Welcome Mat Wednesday: Katherine Reay

I don’t remember when it was I first saw the cover of author Katherine Reay‘s debut novel, Dear Mr. Knightly. But I DO remember that when I saw it, I thought, Oh yeah, soooo reading that! I loved the cover…and I’m thrilled to say, the story inside is just as wonderful. Whether or not you’re a Jane Austen fan, you have to read this book. It’s a fabulous debut that’ll leave you pining for Katherine’s next book.

I had the fun of meeting Katherine at the ACFW Conference this year. I wish I could’ve hung out with her more during that weekend because a) she was so sweet and fun and b) now that I’ve read her writing, I just want her to tell me how she does it. 

Enjoy the interview and be sure to pick up a copy of Dear Mr. Knightley! 

MT: A lot of the readers of this blog are aspiring writers, so it’s always fun to hear how someone’s publishing journey came about. Can you give us a little peek into your writing journey?

7000989KR: Tough question because no one could duplicate it… but I bet that’s not as unusual as it sounds. Okay, here goes…

I had been turned down by too many agents to count when I received a small eBook offer on Dear Mr. Knightley. The thirty-page contract completely overwhelmed me and I felt intimidated and discouraged. Alongside it, a newsletter from a writers group arrived so I opened that as a distraction.

And there was my picture – a galley shot taken randomly from a 2010 conference – in the center of the lead article, “Why You Need an Agent.” I’m not kidding. So I wrote the head of the group and he confirmed within an hour that I did, in fact, need an agent.

I went to my bookshelves and pulled out some books I respected and Alive Communications’ name came up several times. I went to the website, saw Lee Hough’s photo and knew without doubt “that’s my agent.” So I called him. I know… breaking all the rules here. (MT: I’m loving this story SO much!)

I left a horrific three-minute message and expect to never hear a reply. But he actually called back and I was so stunned, I couldn’t answer a single question coherently. Lee concluded our conversation saying, “I’m not agreeing to take you on, but I’ll help. Send me the manuscript and the contract and I’ll give you my best advice Monday.”17657649

He didn’t call Monday and I thought I’d blown it, but he emailed the next day with “I’ll call Thursday. Hold tight.”

Thursday he called and said, “I want to work with you.” And there we began… We met in Dallas for my first ACFW conference two weeks later and pitched Dear Mr. Knightley to everyone. Thomas Nelson came on board a couple weeks after that and now it’s a beautiful book.

It was an amazing journey and one for which I can never seize credit – God orchestrated every moment and I feel so blessed to be a part of it and that I got to spend a year getting to know and learn from Lee.

MT: I wish I’d had the chance to meet Lee Hough. I’ve heard so many great things about him. And I LOVE that he didn’t just write you off after you called him! Okay, I have to ask this: is Mr. Knightley your favorite Austen hero? If not, who is??

KR: He is. I love his faithful stability and sacrificial love. Some folks say he gets annoyed with Emma and that’s disturbing – and he does. But Knightley always puts Emma first, even in those moments. In fact, he risks losing her love time and again in order to give her his very best.

I also adore Darcy, but I feel like I’d have to be on my toes around him. I wouldn’t have to be “bright and sparkling” with Knightley every moment.

MT: Aww, sweet answer. Knightley is a good chap. And I feel like I can use the word “chap” since we’re talking about British characters. Speaking of characters, is there a character in Dear Mr. Knightley who is most like you or felt the most natural to write?

KR: Such a fun question! No one has asked that. It was not Sam. She was tough for me because I’m not like her in so many ways and found getting inside her head to be difficult at times – even though I love her immensely.

I have to admit I liked writing Ashley – she is not my autobiography either, but I’ve met her many times, even within myself. And I really loved playing with Professor Muir’s quick sense of humor and feistiness.

But if I was Alfred Hitchcock, making a cameo in my own work…  I’m twelve-year-old Isabella Conley.

MT: Okay, you get kudos and points and gold stars for mentioning Alfred Hitchcock. (Classic movie lover here.) I have heard so many amazing comments about your book already! What’s it like knowing your book is finally in the hands of readers? 

KR: It’s tremendous fun and I love it. I love that it speaks to people on so many levels. And I love that people reach out to me and share this. But I also feel incredibly vulnerable. It’s fiction – but it’s my fiction. I created it and know every character, every quote and every comma. And some folks are really going to detest it – and that’s tough too.  Now that said – you can see I’m all over the map here – I like that reaction better than no reaction. Fiction that evokes passion works. So bottom line – I’m keeping my head down and working.

MT: I hear you. A passionately negative response is hard to hear, but maybe it’s better than a tepid, “Eh, it’s okay” kinda response. Although frankly, I don’t know how someone could have a negative OR a tepid response to Dear Mr. Knightley. It’s SO good. Finally, can you give us a little sneak peek into what’s ahead for you writing-wise? 

KR: Lizzy and Jane is next and it’s in the editing process right now. It will be out next fall and I’m so excited. Lizzy had more humor and confidence available to her than Sam did. But she’s got some struggles ahead of her as well – can’t make life too easy on her.

This story has all the big guns: sisters, conflict, food, Jane Austen, Hemingway (threw you there, didn’t I?), love, and breast cancer. I know that last one is a bummer, but it’s a reality that so many of us experience either personally or walking the journey with family and friends. Basically Lizzy and Jane is the story of a young woman, Lizzy, who has excised love from her life and, as she helps her sister through chemotherapy, she starts to put it back in – in all its wonderful and varied forms.

*****

Katherine Reay has enjoyed a life-long affair with the works of Jane Austen and her contemporaries. After earning degrees in history and marketing from Northwestern University, she worked as a marketer for Proctor & Gamble and Sears before returning to school to earn her MTS. Her works have been published in Focus on the Family and the Upper Room. Katherine currently lives with her husband and three children in Seattle. Dear Mr. Knightley is her first novel.

All right, readers, your turn: Who’s your favorite Jane Austen hero?

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    Comments 24

    1. Great interview!!! I’m so happy that there’s another coming out!!!!!!!!!!!!! Favorite one?? Yikes…I think I’d have to say either Mr. Darcy, because when he finally shows himself, he’s all in or Edmund from Mansfield. I wanted to punch him in the face lots of times, but he’s genuine and compassionate. 🙂

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        “I wanted to punch him in the face lots of times…” LOL!

        I like Mr. Darcy too. I like that he’s flawed…and I like how he realizes he’s flawed throughout the story…and slowly changes…

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    2. Thank you both for visiting here — and isn’t it great to see God in action? He certainly keeps me on my toes and does things I could never imagine, in ways I could never dream. And, Jamie, I agree about Edmund. After reprimanding him for abject stupidity, I could be quite happy with him too.

    3. I’ve always been a huge Mr. Knightley fan. Maybe because Emma was the first Jane Austen novel I ever read! And so, like you, Melissa, this book has been on my to read list since the first time I saw the cover. Can’t wait to actually read it! 🙂

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    4. *waves at Katherine and Mel* Katherine, I love your story of how you got an agent and a book deal, Katherine. I remember you telling it to me and Gabe at ACFW last year. It really reminded me that God’s got this…if he wants someone’s work to be published, ain’t nothing standing in his way. 🙂

      I can’t wait to read this book!

      And favorite Austen hero…ooo, tough. I do think Knightley is amazing, but I have a soft spot for Darcy. He’s flawed, but he realizes it…and at the end, that vulnerability is just sooooo sigh-worthy!

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        Waving back, Linz. My soft spot is Darcy too. I do like Knightley, though…I like how he isn’t afraid to challenge Emma. I’ll admit, sometimes his fatherly-ness annoys me, but that’s more in the Gwyneth Paltrow movie version than in the book.

    5. *Waves to Katherine*

      Two of my new favorite debut authors on the same site? Yep, that’s awesome. 🙂

      Great interview, ladies! Katherine, I agree with Melissa – your answer as to why Knightley is your favorite is wonderful! I Agree with you; he just may be my favorite Austen hero, too. He never gives up on Emma, willing to help her grow over his own feelings and that’s the mark of a true hero.

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    6. Love that you all are here. *waving back* Thanks for checking in with Melissa and me — so much fun to be here. Working on my next hero today…. trying to make him a little less Knightley, a little more Darcy with even, perhaps, a small touch of Willoughby. After all, he kinda, sorta, tried to redeem himself in the end. Super flawed, but did love Marianne… Wonder how that mix will turn out 🙂

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        Willoughby!! I ALWAYS wished for a follow-up story about him. He had potential. He was so horribly flawed and selfish and yet…you could tell at the end he wanted to change.

        Thanks so much for being here today, Katherine!

    7. This looks amazing! I actually haven’t heard of this book, but now that I have I want to scoop it up. Great interview, ladies. Way to make me grow my TBR pile:)

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    8. Hello lovely ladies – great interview, Katherine and Melissa! I adore Dear Mr Knightley – such a wonderful story 🙂

      As for Austen heroes, I probably have a soft spot for them all but I can’t go past Capt. Wentworth! I mean a man who pens this, “You pierce my soul. I am half agony, half hope. Tell me not that I am too late, that such precious feelings are gone for ever. I offer myself to you again with a heart even more your own than when you almost broke it, eight and a half years ago. Dare not say that a man forgets sooner than woman, that his love has an earlier death. I have loved none but you. Unjust I may have been, weak and resentful I have been, but never inconstant.”

      Sigh…..

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        Ohhh, I forgot about Wentworth. He’s such a good guy. Now, there are times in his story when I just want both him and Anna to buck up and say what they’re thinking. But then I realize, no, much of the beauty of Persuasion is its gentleness and patience as a story.

    9. Rel and Melissa, that is so true. The other stories end with a bow and a ball, but Persuasion shoots an arrow to your heart. It’s so tender and poignant. Love Wentworth!

      And I agree, Melissa — so glad we found a new reader. Hope you love the book, Susan.

    10. Super interview Katherine & Melissa. Congratulations Katherine on DMK. It’s rare that so many rave about a new novel so soon after its release.

      I can’t go pass Lizzie B – she has that strength & fragility that is so alluring. And I’ve always liked Wentworth, too.

    11. I have this book sitting on my desk, just waiting to be read as soon as I finish the one I’m currently reading! I can’t wait.

      My favorite Austen hero would probably be a tie between Mr. Darcy and Mr. Knightley. I’m partial to Darcy because P&P is not only my favorite Austen novel, but basically my favorite book ever. But in real life, I’d probably fall for a Mr. Knightley-ish guy instead. Captain Wentworth is a close second. I love Persuasion…it seems so underrated among Austen’s books!

    12. Lizzy is perfectly lovely. I think she is my favorite heroine. I adore Elinor Dashwood as well — but there is a spark in Lizzy that is so alluring and who wouldn’t want a set of “fine eyes.”

      I agree about Persuasion, Kristin — but I must say that it’s my favorite. Perhaps I just like the idea that true love doesn’t die, you can get a second chance, and your “bloom” can return when your older. 🙂 All good things.

    13. Fun interview! I am currently reading this book and really enjoying it! I have been crazy busy so I haven’t been able to pick it up for almost a week but I really want to finish it!
      As for favorite Austen hero I have to admit that I am sadly not a huge Jane Austen fan (which is weird since my 6 sisters all like them) I tend to get bored by the books and the movies. I’ve only read Pride and Prejudice and I watched that as well as Mansfield Park. I do however enjoy the modern adaptions of Austen’s works. I loved and am loving the youtube series The Lizzie Bennet Diaries and Emma approved. So based on my very limited knowledge I might pick Mr. Knightly but I can’t really say for sure!

    14. Abbi, I loved the Lizzie Bennet Diaries too — Haven’t had time to dive into Emma Approved, but may get to that today. Glad to hear it’s as wonderful!

      And Canada Goose, thank you for stopping by. I’m always on the lookout for good feather products at a reasonable price.

    15. Much as I love Darcy and Knightley… I think Henry Tilney is my favorite Austen hero. I love his sense of humor. 🙂

      And I saw the above posts, you should definitely look up Emma Approved! And there’s a great Jane Eyre vlog too, “The Autobiography of Jane Eyre” that you should look up if you get a chance!

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