Book Club Questions for Kate Jacobs

Book Club Questions for Kate Jacobs

You must be a fantastic chef because every recipe you described sounded delectable! In our earlier interview on FNKC you said "And when it comes to writing, I think it's important – even necessary for the creative process -- to not just write what you know." How much did you have to learn about cooking - ingredients and recipes - to write this novel from an expert standpoint?

I'm no expert. In anything. I'm just a try-er-out-er of things and what sticks is what I like. I do enjoy cooking, though I didn't always, and I like it even more when my husband does the dishes! Of course, I watched a lot of Food Network writing this book. Frankly, though, I would have been doing that anyway! But I read Julia Child's memoir, for example, and I read cookbook after cookbook, and then I just spent time imagining what this behind-the-scenes experience would be like. The tensions and the foibles. As for the kitchen mishaps, I was able to draw upon some crazy mistakes I've made in the kitchen. I won't tell you which ones, though!

Book Club Questions for Kate Jacobs

Book Club Questions for Kate Jacobs

Why is Gus so oblivious as to how unhappy her daughters are and how much they resent her controlling their lives?

Hmmm... I have to think how to answer that in the right way! I think very often in life we don't have quite the read on people as we think we do. We are less aware than we would care to admit. That's how we can miss moments when people are very unhappy and say, genuinely, that we had no idea after we find out. Also, as we get older, we become more adept at being both more open with our mothers – cultivating a mature friendship, for example – and more closed. We're not about to sit and chitchat about certain subjects with our mothers the way we might with our girlfriends. You know what I mean? So there are areas of our life that are naturally shut off from each other. Gus's situation is that she hasn't quite managed to see her daughters as more than little girls yet, and a large part of the story of Comfort Food is this mother-daughter dance of redefinition. What is their relationship going to be as they move forward? Her daughters want her to understand that they are adults. But it's not a one-sided problem. Gus's daughters, Aimee and Sabrina, have trouble seeing their mother as someone who might want a life beyond being their parent. What? Gus is a person? A woman? Who might want a love life? How shocking!

Book Club Questions for Kate Jacobs

Book Club Questions for Kate Jacobs

This question might be somewhat risqué but I'm curious - why did Gus have no relationship, emotional or sexual, from the time of Christopher's death to Oliver? Do you think there are many women out there in similar situations?

You know, I really do think there are women in this type of predicament. Gus doesn't have another relationship because she doesn't put herself out there. She's not open to it. Is she unfairly punishing herself, in a way? Perhaps. We do that sometimes. Is she scarred by the loss of her husband? I think so. Is she putting herself last on her list of priorities, after her children and her work? Definitely. Gus spends all her time taking care of everyone else and it takes her until the story begins in Comfort Food – right around her fiftieth birthday – before she has that moment of realizing that she wants a life too, dammit, and she's going to have one. And part of life is love.

Book Club Questions for Kate Jacobs

Book Club Questions for Kate Jacobs

I like how you alluded to Hannah's sordid past throughout the book, up until close to the end. Was your intent to add a little mysterious intrigue to the story?

A little mystery is fun! Yes, I wanted a reader to have some curiosity about Hannah, to keep turning pages to find out what was keeping her in her house. The answer, of course, is not the scandal. It was the power that Hannah gave to other people's judgments. She let shame dictate her life (or lack thereof). And she is such a vibrant, caring person! But she let herself be crushed by the weight of her mistakes.

Book Club Questions for Kate Jacobs

Book Club Questions for Kate Jacobs

An interesting literary technique I thought you employed well was "building history" for these characters. Dropping names like Rachel Ray and The Today Show made these people and this story part of our everyday world. Even Hannah's story sounding somewhat like Tonya Harding's escapade added to this technique! Were you aware of the effect this would have on the novel or was it an accidental genius?

I wanted to create a feeling that this story could be real, and by setting Gus into the world of all of these real-life cooks is one way to create that mood. The truth is that you never know if something is going to "work." Some readers get into it, others don't. Writing is a funny business that way: we all have individual tastes and it's hard to make everyone happy. Well, that's true of everything, isn't it? So I thought it was fun and I'm glad you did, too. I also want readers to find a character they can relate to, or who reminds them of someone they know, and so in Comfort Food I made sure to create characters of different ages, backgrounds, ethnicities, and personalities. That's part of the fun, too, and why I hope this novel will appeal to book clubs.

Book Club Questions for Kate Jacobs

Book Club Questions for Kate Jacobs

You have a talent for writing strong female heroines. How do you come up with them? Do you base them on women you know?

Thanks! The falling-apart, don't-know-which-end-is-up woman is not appealing to me. Yes, we all have those moments. Do we ever! But we're about so much more than that. The friends in my life are strong, smart, funny, capable and hardworking. And some of have been through the ringer: You'd understand if they sat in the corner and cried. But you know what? They don't. Sure, they have that cry, but they get up and they try again. And when I write, these are the types of women who make sense to me. All these characters are strong, and they have so much potential, too. But they aren't perfect. For goodness’s sake, Hannah is afraid to leave her house! But just because she has challenges doesn't mean she's weak. It means she has something to nibble on and get through.

Book Club Questions for Kate Jacobs

Book Club Questions for Kate Jacobs

I also like how both of your novels explore some situations that are "taboo" to many people. In Comfort Food it is an older woman and a younger man falling in love - usually just the reverse in our society. And you even bring up the question that is probably in most readers minds - Gus can't give Oliver children. What prompted this particular theme?

It's all about Cougars these days: older women & younger guys! No, it's just something that came about quite naturally as I was thinking about the book. Gus is not the one pursuing Oliver so much as he is on the prowl for her. When I was writing the story, some of my early readers seemed to think Oliver should be interested in Aimee. And he is. As a friend. It's just that there was this automatic assumption that he would have to desire a younger woman. Well, who says? Few people would be as interesting to Oliver as Gus is. Except maybe Carmen...As for children, I think they're great. I'd like a few of my own. But not everyone wants to be a parent. And Oliver is one of those people. He's happy being an uncle and having a wonderful relationship with a partner and an interesting, fulfilling career. Frankly, he's got it pretty good and he knows it.

Book Club Questions for Kate Jacobs

Book Club Questions for Kate Jacobs

Do your novels begin with a character or a storyline? Do you know where a character's story is going to take them or does it evolve as you write?

Both, in fact. I typically have a general storyline, sit down to outline the back story of the characters, and then begin to plot out the book. That said, the story – and the characters, their personalities, their appearances, even their names – continue to change and reshape as I'm writing. Aimee wasn't always called Aimee and in an early version, she and Sabrina were twins. And Hannah. Oh, Hannah. She had a lot of names. And some different hair colors, too!

Book Club Questions for Kate Jacobs

Book Club Questions for Kate Jacobs

This novel is less of a drama then FNKC, more of a romantic comedy than a tearjerker. Did you want to try something different this time around? Which novel did you enjoy writing more?

They were different experiences, certainly. I had more of an idea what I was doing with this one in terms of structure but that didn't necessarily make it easier. But I wanted a funnier book. Happy was what was on my menu for Comfort Food. Still fun and interesting, I hope, as we get to know the characters and their challenges. But I wanted something more lighthearted. When I write I am not out to change the world, I must say. I want to share a story that entertains, that a reader can enjoy and have a little "me-time" at the end of a hectic day. Sometimes it's nice to just step outside of ourselves and spend time in another world.

Book Club Questions for Kate Jacobs

You've tackled knitting and now cooking and reality TV. What's next for you?

I'm working on two books right now, and I'm just in the early stages. So I can barely say what they'll be about because I'm still discovering. However, you can be sure I'll be looking at relationships, at the push-pull that brings us together and apart. A story is about people is about connection. That's what I think.

Book Club Questions for Kate Jacobs

Let's end with a little wisdom from a successful author such as yourself to other writers out there - If you could give one piece of advice to a budding and/or struggling writer, what would it be?

I have no wisdom, that's certain. But my advice is simple, and it is what every person already knows. Believe in yourself, work hard and often, be persistent, ignore naysayers, learn to shut off the inner voice of doubt. (Or just tell it to shut up now and again.) Oh, and spend time imagining happy outcomes. Positive changes. Good things. I always do – and I'm a born pessimist. I don't know if it works, but it can't hurt, can it?

Book Club Questions for Kate Jacobs

Thanks again Kate!

Thank you for the invitation to chat with your readers! I'm so excited by the opportunity to share my thoughts with all of you.