Kate Hash turns the page on relationships...plus a book giveaway

Today we welcome Kate Hash back to CLC to celebrate the publication of her latest novel, The Mother-in-Law Book Club! This sounds like an entertaining read and Melissa currently has it in her five-book pile. (She has lots of book discussions with her MIL, so this title caught her eye right away.) Thanks to Dutton, we have THREE copies to give away!

Kate Hash is the author of Gracie Harris Is Under Construction and the writer behind the Substack newsletter It’s Been a Week. Born and raised in the Philadelphia suburbs, she spent most of her twenties bouncing around the world, including a stint in Florence, Italy. She currently lives in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, with her husband and two children. The Mother-in-Law Book Club is her second novel.

Visit Kate online:
Website * Instagram * Facebook

Synopsis:
On the plane to Durham for her next big gig, traveling consultant and soon-to-be divorcée Andi gets into an argument about the impossible expectations of mothers-in-law that will change her life forever. When her seventy-something adversary unexpectedly extends an olive branch invitation to her book club, Andi does something completely out of character: she says yes.

This social circle is delightfully feisty, gossipy, and also hopelessly clueless about how to navigate frayed relationships with their adult children. Andi spends evenings doling out advice to her new coterie of retired friends, helping to repair generational divides.

As the weeks and months go by, Andi has a quiet revelation: life in Durham just fits. The book club members love her, the company loves her, and after a whirlwind romance with a handsome professor, she’s fairly certain her new beau loves her, too. It’s all going great . . . until her past comes walking through the door. Andi must decide what happiness really looks like--and she just might need the wisdom of her new friends to figure it out. (Courtesy of Amazon.)

“A wonderfully balanced, tender story about found family, new love, and the power of truly getting to know yourself, then trusting whatever it is you learn along the way. I was rooting for Andi from page one!”
—Lauren Okie, author of Tropesick 

"A satisfying, page-turning story...This will appeal to readers who enjoy compelling tales of women’s lives, relationships, and romances."
—Library Journal

What is a favorite compliment you've received on your writing?
I love when people tell me that they feel like they really know my main characters. Romantic comedies inherently require characters worth rooting for and believing in – the best ones are when they feel like they could be our friend. With both Gracie (the lead in my debut) and Andi (the lead in The Mother-in-Law Book Club), I worked hard to make them feel like real women you would know. 

What were the biggest rewards and challenges with writing The Mother-in-Law Book Club?
I think the answer to this question is the same thing: getting Andi and Marilyn’s friendship just right. Yes, this is a romantic comedy with a great romantic love story, but I think the platonic love story between women from two very different generations powers the whole narrative.

Each draft of this book required me to assess their friendship – everything from their “meet cute” to their moments of trust and honesty later in the book. Did it feel real? Natural? True? Between two major drafts Andi’s back story changed fairly substantially because it helped to explain why she feels so pulled to Marilyn. It was the biggest challenge, but also gave me the biggest payoff as an author.

If The Mother-in-Law Book Club was made into a movie, what songs would be on the soundtrack?
The intergenerational friendships in this book mean that the soundtrack would be full of amazing singer-songwriters from across generations. There would be Taylor Swift and Carol King, Linda Ronstadt and Miley Cyrus, Fleetwood Mac and Paramore. The music director for a film adaptation would have a lot of fun using music as a way to convey perspectives of different characters.

Which book made you fall in love with reading?
Sweet Valley High and The Baby-sitter’s Club turned me into a voracious reader very young. I watch my kids falling into middle grade and YA series the same way and it makes my heart so happy. As I got older, literary classics like This Side of Paradise (F. Scott Fitzgerald) and The Bluest Eye (Toni Morrison) made me understand the importance of diverse perspectives in telling great stories.

Share a funny Halloween memory with us.

My husband and son do buddy costumes every year. They’ve had some phenomenal costumes over the years, but one takes the cake. When my son was five he was obsessed with the Titanic. My mom made him a wearable cardboard Titanic and my husband dressed up as a giant iceberg. I cannot look at the photos without laughing.

What is your favorite autumn dessert?
Homemade apple crisp with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. For me, that is fall – not only does it taste delicious, but it makes the house smell divine.

Thanks to Kate for chatting with us and to Dutton for sharing her book with our readers.

How to win: Use KingSumo to enter the giveaway. If you have trouble using KingSumo on our blog, enter the giveaway here. If you are still having issues, please contact us.

Giveaway ends October 18th at midnight EST.

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Listen to this book on Speechify!