Knit One Pearl One (40 page)

Q:
What parts of the book—settings, characters, plot points, relationships—are pulled from your own life?

A:
None of them; they’re inspired by my experiences, and those of my family and friends, but not based on them. I’m not interested in writing my autobiography, but I do have an annoying habit of scribbling down snatches of dialogue I overhear, which does make you look like an undercover agent and can attract the occasional worried glance.

Q:
Which character did you have the most fun writing, whether because of their kindness or their delicious menace?

A:
I love so many of them, but Elsie and Annabel Morgan were fun as mini-villains, and I did get a taste of what it might be like to be a superstar with Grace. Writing the children’s voices was also always hugely entertaining.

Q:
You describe the hectic-but-loving everyday existence of raising young children very convincingly. Are there any moments in the novel that are pulled from your own experience?

A:
No, not least because my son would be deeply unimpressed by finding himself catapulted into one of my novels. But now I’m safely in the hinterland of parenting, with my son at university, I can remember the combination of exhaustion and constant negotiation with far more affection than I felt at the time. There are so many books out there telling us we’re doing a bad job as mothers if we don’t stay home and cook and clean until we’ve forgotten we ever had careers, and so many books that make you feel second rate if you’re not out there wearing a tiny suit and very high heels, running a multinational while simultaneously mothering six-week-old triplets and making gourmet meals every night. I write for all those women who can’t make their own mayonnaise, and don’t care, and can’t walk in high heels for more than ten minutes without falling over . . . in other words, women like me. One of the nicest things about being a writer is getting letters from readers saying you have made them laugh, and sometimes cry, too, which I always feel slightly guilty about, although I did once get a card from a reader saying I’d made her laugh so much on her journey to work she had to get off the bus because the other passengers were starting to give her odd looks.

Q:
What parts of Jo Mackenzie do you see in yourself? Is she based on anyone in particular? If you could, would you trade lives with her for a year?

A:
Jo is based on a mixture of friends and imagination, and I don’t think I could live her life for a week, let alone a year—I’m far too selfish now, and need my time “off duty” in the garden, cooking, writing, and lolling about on the sofa, to be able to cope with three young kids. Looking after a friend’s four-year-old for a couple of hours recently left me so exhausted I could barely speak by the time she came to collect him: I’d completely forgotten how traumatic arts and crafts with the under-fives can be . . .

Q:
In a lovely change from many mainstream, female-oriented narratives, Jo finds happiness with her kids and her work, and doesn’t feel that she needs a man to complete her. What led you to this choice?

A:
I think, like millions of women around the world, Jo is happy if her kids are happy. It’s as simple as that. Whether there’s a man in her life or not, her children know they come first, second, and last. What happens in between doesn’t really matter to them, or to Jo. She’s not on a quest for Mr. Right, or Mr. Friday Night. She’s just getting on with life, making the best of what opportunities come her way, and trying to remember where she’s put the car keys . . .

Q:
Your biography says you come from a long line of champion knitters. When did you learn to knit, and from whom? What are your favorite benefits of knitting?

A:
My grandmother taught me how to knit; she knew a whole range of patterns off by heart, and could knit very quickly, which seemed like magic to me. She had a tough life, with six children and very little money, so she’d unpick a sweater belonging to one of her older kids, wash the wool, and re-knit it for one of the little ones. By the time she was knitting for her grandchildren, things were a little easier, and she’d spend ages knitting clothes for my dolls with me, using bright, sparkly yarns, which I thought were terribly smart. We’d be knitting by the fire, with my mum and my aunts all swapping patterns and working out complicated stitches, and me sitting cross-legged on the floor, concentrating hard, and they’d forget I was there, so I’d get to hear all sorts of family gossip usually reserved for child-free moments. It was fabulous.

Nowadays I love to knit presents for friends, and for new babies. I knit while watching TV, and whenever I feel particularly stressed—usually when a deadline is looming . . . I find the rhythm of knitting relaxes me and helps me rediscover that slower pace that comes when you feel calm. But it has to be the right kind of knitting; soft baby wool in soothing colors, with simple patterns that you get the hang of quickly—anything fiddly, or using different stitches and colors, or delicate yarn, is something I save for summer holidays and long weekends.

Gil McNeil
is the author of
The Beach Street Knitting Society and Yarn Club
and
Needles and Pearls
. She lives in Kent, England, with her son, and comes from a long line of champion knitters.

Copyright © 2012 Gil McNeil

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The Library of Congress has catalogued the original print edition of this book as follows:

McNeil, Gil

Knit one pearl one / Gil McNeil.—1st ed.

p. cm.

ISBN 978-1-4013-4167-1

1. Knitting—Fiction. 2. Single mothers—Fiction. 3. England—Fiction.

I. Title.

PR6113.C58K65 2012

823—.92—dc22

2011018110

eBook Edition ISBN: 978-1-4013-4281-4

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Cover design by Laura Klynstra

Cover photograph by Ken Kaminesky/GettyImages

Author photograph by Jerry Bauer

First eBook Edition

Original paperback edition printed in the United States of America.

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