Literary Spotlight: Kate Jacobs

Kate Jacobs is the New York Times-bestselling author of Comfort Food, Knit Two, and The Friday Night Knitting Club, which has over 1 million copies in print. A former journalist, she was also a freelance editor at Lifetime Television’s website.

Q: You’ve worked in lots of mediums – magazines, Lifetime Television’s website, and novels. What would you say is the common denominator that peaks an editor’s curiosity and prompts them to accept a manuscript? Which takes precedence: character or plot? Why?

A: It's about voice, I think, and writing style. You can teach someone how to find out the facts for an article but it's more of a challenge to help them relax and write naturally in a way that shows their personality. Not so much that it overtakes the story, but just enough to add some flavor. When I write my fiction, I tend to use a very conversational tone, not just in dialogue but throughout the narrative. I invent people and places but I retain my sensibilities and the way I view the world. So, in the new paperback Comfort Food, I wrote a story about a woman dealing with a milestone 50th birthday and growing to understand that age is just a number. About daughters who want their mother to realize they are no longer little girls – as daughters we all strive for that respect – and about a mother asserting her need to be understood as an individual outside of her role as parent. Essentially a lighthearted story about women and our complicated personal and professional relationships. All set against the backdrop of a reality cooking show so I could write often about food!

Q: How did you happen to hit upon the particular niche of a knitting theme in your novels? Would you say it’s easier to hook into an established niche or create one’s own? Why or why not?

A: It's simply about what makes sense for the story being told. Knitting is in the zeitgeist; it's contemporary. You see, I begin all of my novels, including Comfort Food, in the same manner: I brainstorm. I chat out loud with friends, tossing out ideas and being open to feedback and suggestions. This is my gathering phase. Then I sit down and prepare for the long hours/days/weeks/months of solitary writing. The stretches of time where I learn who the characters really are by meeting them on the page, and figuring out by myself --sentence after sentence -- what is truly the story I'm trying to tell. Some things are pure fictions and other moments I draw upon my experiences. I knit, and I can draw upon my memories of my knitting grandmother, just as in Comfort Food I drew upon being a daughter as well as my love of cooking and baking and watching food television.

Q: You’ve said that you like exploring the richness of women’s’ relationships. Why? What does the reader have to learn? What are your thoughts about the label, “chick lit?”

A: I'm not so big into labels, but we all seem to love shorthand. Think of how we're combining celeb couples into the ubiquitous one-word moniker. It's easy, it's fun, and it rolls off the tongue. Some folks avoid the term "chick lit" because it can seem dismissive; others find it captures what they seek in fun fiction that deals realistically with issues of interest to women. I prefer to think of my books as stories. Pure and simple. No label. My focus is always to present a multigenerational, multiracial cast of characters that treats women's friendships as worthy of exploration. Having strong female support networks adds a richness and depth to our lives that cannot be underestimated. And it's not such much about learning as it is about celebrating. Readers come to my stories because they make sense to them. They know these women, they are these women, and they have the same struggles with career, with family, with love, with striving to achieve their own goals and ambitions.

Q: On your website you tell readers to invite you to do a telephone interview with their book club. What has that been like? Do you get many clubs taking you up on this suggestion? How has this impacted/broadened your fan base?

A: I call about 40 clubs a month on average, so often more than one a day, and it's great fun! Many times, I'll do one novel with a club and then they'll get back in touch to schedule when I have a new book; that's happening often with the new paperback of Comfort Food and I'm excited to catch up with these clubs in the coming months! Inviting me is easy -- just send an email via my website at katejacobs.com -- and it's simply a Q&A-style chat about the plot and characters and pretty much anything. I once had a reader ask if I charge -- I certainly do not! It's free -- and all a book club needs is a speaker phone so everyone can take part. Calling book clubs began for me when a group emailed and asked if I would telephone their club and, since then, I've spoken to hundreds of book clubs. It's a wonderful way to connect with readers, and thank them personally for being so supportive of my novels. Because such a focus of my stories is about creating community, and it's a privilege to be invited to spend time with all of these different communities of readers. Making time to talk directly with readers is important to me and that’s why I tuck call-ins around trips to the grocery store and writing chapters.

Carlotta Holton is the author of Salem Pact, Touching The Dead and Vampire Resurrection, and is a member of the National Federation of Press Women and an affiliate member of the Horror Writers Association.