Book of the Month Club pick Sally Hepworth’s Mad Mabel
Totally Booked with Zibby
Zibby Owens
4.5 • 643 Ratings
🗓️ 23 April 2026
⏱️ 25 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Yes, Sally Hepworth and I spoke about her new novel, Mad Mabel, which features an older, quirky protagonist whose neighbor dies in the opening, and the young friend who comes along. But we also spoke about Sally’s recent divorce and how she has been getting through that. Sally is such a good storyteller that anything out of her mouth is captivating. No wonder her latest book is a Book of the Month Club pick.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hi, this is Zibi 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 think is worth your time. As a bookstore owner, publisher, author, and obviously podcaster, I get a comprehensive |
| 0:24.0 | look at everything that's coming out and spend my time curating the best books so you don't |
| 0:29.3 | have to. |
| 0:30.3 | Stay in the know, get insider insights, and connect with guests like I do every single day. |
| 0:36.2 | For more information, go to zibbimedia.com and follow me on Instagram |
| 0:40.2 | at Zibby Owens. Sally Hepworth is the author of Mad Mabel, a novel. She has been on my podcast |
| 0:50.1 | several times for her previous books, including in person in New York City. This one we did on |
| 0:55.2 | Zoom. Sally Hepworth is the New York Times best-selling author of nine novels, including The Soulmate |
| 1:00.7 | and the Good Sister. It was fabulous to talk to her about her latest book. She lives in |
| 1:06.0 | Melbourne, Australia, which is why we were not in person this time. But don't worry, her books have |
| 1:10.5 | been translated into about 20 languages. |
| 1:12.9 | And we talked about everything from her recent divorce to her love of writing and how she just does all of it. |
| 1:21.0 | She is so outstanding. |
| 1:22.5 | And I am a huge, huge fan. |
| 1:25.1 | Welcome, Sally. |
| 1:26.1 | Thanks so much for coming back on Totally Booked to talk about |
| 1:28.6 | Mad Mabel. Congratulations. I'm my pleasure. Thank you for having me back. Mad Mabel is such an |
| 1:35.4 | amazing character. I can see a whole movie type situation about her. Her backstory, which unfolds |
| 1:43.1 | throughout the book, is so great, kind of heartbreaking, but amazing. |
| 1:47.9 | And I just love how you tied everything together. |
| 1:51.4 | Oh, my gosh. |
| 1:52.3 | Anyway, it was a thrill to read. |
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