Latest / Cyrus Webb's tracks / Author and Illustrator Christy Mandin discusses new MILLIE FLEUR books with Cyrus Webb

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Author and Illustrator Christy Mandin discusses new MILLIE FLEUR books with Cyrus Webb · Cyrus Webb's tracks

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  Speaker 1: Hello, everyone, and welcome back to Conversations Live. I'm your host,
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  Speaker 1: Cyrus Webb. Glad you all could join us once again.
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  Speaker 1: For our radio audience tuning in at WYED 94.1 FM
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  Speaker 1: and WYEDonline.com, we're glad that you all can be with us. Also,
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  Speaker 1: join us online worldwide via our podcast at iHeartRadio and
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  Speaker 1: Amazon Music, as well as the Conversations Radio Network. We're
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  Speaker 1: glad you all could be with us as well. Well,
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  Speaker 1: we know that in life things don't always go the
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  Speaker 1: way that we plan, but a new children's book helped
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  Speaker 1: us understand how we can be able not only to
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  Speaker 1: make lemonade out of lemons, but also to be able
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  Speaker 1: to have fun and help others along the way. We're
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  Speaker 1: excited to welcome back best-selling author Christy Manning to our
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  Speaker 1: broadcast today. She's the author of the Millie Fleur books.
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  Speaker 1: The newest book I had a chance to read is
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  Speaker 1: called Millie Fleur's Pumpkin Problem, but she also has books.
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  Speaker 1: Millie Flores' Worst Day Ever that came out this year
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  Speaker 1: as well. I want to talk to her not only
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  Speaker 1: about the success of the series, but what it's been
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  Speaker 1: like for her to be able to give readers an
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  Speaker 1: idea of not only how they can be able to
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  Speaker 1: work together, but also to solve problems as well. Chrissy,
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  Speaker 1: welcome back to the broadcast.
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  Speaker 2: Thanks so much for having me.
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  Speaker 1: Look, the pleasure is definitely all mine. We had a
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  Speaker 1: chance to talk. When you first had the book, Millie
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  Speaker 1: Flores Saves the Night, which was another great idea for individuals,
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  Speaker 1: both young and old, about how they can be able
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  Speaker 1: to make, you know, better decisions when it comes to
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  Speaker 1: things that happen. This is something you've continued in the series.
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  Speaker 1: What has it been like for you, Christy, to see
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  Speaker 1: the way that Rita's ever responded to Millie?
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  Speaker 2: It's been so exciting. I think she has turned out
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  Speaker 2: to be such a well-rounded character that just kind of,
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  Speaker 2: I think, embodies the whole human experience. So I... kids
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  Speaker 2: have really taken to her. So it makes me very happy.
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  Speaker 1: What I love so much about Millie Flores, especially whether
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  Speaker 1: we're talking about Save the Night or even the book
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  Speaker 1: I had a chance to read, Millie Flores' Pumpkin Problem,
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  Speaker 1: is that Millie is someone who's able to not only
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  Speaker 1: to deal with circumstances, but also to help others to
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  Speaker 1: see things in a different way. We saw that in
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  Speaker 1: Save the Night. We see it definitely in pumpkin problem.
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  Speaker 1: Is that one of the things that kind of was
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  Speaker 1: the impetus for the series, Christy, to be able to
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  Speaker 1: show that no matter how old we may be or
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  Speaker 1: where we're from, that we can be able to help
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  Speaker 1: others and maybe making the most of different situations?
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  Speaker 2: You know, I didn't set out with that intention. You know,
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  Speaker 2: I think books kind of take on a life of
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  Speaker 2: their own as you're making them. But I have four
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  Speaker 2: kids of my own, ranging from seven to 19. And
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  Speaker 2: And so we have a lot of life experiences and
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  Speaker 2: life stages happening in our own home. And so I
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  Speaker 2: think it just kind of organically comes out in the
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  Speaker 2: books that like we are supporting each other in various
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  Speaker 2: life stages and development and that communication between each other
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  Speaker 2: and seeing things from each other's point of view. We
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  Speaker 2: have every different kind of personality in our house. And
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  Speaker 2: so I think it just was inevitable that that would
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  Speaker 2: come through maybe in the books. Got it. Yeah.
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  Speaker 1: So for those who are just new to the series, Chrissy,
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  Speaker 1: how did Millie Floor herself come about?
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  Speaker 2: Well, so I... Millie Floor came about after I learned
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  Speaker 2: about a real-life poison garden in England, and I thought, oh,
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  Speaker 2: that is such an interesting concept. And I thought... The
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  Speaker 2: things that we label as poison, you know, to me,
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  Speaker 2: I heard of this poison garden and I thought that
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  Speaker 2: actually sounds interesting to me, where it might sound terrible
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  Speaker 2: to somebody else. And it took on a life of
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  Speaker 2: like how we label things and how we see things.
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  Speaker 2: And Millie Fuller was just kind of born out of
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  Speaker 2: my interest in people that see the world a little
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  Speaker 2: bit differently.
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  Speaker 1: One thing that I thought was interesting, Christy, and I
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  Speaker 1: went back and listened to our previous conversation that we
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  Speaker 1: had about Save the Night. And one thing that readers,
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  Speaker 1: even though we kind of get to know Millie, we
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  Speaker 1: don't know a lot about how she kind of got
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  Speaker 1: to have the worldview that she has, how she's able
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  Speaker 1: to be such a great problem solver. Is that part
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  Speaker 1: of the fun of the mystery about her beginnings that
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  Speaker 1: kind of is a part of each one of these books?
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, I think picture books allow for that bit of
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  Speaker 2: baked-in mystery because you really don't have a lot of
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  Speaker 2: time for the backstory. You really just have to dive
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  Speaker 2: into the action. But that's what I love about picture
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  Speaker 2: books is that it lets kids fill in those gaps
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  Speaker 2: with their own experiences and their own world. So the
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  Speaker 2: reader takeaway fills in all of that first act sort
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  Speaker 2: of backstory. and lets their imaginations do that heavy lifting.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah. And I think, too, I love the fact that in,
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  Speaker 1: whether we're talking about Millie Flores' pumping problem or in
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  Speaker 1: Save the Night or even, you know, in the other
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  Speaker 1: book you released this year, you know, you're able to show, too,
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  Speaker 1: about the importance of working together. Is that one of
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  Speaker 1: those themes that you've seen readers really pick up on,
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  Speaker 1: how they can really be able to do things and
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  Speaker 1: achieve great things together?
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, so I just visited a school last week where
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  Speaker 2: they did a whole day program on, they let the kids,
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  Speaker 2: it was a K-6 school, but they let the kids
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  Speaker 2: have a day where they were going to be with
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  Speaker 2: kids that weren't in their class. So they were going
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  Speaker 2: to meet other kids and have to quickly learn to
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  Speaker 2: communicate with each other and find out, you know, what
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  Speaker 2: does this person like or how can we play together
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  Speaker 2: and And so I think there's a lot of opportunity
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  Speaker 2: with these books and in education in particular to be
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  Speaker 2: able to reach out and be in community with each
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  Speaker 2: other and provide different ways of meeting each other where
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  Speaker 2: we're at.
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  Speaker 1: I think, too, outside of the fun of the series, Christy,
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  Speaker 1: I also love the educational aspect of that even teachers,
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  Speaker 1: even parents can kind of have fun with. For one,
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  Speaker 1: in the middle of a pumpkin problem, we have to
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  Speaker 1: learn about the different types of pumpkin. Like myself, I
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  Speaker 1: just know pumpkin. You know, I never thought about that. Oh,
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  Speaker 1: I'm sorry. Yeah, you know, there are big different types. Yeah,
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  Speaker 1: and then, too, the idea of compost and how it
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  Speaker 1: helps in growth. And what has that been like for
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  Speaker 1: you to be able to have those components that may
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  Speaker 1: have been just part of the story, But give parents
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  Speaker 1: and even educators something they can work with to kind
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  Speaker 1: of bring a new layer to Millie Flores' world. Yes.
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  Speaker 2: So, again, like for me, it's just part of my
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  Speaker 2: environment and world because I keep a garden myself. And inevitably,
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  Speaker 2: you end up with a lot of stuff at the
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  Speaker 2: end of the season. And so, for me, it was
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  Speaker 2: natural to put a stem component in the book. It
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  Speaker 2: really didn't feel like I had to shoehorn it in.
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  Speaker 2: because compost just seemed like an inevitability.
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  Speaker 1: You know, like if you have a.
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  Speaker 2: Town overrun with pumpkin vines, well, you know, the pumpkins
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  Speaker 2: are fun, but what are you doing with all these vines?
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  Speaker 2: You know, the less glamorous side of gardening. Yeah, but
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  Speaker 2: it does. It provides an organic approach to STEM. Even
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  Speaker 2: like in Saves the Night, you're talking about ecosystems and,
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  Speaker 2: you know, lightning bugs, fireflies, whatever you call them, wherever
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  Speaker 2: you're at. And, yeah, so that just kind of comes
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  Speaker 2: through naturally for me as a gardener and someone who
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  Speaker 2: loves being outside.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah. I love the fact, too, with Garden Glen that
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  Speaker 1: they're able to show, again, the different, you know, the
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  Speaker 1: different ways that pumpkin can be able to be used, too. Right?
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  Speaker 1: I think that's another. So many ways.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah.
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  Speaker 1: You know, exciting thing. And that's why I think this
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  Speaker 1: book really stood out to me, Christy, because I love
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  Speaker 1: the fact, for one, again, it's a fun story for sure.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah.
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  Speaker 1: But also there's so many different things that bring the
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  Speaker 1: reader in, regardless of their interest. You may not think
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  Speaker 1: about pumpkins initially being something that's exciting for you, but
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  Speaker 1: then the different things that can come from it. And,
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  Speaker 1: of course, being able to bring the community together as well.
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  Speaker 1: I mentioned a couple times here that you've released two
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  Speaker 1: books this year. Is that just the way it fell?
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  Speaker 1: Or what was it like for you to have two
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  Speaker 1: different stories you're going to share with readers this year?
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  Speaker 2: So it's interesting. The other book that released this year
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  Speaker 2: is Millie Fuller's Worst Day Ever. And I am finding
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  Speaker 2: that I got to the end of the year and
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  Speaker 2: there was a bit of a theme for my books
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  Speaker 2: this year. And it was pivoting and making the best
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  Speaker 2: of a situation that might not go the way you planned.
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  Speaker 2: And I didn't really set out to do that. I
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  Speaker 2: think books are magic in that way. But it's been
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  Speaker 2: very apt for the year. I think we all very
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  Speaker 2: much have had to pivot this year. Or try to,
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  Speaker 2: like you said, make lemonade out of lemons. Yeah, so
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  Speaker 2: not every year is a two-book year, but Millie Fuller's
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  Speaker 2: popularity has sort of called for that this year and
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  Speaker 2: in the years coming up.
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  Speaker 1: It gives us something to look forward to. And, Chrissy,
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  Speaker 1: I'm so glad we got a chance to speak again. Again, everyone,
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  Speaker 1: New York Times bestselling author Chrissy Mandin has been our guest.
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  Speaker 1: The two books that are new in the Millie Flores
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  Speaker 1: series are Millie Flores' Pumpkin Problem that I've been talking
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  Speaker 1: about here, but also Millie Flores' Worst Day Ever. Of course,
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  Speaker 1: you can get all of the books on Amazon or
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  Speaker 1: through your favorite local bookstore as well. Chrissy, congratulations to
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  Speaker 1: you and looking forward to having you back on the
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  Speaker 1: program again.
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  Speaker 2: Thank you so much, Cyrus. Always a pleasure.
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  Speaker 1: I appreciate you, and we thank your audience for tuning
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  Speaker 1: in to another great segment of Conversations Live. Until next time,
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  Speaker 1: I'm your host, Cyrus Welk. As always, enjoy your day,
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  Speaker 1: enjoy your life, enjoy your world. Thank you for being
• 9:54
  Speaker 1: with us here at Conversations Live. Let us go make
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  Speaker 1: today amazing.
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  Speaker 2: Take care.