Like, how long did its sort of imprint stay with you?

It was about...

I could smell myself.

I caught whiffs for about a week.

Okay.

I was at the gym.

I know.

Do you remember when you were a kid the kind of people that came to your school?

I mean, what is the lesson in this particular book?

Well, the lesson really is, you know, to figure out who you are and go with it.

Try to be proud of who you are.

And that's the lesson of life, I feel like.

That's what we have to do when we are born.

And it takes a lifetime.

And that's really the lesson of the book.

The kids

Now, you're hilarious to me, but like, have you always been really natural with kids because of that humor? Do you love being around young children? I have not always

known what to say.

Okay.

I didn't, I never babysat when I was younger.

I just didn't, I didn't know what to say.

My sister is much more natural with children.

She used to nanny for these two kids and she introduced me to them one day.

She makes

I'm, I'm sure it was a good impression.

And, and she was such a good sport about it, and it became sort of a thing.

And I, um, but I always love to do accents and voices, and I just think that, um, there, whenever I g- I see a, a, an opportunity to play a role, the f- my first and basically only question is what's the voice? What do they sound like? And then of course, what's the hair? Um, those are the only two things that matter.

So after 10 years at SNL, you decide you're gonna move to the country?

country?Is that what happened? Yes.

Look- So is it, is it, like, cozy and warm with a big fire, or is it like The Shining? [laughs] Or is it like aliens in the woods? [laughs] Mm.

It's, um, it's, it's cozy and warm with a little fire and, um, a big garden, and there is a town nearby that is known for its alien abductions.

[laughs] No.

Where were you? Who was in the room? What was the signal that told you in your bones that you were exactly where you needed to be?

I have to say that it's maybe a little bit unconventional because it wasn't a public moment where I felt like I really knew that I belonged.

It was when I started my business.

There was a very clear moment when I was having a conversation with somebody virtually about something that was very sort of I was very sensitive about.

And I found myself tearful on the call, which is something that spending your life in H.R., you really don't have the opportunity to sit there and cry with people on a regular basis.

That's true.

When something really touches you, it's very challenging in HR to hold it together, especially with some of the things that people talk to you about.

So where in the room that made it clear in words or silence that you were on the outside of something? What happened and what did you feel in your body when it landed that way?

It was like undisclosed woods, which I love.

What is life like? Um, it's, it's a beautiful, it's a beautiful life.

I am growing a lot of food right now.

Honestly, too much food.

Uh, it's become sort of a full-time job.

Uh, it's strawberry week this week.

And if you don't get to those strawberries, the minute they turn red, the slugs will get them.

look

So before we get to the game, Kate, is it true that Jane was in the first Broadway show you ever

saw? Yes.

No.

Yes.

It was Once Upon a Mattress.

Aw.

I was late to the game.

Yeah, Kate.

Mm.

...

it was in a February.

That was another that I felt like I only overlapped with him for two or three years or so, but he, and he's not very much older than me, but I felt, like, he was, like, had a paternal, you know, thing.

And, like, when he left, oh my God, I was so crushed.

And I forget that life goes on, and you, like, you form, you know, other connections and stuff, but that was like, "Oh, I love that guy."

What was, what was your relationship like?

I mean, she taught me about, like, so much about comedy, but she also taught me about just, like, being a person.

Yeah.

Any horse.

So this, no, so I started writing this book, um, I, I came up with this idea with these characters, like, 10 years ago, and whenever I wasn't at SNL, I would be writing this thing.

And then, so when I finished at SNL, finally, I had time to-

Just leave her alone.

And, um, and so this, so The Secrets of the Purple Pearl is the second in the Millicent Quibb series, and it's about a mad scientist who starts a school for girls in a repressive turn-of-the-century town.

And then in the second one, The Purple Pearl, you know, they're at a hotel and they're having an adventure and they're looking for a purple pearl.

Yeah

... they'll find a tooth, and they'll call the police, and it'll be kind of a fun day for everyone.

Oh

... why this is a problem, why someone would be so devoted to eating potato chips [laughs] that they would let it get in the way of their relationship.