Hi, I'm Zibi Owens, and you're listening to the Webby-nominated podcast.

Moms don't have time to read books.

Book of the Month Club is this week's sponsor.

They're offering listeners their first book for only $5 with Code Zibby, Z-I-B-B-Y.

Again, that's Code Zibby for your first book for $5 to Book of the Month Club, which, by the way, is amazing.

I subscribe every month I get to pick from five of their favorite books.

Most of the time, one of them is by an author I've had on my podcast, and then it just

arrives. I've given it as a gift. I adore it, and you will too. So think of it for gifts,

and for sure go on bookof the month.com and subscribe yourself. I'm here today with Renee Denfeld,

who's the best-selling author of The Child Finder and The Enchanted.

Her latest book, The Butterfly Girl, tackles the plate of homeless children, a marginalized

population she's familiar with after growing up homeless and in the foster care system

herself.

An award-winning journalist and licensed private investigator, Renee was named Hero of the

Year by the New York Times, and won a Breaking the Silence Award in Washington, D.C. for her advocacy for victims.

Her work has been published in the Washington Post, the modern love column of the New York Times, the New York Times Magazine, and the Philadelphia Inquirer, despite her only receiving a ninth grade education.

She currently lives in Portland, Oregon, with her three children adopted from foster care.

So thanks, Renee, for coming on moms and have time to read books.

Thank you for having me.

Can you please tell listeners what your beautiful novel The Butterfly Girl is about and what inspired you to write it?

Sure. So The Butterfly Girl is my third novel.

And, you know, my books have been described as thrillers written as poems. They're very poetic, but they're also page turners. And the butterfly girl is very much this way. It's a very exciting story. And it centers on a 12-year-old homeless girl who's living on the streets of Portland, Oregon,

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