their stories really help them with that. And I'm like a very strong lover
[23:19]and believer in an aspirational and idealistic storytelling. And then also we need our children
[23:26]to have a safe outlet where them, they can open the door to their shadow side. And where like
[23:34]mom and dad might be able to sit down and be like, these are the sort of ugly bits of me that I'm
[23:39]not really comfortable with. What about you? Like, are there any parts of you that you're starting
[23:44]to feel like especially around the ages of I feel like seven, eight. Yes. When their individuality
[23:50]starts to blossom, there's so much in that time of autonomy building where they step out in this
[23:58]like confidence of like, look at me, I'm going to be me, which is exciting and wonderful. There's
[24:03]so many pitfalls on that road where they're going to fall on their face. And they're going to fall
[24:09]on their face because they've been like a total nitty. You know, they're just going to do things
[24:14]really badly and they're going to make mistakes. And to know what that means and how to learn
[24:19]from that, how to grow from that, how to apply that, how to talk about that, how to talk through
[24:24]that. Like, those are things that are equally as important and for us to be able to walk in the
[24:29]garden of Eden, but get to know the snake. Do you know, like I just, I feel like that is really
[24:35]important for kids. I love that. That's amazing. I love that. And given that I have a seven
[24:42]and an eight-year-old behind the store, both in that very individuation stage. My daughter
[24:49]the other day was like fighting me for something she wanted and I was saying no. And she's like,
[24:52]I am an independent woman. And I was like, you are eight. Like, stop it.
[24:57]But my son is 10 and he has been a fierce force of independence since birth. And so that stage
[25:07]was very painful. It was really difficult. It was like there was a non-stop had against wall. Like,
[25:14]when will this kid does listen to me? And it is an interesting, very challenging balance or a parent
[25:22]as a parent to be like, I really want to raise a child who holds onto that autonomy. You know,
[25:30]who isn't sort of beat down into a certain shape and then held there and told, this is the only
[25:36]shape that's acceptable. Be this. You know, I want him to find his shape. Yeah. But,
[25:42]but it's just a fun time. And I've shaped to have really sharp points and he just scrapes everyone
[25:49]else around him with his shape. You know, like there, there are, there are concerns. Like,
[25:53]we, we have to molds. We have to shape. We have to guide. We have to mentor. Like, these, these,
[25:58]and these things come into conflict with, with our, are these desires of like, our children are
[26:04]born into a conditional world, but they're unconditional beings. And then we have to put these
[26:09]conditions on them. And it's like, I hate it. It's amazing. It's so exhausting.
[26:14]All of it. It's only time to find myself being like, I don't want to do this. Actually,
[26:20]I'm decided. I don't have to be here. All right. Yeah. I just want to be the fun anti.
[26:28]You're amazing. You're so cool. Just give you like, I don't want to be the one of the
[26:32]conditions on them. Like, what if we do have ice cream for breakfast? What will happen?
[26:36]I don't know. Yeah. Exactly. Anyway, wait. So in addition to your children's book,
[26:41]art, what projects are you really excited about now? What are you acting in? Like, what's your
[26:46]whole thing? What's coming up? So actively, like, what's sometimes I go straight to, like, the
[26:54]imaginary things that I think I'm working on. So I'll go to the action. I'm going to be
[27:00]actual things that I worked on. So last year I shot quantum media for Marvel, which is the next
[27:06]Ant-Man in the Wasp installment. And that should be coming out next in 2023. So I still have
[27:11]to do reshoots for that. And then there'll be a big press store for that. It's like, there's
[27:14]these sort of never ending commitments with Marvel, which is, which is beautiful because
[27:19]you never have job security as an actor. And when you do, you can actually relax between
[27:24]projects and sort of follow your patterns and just do really cool, interesting artistic things,
[27:29]which is what I've been trying to do. So I'm obviously, as we're talking about, I'm in the midst
[27:34]releasing the demise of Lorn of the Lazy, which is active of the demise series for the
[27:38]Squid co-hunkers. And then I'm also next week, I'll be recording, I'm doing a voiceover project
[27:45]for a really cool Israeli animated film that is the first and only of its kind, where it's actually
[27:53]not traditional animation. It's classical paintings that have been filmed in a way to make it feel
[28:02]active, but they're actually static images. And it's the story of the destruction of the second
[28:08]temple. And so it's a very intense subject matter. And it's a story that is really speaking to
[28:15]a lot of the political and socio-economic and socialist issues we have today because the demise
[28:21]of the second temple in Israel originally that story that was told, the reason why it fell was
[28:28]because of civil infighting amongst the Israeli people. And therefore it made it very easy for an
[28:34]outside force to come and just take it, which at that time was Rome. And currently, Israel, of course,
[28:42]is dealing with so many factions within themselves and they're fighting amongst themselves. So it
[28:48]was a film that was released already in Israel. The Israeli Prime Minister said, I think everyone
[28:53]in my cabinet should watch this film. It should be like mandatory watching, but a university
[28:58]student in the country like this is a really the most important film we could watch today. And
[29:04]it was so well received. They're going to make an English version. So I'm going to be voicing.
[29:08]Yeah, the only female character as usual. I don't know what this is about, but there's some trend
[29:14]in me that for some reason every project, I'm like the only woman nine times at a ten anyway.
[29:19]And then I'm also looks like I might be doing some theater in London early next year.
[29:28]We'll see. It's I won't say the name or the director or anything because we're still in the
[29:32]process of solidifying things. But it feels like it's like 99.9% sure that I will be doing that,
[29:38]which I'm very, very excited about because there's nothing this frayed edge to artist loves more
[29:45]than being in a room electric with other human beings. Like I don't actually like
[29:51]acting for a camera. I like acting with other people. Like having people in the room and
[29:56]feeling their energy and feeding off of their energy. So it'll be the
[30:00]The first time I've done that professionally,
[30:01]and I'm very, very excited about that, that is so cool.
[30:04]Very cool.
[30:05]And then the imaginary stuff that I think I'm working on
[30:08]is I'm working on writing a Bible for a TV show
[30:11]that I want to create, they think,
[30:13]which would be very kind of a big world building thing,
[30:16]much more in line with the kinds of acting projects
[30:18]I've done in my career.
[30:20]And there is a memoir, there is a story
[30:25]that I am trying to, I'm about to start
[30:28]working on maybe shaping with this wonderful agent
[30:31]who I found who has said, let me help you put the edges
[30:36]on your fabric.
[30:38]Well done, well there you go.
[30:39]Perfect.
[30:40]Yes, so hopefully that'll happen, we'll see.
[30:43]It's always a challenge, but I've discovered a new habit
[30:46]you might have done the same thing,
[30:48]I'm not sure I've heard a lot of female authors
[30:50]who have done this and they've inspired me.
[30:52]In order to really get any decent writing done
[30:55]as a mother of two children and a working mother
[30:57]has like a day job outside of writing,
[30:59]I generally get up at like three or four in the morning
[31:03]these days and I just write for like two hours
[31:05]in the morning before the kids get up
[31:07]and then I actually get writing done.
[31:10]Do you know that has become, and I've heard that
[31:12]from other authors which in the end was something
[31:14]I took to heart and was like, okay, maybe that's what I need
[31:16]to do, not for the inspired stuff,
[31:19]that can pour out of me at any time,
[31:21]but for that really discipline, get it into a shape
[31:25]that I can sell is that's gonna take some serious
[31:28]concentration so.
[31:29]Yeah, there's no hope when they're all running around it.
[31:32]So I didn't have quiet and decent.
[31:35]I just won't let me thank God.
[31:38]Every day, every day they're all in school.
[31:40]I'm like, wow, and actually I'm literally as we're talking,
[31:44]I'm quarantined in here because I have COVID.
[31:46]And I'm like, this is actually really efficient.
[31:48]You know, I'm like sitting in my desk,
[31:50]I do this all day anyway.
[31:52]So are you speaking in there?
[31:55]No, and my bedroom's right across the way, so.
[31:58]Oh my God.
[31:59]Although I said, a pretty amazing house for quarantining.
[32:02]Not too heavy.
[32:03]I literally said to Kyle, who also had COVID,
[32:06]I was literally like, I would be okay
[32:08]to take it to my apartment for the rest of my life.
[32:11]As long as like, people kept coming in all the time,
[32:14]and I was like, always with people,
[32:16]and like learning from them, and reading,
[32:17]and like talking to people, and like, I could do it.
[32:20]I could really, I'm not the personality type
[32:25]that becomes a writer, because I'm the same.
[32:28]When the lockdowns began in March of 2020,
[32:31]my whole family were like, you've been preparing
[32:34]for this moment your whole life.
[32:36]Yeah.
[32:37]Like, I have such a recluse.
[32:39]I have such a recluse.
[32:40]And I was like,
[32:41]oh, do you mean that my husband and kids have to stay
[32:46]and hold with me now?
[32:47]Whoo!
[32:48]I just put my dream come true.
[32:51]Oh my gosh.
[32:52]Well, mentally and I have to tell you before we jump off,
[32:55]because I've been always, I think I'm dying to know,
[32:59]do you put colored covers on your books?
[33:04]No, those are my books.
[33:06]Those are just my books.
[33:07]I, how did you end up with the perfect amount
[33:11]of yellow books and orange books and green books
[33:13]and blue books and purple books?
[33:15]How does that happen?
[33:16]I took, first of all, I have eight bazillion books
[33:19]and I get sent books now all the time.
[33:21]And I mean, I do like a podcast every single day of the year.
[33:24]So if I just took all those,
[33:26]and now I've been doing it for four years,
[33:28]so I took all the books out of this whole room
[33:30]and, yes, you know, goes all the way around.
[33:31]I dumped them on the floor and I made piles.
[33:33]And that's how I figured out how many to put in there.
[33:35]And then all the overflow I put everywhere else.
[33:38]So it's my favorite room in your house.
[33:40]I want to library.
[33:41]I don't have a library and I want a library.
[33:44]You go do that then.
[33:46]I should turn my meditation room into a library.
[33:49]Yeah, this is like a form of meditation for me.
[33:52]Yeah.
[33:52]Yeah.
[33:53]Well, my meditation room has all my books in it
[33:55]because I feel quite meditative when I'm surrounded by books.
[33:58]It helps.
[33:59]It's sort of like really inspiring.
[34:00]Even just seeing spines of books
[34:03]that I know have guided me along my way
[34:05]or have inspired me or have touched me.
[34:07]It's like, oh, it's like they're all in there with me.
[34:10]Totally.
[34:12]I would be good.
[34:13]I know.
[34:14]I feel the same way.
[34:15]Yeah.
[34:16]All these characters sort of dancing in the shelves.
[34:19]You know, you just look in it.
[34:20]It's mine.
[34:21]Anyway, amazing.
[34:23]Well, thank you for doing this.
[34:24]I'm so excited.
[34:25]What is the, so when is the official date that this book
[34:28]comes out?
[34:29]Does it have a date right now?
[34:30]It's out on March 15th officially.
[34:34]So, so amazing.
[34:36]I'm so excited for you.
[34:37]Let me get it at squickerwalkers.com.
[34:40]That is the exclusive place.
[34:41]It's being released.
[34:42]And so I'm a self published, you know, I have my own publishing
[34:45]house also, but we only published the squickerwalkers.
[34:48]Maybe eventually we'll publish more.
[34:49]But that's all we do right now.
[34:51]And so it's squickerwalkers.com on Instagram at the squickerwalkers.
[34:55]And if you want to know when the next book comes out,
[35:00]because as I said, it's a series of 20.
[35:02]And we're only on book three.
[35:04]Then you can sign up to the squicker club
[35:06]at the squickerwalkers.com.
[35:08]And I send you emails when a new book's coming out.
[35:11]And you'll get like, without any obligation or money paid,
[35:15]you get like free promotions, you get sales,
[35:17]that other people don't get.
[35:18]You get like personalized books.
[35:20]One other people just get a sign book.
[35:21]And it's a straight-up perk club.
[35:25]That's it.
[35:25]There's no, there's nothing wrong.
[35:27]I'm signing up.
[35:27]So I don't miss the next release accidentally.
[35:29]I'm sorry.
[35:33]The clock was was Princess charming.
[35:34]When does it come out?
[35:35]It came out Tuesday.
[35:37]I'm Tuesday.
[35:38]Good.
[35:38]They should.
[35:40]Thank you.
[35:40]And how does your daughter, your daughter,
[35:43]who you wrote it about?
[35:44]What does she think of it?
[35:45]She's so proud.
[35:46]She's so proud, I don't know.
[35:48]How old is she now?
[35:49]She's almost 15th.
[35:50]Wow.
[35:51]Yeah.
[35:52]And did she still, Princess charming?
[35:54]She is.
[35:55]I'm still the same.
[35:57]So this is, she'll be like her mom.
[35:58]She'll be very successful then.
[36:00]Let's see.
[36:01]We're having raw scale and raw talent is overrated.
[36:04]You have to explain and the hard work to see it through.
[36:08]That's true.
[36:09]Both.
[36:10]This is a plus.
[36:11]Yeah.
[36:13]So good to see you, thank you for doing this.
[36:17]You too.
[36:17]OK.
[36:18]Bye.
[36:20]Hi, I'm Sibi Owens.
[36:21]And you're listening to the award-winning podcast.
[36:24]Moms don't have time to read books.
[36:26]If you like this podcast, you will love my new anthology
[36:29]called Moms Don't Have Time to Have Kids.
[36:31]Check it out.
[36:32]And you'll hear from 49 authors about all sorts of things
[36:35]Moms don't have time to do.
[36:36]All the authors have been on this podcast.
[36:38]Also, check out my TikTok at with Sibi and Tracy.
[36:41]My other podcast, Sex Talk with Sibi and Tracy.
[36:44]Check out Moms Don't Have Time to Write on Medium.
[36:47]And of course, my new publishing company called Sibi Books.
[36:51]And now back to our daily author interview site
[36:53]and a quick hello from some of my kids.
[36:55]Hi.
[36:56]Hi.
[36:56]Hello.
[36:57]Enjoy the show.