I Just Finished... The conversation of books

"Coffee with an Author"

June 29, 2009
10am (CST)

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.

Kate grew up near Vancouver, British Columbia, in the scenic and delightfully named town of Hope (pop. 6,184). It's an area filled with friends and family and Kate loves to visit. Back then, of course, it was tremendously boring, as only home can be to a teenager. As a result, Kate begged her parents to send her to boarding school in Victoria, BC. From there she traded in her navy blazer to earn a Bachelor's degree in journalism at Carleton University in Ottawa. Next, in a fit of optimism/courage/naivete - take your pick - she followed it up with a move to bustling New York City (pop. 8,143,197).

The plan? Breaking into magazine publishing. First she received a Master's degree at NYU and worked at a handful of unpaid internships, then got a spot as an assistant to the Books & Fiction Editor at Redbook magazine. It was here that Kate answered multiple phones, read a ton of slush (getting to know some wonderful writers- to-be), and began to experience the impact of sharing women's stories. Around this time, Kate settled into an apartment complex that housed about as many people as her entire hometown in Canada: It seemed that she wasn't just a small-town girl anymore.

Professionally, Kate made it a priority to explore content that resonated with women: She was an editor at Working Woman and Family Life and was later a freelance writer and editor at the website for Lifetime Television. Personally, as a newcomer to New York, she learned the power of building a surrogate family and stitching together friendship connections that will endure. Exploring the richness of women's relationships is a key focus of her novels.

After a decade of Manhattan living, Kate moved to sunny Southern California with her husband. (And discovered that she likes suburban living just fine, thank you very much.)

She relished the idea of her very own home office but found herself setting up the laptop on the dining table, just as she'd done in New York, and writing late at night in her pajamas.

A firm believer in the creative power of free time, Kate loves to recharge by tackling knitting projects that she can finish quickly (all the better to feel that sense of accomplishment). She's also a fan of taking naps, especially when she's on deadline, snuggling under a favorite green-and-yellow afghan knitted by her grandmother decades ago. Her beloved liver-and-white English Springer Spaniel, Baxter, often snoozes alongside.

Review of the Week

by momx3lovesbooks

Last Night in Montreal
Emily St. John Mandel

Lilia Albert hasbeen leaving peoiple behind for her entire life. She spends her childhood andadolescence traveling constantly and changing identies. In adulthood, she finds it impossible to stop. Haunted by an inability to remeber her early childhood, she moves restlessly from city to city, abandoning lovers along the way, possibly still pursued by a private detective who has trailed her for years. Then her latest lover follows her from New York to Montreal, det

Featured Reviewer

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Name: apelle

Profile: I had full access to my parent’s library, which ultimately became mine. I had everything a curious mind would like: from Tolstoy to Aristotle, to Austen and Hugo and Balzac. So by the time I was 14 I cried for Anna Karenina and became bewildered by Raskolnikov and his moral dilemma and I knew all the Roman emperors chronologically and alphabetically.

Question and Answer

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Featured Author

Name:
Maria Geraci

Latest Work:

Bunco Babes Gone Wild

About Me:

Maria Geraci was born in Havana, Cuba, and raised on Florida's Space Coast. Her love of books started with the classic, Little Women (a book she read so often growing up, she could probably quote).She lives with her husband and their three children in north Florida where she works part time as a labor and delivery nurse by night and writes romance full time during the day (sleep is not an option). On the first Wednesday of each month you'll find her rolling the dice, drinking frozen margaritas and gossiping with the rest of the Bunco Broads of Tallahassee. Visit her website at www.mariageraci.com.

Maria's website

IJF asks: What have you just finished?

I just finished reading “Vision in White” by Nora Roberts. The cover was such so beautiful I had to read it. It’s very good and the beginning of a series, so that’s always fun.

IJF asks: What book(s) have been life changing for you?

Probably the most life changing book would be “Honor’s Splendor” by Julie Garwood. It was the first romance I’d ever read. Up till then, I was a voracious reader but a total romance snob! Of course, I’d read Jane Austen but never thought of her as romance. After reading “Honor’s Splendor” I couldn’t read enough historical romance. It’s my first love.

IJF asks: Can you tell us your best fan encounter story?

My debut novel came out in May, so I don’t have too many fan stories (yet!), but I recently did a book signing in my home town and a lot of people I went to high school with, and someone I actually hadn’t seen since grade school, showed up. It was awesome. They were all so proud of me. None of them knew anyone who had written a book and had it published. I felt like a rock star!

I just finished reading your book! Loved it! -Kristen Painter

Thanks, Kristen!

have you ever read a book and said, "wait, that was my story"?

LOL, I've read a lot of books and thought, "wait, I wish that was my story!" I can't say that I've ever had that total deja vu moment while reading, however, many times I've thought that a character's response to a situation would be exactly like mine, and it always makes me smile.

I'm excited to hear you liked Vision in White! It's on my TBR pile.

I really liked the hero in this book. He's pretty much a beta guy, but every once in a while, it's a refreshing change of pace. You know?

I loved the first Bunco Babes book! Who will be the main character in the second one?

The main character in the second book, Bunco Babes Gone Wild, is Georgia Meyer. She's not a character from the first book, but rather the sister of one of my Bunco Babes, who comes to Whispering Bay after she runs into a little man trouble. Georgia is sort like the anti-Babe and was a lot of fun to write!

Many writers write from the life and activities they see around them. It's one thing to portray characters that are 'similar' to real people you know, but when you 'cast' the characters a la Storycasting, does this mean you're selecting actors to play your real friends and neighbors? Did they give you any input? Would any of them be upset (or thrilled!) with the actors chosen to play them?

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