Western Standard - Author Derek Smith of How the Prime Minister Stole Freedom on his latest book

00:00:00.000 You put out that book, well, not last year, not that long ago, The Prime Minister Who Stole Freedom.

00:00:05.540 It was like a parody on the whole convoy affair and things like that.

00:00:09.980 It was brilliant.

00:00:11.080 And the graphics were fantastic.

00:00:15.020 Illustration, I guess I should use the proper term for it.

00:00:17.020 Of course, it was a nice poetic Dr. Seuss sort of style.

00:00:19.820 And it did really well.

00:00:21.100 So now you've done a new one.

00:00:22.920 And it's come out, what, a couple of weeks ago, I believe.

00:00:25.200 One face, two face, black face, blue face.

00:00:27.760 Yeah, we released the book last week.

00:00:31.040 And it's been doing really good.

00:00:33.060 Really positive response from people.

00:00:34.840 A lot of people are saying they enjoy it more than how The Prime Minister Stole Freedom.

00:00:39.340 And we're really working hard to kind of keep pushing out the political satire as we move forward with our brand.

00:00:47.640 I think that no matter which party is in power or whoever's kind of working behind the scenes,

00:00:53.280 that we kind of focus on anybody being available to be in the crosshairs so long as they're warranting that kind of attention.

00:01:02.520 Yeah, well, and putting things out.

00:01:04.240 I should note, actually, our Goofy Newfie there.

00:01:06.360 I see Arthur Green noting what an awesome room you're in.

00:01:08.520 And I remember that from the last time you were on the show.

00:01:10.840 It's quite a background you got going on there.

00:01:13.400 You draw a lot of envy from that, along with your fine work in political parodies, satire.

00:01:19.780 Thank you.

00:01:20.360 We actually built this room for my kids during the lockdowns because they started to get a real interest in retro gaming.

00:01:27.340 And, you know, I'm really into preserving the 80s and 90s lifestyle that I grew up in that I kind of said to my wife,

00:01:34.340 you know, if we can afford it, let's do it.

00:01:36.120 And, you know, I always joke that this is for the kids, but really it's for the whole family.

00:01:40.260 And we have a blast down here.

00:01:42.160 I know it's the envy of a lot of families when they come over with their kids,

00:01:46.360 but we've made a lot of friends, needless to say.

00:01:50.000 Well, I'll get you back to your book because you made a lot of friends there.

00:01:53.700 And, I mean, I like, you know, I think we kind of talked about that last time.

00:01:57.840 Political communication.

00:01:58.880 I mean, I write big, long, drawn-out columns and people read them and it's great.

00:02:02.360 And then there's lots of big, thick books.

00:02:03.760 But at other times, you know, there's a role for all sorts of ways to communicate

00:02:07.320 and bringing people's interest to it, bringing their interest to the issues.

00:02:11.380 And this is a fun way to do, which is still serious messaging.

00:02:15.500 It's a different way to communicate.

00:02:17.440 Satire is very important.

00:02:18.820 Parody is important.

00:02:19.960 You know, even from the old CBC air farce or this hour has 22 minutes,

00:02:24.800 as much as I don't care for that network.

00:02:26.900 They held a role and as do your books.

00:02:29.180 Like you've got serious messaging packed within a good humorous package.

00:02:32.240 Well, we try to keep it simple.

00:02:34.860 And what I find is that on the political spectrum when it comes to comedy,

00:02:38.260 I think that you kind of only see comedy on one side of the scale when it comes to publications these days.

00:02:43.720 And that's why when we first did How the Prime Minister Stole Freedom,

00:02:47.300 our focus was let's start bringing comedy to another angle and make it simple enough

00:02:51.480 that people who have forgotten to laugh over the last couple of years can look at something

00:02:55.480 that really was a big movement in Canada, not only in the country, but for the world

00:03:00.280 and kind of find some humor in it.

00:03:02.660 And we'll poke fun at the gaffes at those who deserve it the most

00:03:05.120 and kind of take the gloves off, which is essentially what we've done in the second book.

00:03:09.480 We had a lot of people reach out to us when the first book went viral saying,

00:03:13.820 you know, can you do Jagmeet next?

00:03:15.820 Can you do Chrystia Freeland?

00:03:17.020 Can you do Omar?

00:03:17.680 And I kind of just said, instead of finding one person, why don't we just do them all?

00:03:21.300 Let's put them all in one book and kind of take the gloves off, so to speak.

00:03:24.740 So that's kind of what we wanted to do was focus the comedy on the one side of the scale

00:03:29.200 that you normally don't see it on.

00:03:30.940 Yeah, I mean, there's something to be said.

00:03:32.580 I mean, you know, it's a balance.

00:03:33.660 I mean, hey, I think it's fine when there's comedy, poke and fun at conservatives too,

00:03:37.740 but you need both ends of the scale.

00:03:39.620 And yeah, so the graphics of the transportation minister, for example, were great,

00:03:43.680 but he is kind of a comical looking fellow to begin with.

00:03:46.060 And that's okay.

00:03:46.540 We all have our moments, you know, so I'm assuming he could draw a cartoon

00:03:48.860 and make fun of my gray hair stuffing all over the place or whatnot.

00:03:53.020 It's just, it's serious messaging, but people have to, it's not necessarily a cruel shot

00:03:57.340 by any means.

00:03:58.180 We're just having fun.

00:04:00.240 I noticed there's a lot more text though, you know, this book, you went a little more

00:04:03.500 in depth, I think, in it than the first one, you know, where you went more for the short

00:04:06.720 hitting poetic and there's a little more depth this time.

00:04:09.260 It was, well, the first one again was almost like a, like a parody of the Grinch, which is

00:04:15.240 the way we wrote it out to kind of match the text and format of that book.

00:04:19.180 We wanted to keep the Dr. Seuss parody like nature to these books.

00:04:23.680 And when it came time to write our second book, we followed along on the one fish, two

00:04:29.400 fish books that came up from Dr. Seuss.

00:04:32.040 But I've noticed a lot of Dr. Seuss books, aside from a small handful, they're mostly

00:04:36.320 about rhyming and about, you know, they don't really have a purpose of a story.

00:04:40.360 So when we wrote this book, I kind of said, you know, we want to have some of that text in

00:04:44.060 there to really get across our point of the comedy, what we want to convey, the jokes and

00:04:48.420 the gaffes and to really try and land them all into one small book and give everybody

00:04:54.100 the justice they deserve in terms of being knocked for the slip ups they've had over

00:05:00.140 their time in office.

00:05:00.940 So it was definitely a challenge and it'll be a challenge going forward with our future

00:05:05.040 books.

00:05:05.720 We have another book coming out in February and time for the one year anniversary of the

00:05:09.780 convoy.

00:05:10.900 And it's going to be called Hold the Line, the Ballad of Tamara Leach.

00:05:14.040 And we've actually gained permission from Tamara to use her name and likeness in the book.

00:05:17.740 And I'm really looking forward to bringing that one to everybody in February.

00:05:21.100 And that's going to be a little more rich text as well.

00:05:22.920 Yes, you got ahead of me.

00:05:24.520 I wanted to talk about that with you moving on, too.

00:05:26.860 I mean, there's been a person, you know, again, I wouldn't say unsung.

00:05:31.060 I think lots of people have been certainly giving Tamara credit, you know, do where it

00:05:35.940 is.

00:05:36.180 I mean, she was never anybody, people who knew her before the convoy and that, I mean,

00:05:41.220 she was politically active, but she didn't expect or plan or want to be in the middle of

00:05:45.600 all this.

00:05:46.060 But she took on the role and stuck with it and went with it kind of where it carried her.

00:05:50.240 And now she's been, well, she paid a terrible price.

00:05:52.480 She was in prison for a long time, repeatedly and is still facing these charges.

00:05:58.740 So I think it's fantastic.

00:06:00.460 You're going to give it, you know, some coverage from a point of view, again, that doesn't have

00:06:03.800 to be a dry editorial, but it's still an important book.

00:06:07.920 Yeah, I've been very fortunate over the last few months with the success of the first book

00:06:11.960 to not only make very good friends with Tamara, but also with people in the political

00:06:17.900 business and political realm.

00:06:19.140 I was recently in Ottawa a few weeks ago for the Emergency Act Commission for support to

00:06:25.160 Tamara to sit with her and kind of just, you know, be there for support for what she's 0.98

00:06:29.620 going through.

00:06:30.340 The government's taken away her voice and silenced her out of embarrassment for the way 1.00

00:06:35.520 they've handled things.

00:06:36.360 If you've been following the POEC at all, you'll notice that they really haven't done

00:06:40.880 much to present a case for the Emergencies Act or for invoking the Act.

00:06:44.960 And it's really hard, not only for myself to sit there as a citizen, but to look at somebody

00:06:49.600 as Tamara and say, this is somebody who was locked away in jail for longer than her charges

00:06:55.040 would have kept her in jail for had she have been convicted. 0.99

00:06:58.640 She's not allowed on social media.

00:07:00.040 She's not allowed to, you know, do anything in terms of talking to people or socializing

00:07:04.660 anywhere or accepting awards or she'll get locked up again. 0.72

00:07:07.320 And it's tough.

00:07:08.840 It's really tough to watch somebody go through that because they say she's free, but it's

00:07:12.940 like being in jail every single day.

00:07:16.060 And hopefully justice is served when all this is done.

00:07:19.200 I know her case is ongoing.

00:07:20.840 And as a friend, I definitely stand by and support everything she's going through and

00:07:25.260 can honestly say she's one of the nicest, kindest people I've ever had the pleasure

00:07:28.880 of meeting.

00:07:29.360 And I really can't understand the prosecution that's going ahead on her.

00:07:32.740 No, and I've had people email me to say, why haven't you had her on the show?

00:07:36.620 And not everybody follows things that closely.

00:07:38.000 Look, I would desperately love to have Tamara on the show. 0.96

00:07:41.320 You know, I can't for her sake.

00:07:43.720 She cannot do that.

00:07:44.880 She will be thrown back into the remand center.

00:07:49.100 If she dares start talking on media, she can't do it.

00:07:52.540 The moment she's free to, I'm going to be sending emails and nagging her.

00:07:55.080 Hey, get on there. 0.54

00:07:55.740 We've got to talk.

00:07:57.340 And it's funny you say that because when I was in Ottawa, like her lawyers, her, her,

00:08:02.740 where she stays is a few blocks from where the commission is being held.

00:08:06.300 But there's actually a boundary in Ottawa where she is not allowed to go.

00:08:10.240 Everywhere she goes, her lawyers must walk with her. 1.00

00:08:13.620 There was an incident.

00:08:14.600 I know she mentioned it during her testimony.

00:08:16.180 But while I was there, there was an incident.

00:08:18.080 She was outside having a cigarette on the sidewalk.

00:08:20.100 And there's people actively watching where she's sitting that they've called the police

00:08:24.760 and said, oh, she's outside without legal representation. 1.00

00:08:27.160 And the police have come by and said, if you were three inches more over this in this

00:08:30.900 direction, we would have had to take you to jail. 1.00

00:08:33.980 And her lawyers literally have to follow her around like they're attached to her and grafted 1.00

00:08:38.900 to her.

00:08:39.540 And I look at that and go, it's just unfair treatment.

00:08:43.840 There are some who didn't get charged.

00:08:45.900 I've met a very large handful of convoy organizers at my time in Ottawa and, again, online and

00:08:52.440 through this experience with our books.

00:08:56.800 And I've kind of always said at one point, not that they should have been charged as

00:09:01.440 well, but it's a one or all thing.

00:09:03.360 I think if you're going to charge one, you need to charge them all.

00:09:05.860 There were some who weren't charged.

00:09:07.360 There were some who now can put out books, who can go online and have their podcasts and

00:09:13.040 do whatever they want to do, while others are silenced and damned just to make an example

00:09:17.620 out of them, which I just don't agree with at the end of the day.

00:09:20.240 Yeah, well, and it was, whether people want to admit it or not, it was an organic movement.

00:09:24.220 It came out of nowhere.

00:09:25.120 Nobody planned this six months in advance or really had a solid structure or anything

00:09:29.640 of that to us.

00:09:30.280 And that's why there's a number of people who did get charged.

00:09:32.900 Some of them are more sympathetic people than others, I guess you could say, in the public

00:09:36.920 sphere.

00:09:37.580 And I believe that's part of why Tamara, though they fear and loathe her so much from the

00:09:43.840 prosecution standpoint, is because she's the most frightening. 0.97

00:09:48.500 Because when you listen to Tamara, when you talk to Tamara, like I have spoken to her before,

00:09:51.780 I just can't have her on the show, she's not crazy.

00:09:55.320 She's not a screaming extremist.

00:09:58.020 She's not looking to make trouble or hurt anybody.

00:10:00.780 And people realize that the more they see of her, the more they understand of her, she

00:10:05.300 isn't the monster.

00:10:06.240 Whether you agree with what the convoy was or not, they realize that this prosecution

00:10:10.720 is absurd.

00:10:11.580 It's way too much for somebody who's really not presenting a harm to society.

00:10:15.440 Absolutely.

00:10:16.120 I fully agree.

00:10:16.880 I've said from day one that I take the same stance as Pierre Polyev did during the convoy,

00:10:20.820 that I support legal protest.

00:10:22.900 I support those who come legally to voice their concerns legally.

00:10:27.700 And those who commit illegal actions should be charged and held to a high standard of those

00:10:33.180 actions.

00:10:34.220 And when it comes to people like Tamara, I mean, anybody who's been a critic of her, I simply

00:10:39.060 say it's a shame you don't have time to sit down with her and have a conversation.

00:10:43.020 Because after five minutes, you'd sit questioning yourself, how can anybody do anything?

00:10:47.760 I don't think she has a diabolical bone in her body. 1.00

00:10:50.620 No, no.

00:10:51.300 And like I said, I haven't spoken to her on the phone since the convoy, but I had a good

00:10:53.940 conversation back when she was with the Maverick and trying to organize that.

00:10:57.600 And again, people would say, oh, that's a party that's out there.

00:11:00.300 Okay, fine.

00:11:00.740 But they weren't hurting anybody.

00:11:02.020 And she was genuine and rational.

00:11:04.000 So you're getting back to that with your next book.

00:11:06.660 It'll give, I guess, another platform to just be able to explain herself.

00:11:09.320 Somebody who's been so demonized and, you know, since Montreal has been directed at

00:11:13.940 her, just to help get her message out there.

00:11:17.460 Well, I really want to get her message out.

00:11:18.960 But at the same time, show Canadians that she was speaking for all of us.

00:11:22.520 This wasn't just her or a group of truck drivers.

00:11:25.460 This was her saying, this is the voice Canada needs.

00:11:28.240 And this is the voice that Canada should have.

00:11:29.860 No matter what side of the spectrum you're on, whether you vote for the left, the right,

00:11:33.120 the middle, your rights at the end of the day are your rights.

00:11:35.980 And she would be fully supportive of anybody's rights to protest.

00:11:39.940 And that's kind of the point we wanted to move on to with her story.

00:11:43.700 And I know as we go on to future books, we're maybe going to try to drift a little bit out

00:11:47.080 of the political realm and kind of just stay in comedy and satire and from time to time

00:11:51.160 dip back in.

00:11:51.920 We don't want to put ourselves in a box, but this was a story I felt was really necessary

00:11:56.180 and also that should be out in time for the one-year anniversary of the convoy.

00:11:59.760 Yeah.

00:12:00.120 Well, and so with your books, obviously, you're going to be doing more.

00:12:02.540 They've been a good success.

00:12:03.540 It's kind of turning into a series.

00:12:05.160 Let's get on to where can people get your books, Derek?

00:12:08.220 Currently, people can find them on Amazon, both digitally and physically.

00:12:11.980 We're still working with multiple publishers to try and find a way to get them into retail.

00:12:16.720 Unfortunately, because of their content, even though it isn't crude or obnoxious, because

00:12:21.460 it criticizes the government, a lot of retailers don't want to carry these books.

00:12:24.860 And I know there's a lot of people out there that really just don't want to support Amazon

00:12:27.920 for multiple reasons.

00:12:29.680 And I've said, you know, we're working, we'll keep people posted.

00:12:32.080 But as for right now, they can find them on Amazon.

00:12:35.140 And I believe they have it on sale for Black Friday.

00:12:37.660 So people want to save a few dollars.

00:12:39.280 Now's the time to grab a copy.

00:12:40.900 And that's good.

00:12:42.000 I mean, you know, it's a great time, though, where, I mean, the booksellers kind of all

00:12:45.540 contracted.

00:12:46.360 It has been happening for a long, long time.

00:12:48.120 I mean, even back in the 90s, when I'd buy lots of books, it was Kohl's or Chapters.

00:12:53.620 There was really only a handful, only a small amount of independent booksellers, and they

00:12:56.940 had a limited amount.

00:12:57.960 And if you were an author and you couldn't get into those booksellers, well, you're out

00:13:01.200 of luck.

00:13:01.540 I mean, unless you're going to knock on doors and sell them, you couldn't do so.

00:13:04.760 Look at it today, though.

00:13:05.820 You're on Amazon.

00:13:06.680 It can be found.

00:13:07.540 Your book, despite those retailers, can reach a wide number of people across the country

00:13:13.100 or even outside of the country.

00:13:14.120 Have you had much, actually, for foreign sales, now I come to think of it?

00:13:17.900 We've seen a ton of foreign sales off the first book.

00:13:20.440 Not so much this time.

00:13:21.400 And I think a lot of it is just as slow to the plate as to getting promotion out and things

00:13:25.680 like that.

00:13:27.100 But I think the first book did very well in Australia.

00:13:31.460 We had sales in the Netherlands, in Eastern Europe, Japan.

00:13:36.980 We've seen some sales.

00:13:38.160 A lot of United States sales as well.

00:13:40.060 So we're kind of being bought up all over the world and people are just enjoying the

00:13:44.220 books.

00:13:44.600 And at the end of the day, that was the purpose of them, was just for people to smile, have

00:13:49.320 a laugh, and be entertained at a low price.

00:13:51.300 And that's what we want to keep doing going forward.

00:13:53.920 Excellent.

00:13:54.380 So the easiest way to find the newest one, I imagine, is if you just go to Amazon and

00:13:58.000 search for one face, two face, black face, blue face, it should bring you right to it,

00:14:01.560 I imagine.

00:14:02.160 Correct.

00:14:02.660 Yeah.

00:14:02.880 If you even search for How the Prime Minister Stole Freedom, I believe if people click on my

00:14:06.480 author name, it'll take them to all of our books.

00:14:08.380 So they'll be able to find it, no problem.

00:14:10.740 And you're active on Twitter as well.

00:14:12.100 We might as well get that out there.

00:14:12.960 What's your Twitter handle if people want to get you?

00:14:14.440 I am.

00:14:15.200 Because of the letter, the character Max on there, it's under Unaccept Fringe.

00:14:21.620 And people can find us under there because Unacceptable Fringe is the name of our company

00:14:25.740 that we make our books under.

00:14:26.740 So people can find me at Unaccept Fringe.

00:14:28.780 They can also find me on YouTube at Unacceptable Fringe, where I occasionally post some videos

00:14:33.820 and content when I'm not dealing with a family full of sick children with the flu.

00:14:38.680 And I try to get my point out if people want to see me on the other side of books and

00:14:42.960 kind of get my political griffs.

00:14:45.440 Excellent.

00:14:45.980 Well, I thank you for your work on the books and for coming on to talk about it.

00:14:49.240 I really hope they continue to take off and I'm looking forward to watching them keep them

00:14:53.220 coming out.

00:14:54.280 Thanks so much, Corey.

00:14:55.220 And thanks again for having me.

00:14:56.180 It was my pleasure to be here.

00:14:57.060 Here's an update on commodity prices around Lethbridge for today.

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Western Standard - November 29, 2022

Author Derek Smith of How the Prime Minister Stole Freedom on his latest book

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