Many thanks to Kate Jacobs and Penguin Canada for making Book Brothel a stop on the Knit the Season Book Blog Tour! I read the first book in the series, Friday Night Knitting Club, last year, and it’s a thrill to feature an author that works with two of my favourite things – a great read, and knitting!
After you’ve enjoyed reading our interview with Kate, Canadians can enter below to win one of two signed copies of Knit the Season. You can also check out Book Brothel’s review of Knit the Season here.
What inspired the cast of characters in the Friday Night Knitting Club series?
KJ: I hope the characters are believable women to whom readers can relate. Still, it’s important to note they are fictional characters – it’s not as though I turned my friends into characters. (That’s a recipe for making people mad at you!) One of my goals was to explore how a group of women of different ages and personalities could come together and get beyond their differences to build a strongly bonded community. I think we too often size people up and decide there’s no possible connection, and we miss out on making some good friends because we don’t see the common interests right away.
Knitting is something that might conjure up a warm, cozy image, but the characters in your books are no strangers to reality. Is it challenging to put such likable characters into difficult situations?
KJ: Well, I have a soft spot for most of the characters, no matter what they do – I tend to forgive them everything. So, yes, I have a desire to protect them and am reluctant to see them in difficult circumstances. And yet, if they don’t muddle through, there’s no story! The characters need to have challenges in order to grow and to bring home certain themes. It’s not very interesting to read, or to write, a book about perfect people doing perfect things.
Do you knit a wide variety of projects, or find yourself going for “comfort knits” and doing the same projects over and over? Confession from
one knitter to another: I have over 40 (very different but equally fantastic) scarves!
KJ: I appreciate your phrase “comfort knits” because it describes me to a tee! I like to make things that are rectangular or square, like blankets and dishcloths, and I’m going to start on a placemat project soon. You see, I just want to relax when I knit, and so I rarely push myself out of my comfort zone! I spend so much of my creativity on my writing that knitting is purely about easy fun.
What have been some of your biggest challenges in writing and in knitting?
KJ: The same: To finish my projects in a timely fashion!
What do you want people to take away from your books?
KJ: I hope readers are entertained by the story, of course, and that they enjoy spending time with this group of women. In Knit the Season specifically, I want to celebrate this idea that the holidays are a time when we can truly focus on the good memories of loved ones lost, and can experience profound healing in this way. For the FNKC series overall, the idea is about how having a strong support network is key and helps encourage us in two crucial ways: moving past regret and anger to forgiveness, and daring to go forward regardless of the difficulties.
Note: Kate Jacobs’ author photo © Lifetime Photos – Montreal
Giveaway Contest!
We have signed copies of Knit the Season to give away to two lucky readers, courtesy of Penguin Canada!
The contest is now closed. Thank you for entering!