Kate Hilton

Kate Hilton's latest novel is The Hole in the Middle.

From her Q & A with Amy Sue Nathan:

Amy: Your story is about a working mom having it all, or trying to. Do you feel like you have it all? How do you differ from your main character Sophie?

Kate: In The Hole in the Middle, Sophie, the main character, is mired in her own expectations of what it means to be a successful wife, mother, employee, daughter, friend, and woman. The book tracks her journey into a greater self-awareness about her own impossible standards for herself, and how they undermine her essential happiness.

When I was writing the book – I wrote it on Sunday afternoons while working full time – I was trying to resolve these very questions for myself: What does it mean to have it all? Have I achieved it? In hindsight, I can see that I was struggling with a nagging perfectionism that was undermining my sense of self. In the end, I think I came to the conclusion that there isn’t an objective ‘all’ to be had. There have been points in my life when I could have made a list of desirable achievements, and ticked off every box, and still known in my secret heart that I was deeply unhappy. Today, I’d be able to tick fewer boxes on that old list (I’m not married anymore, for starters), but I’m happier than I used to be.

Amy: And that being said, what sparked the idea for this novel? Do you remember the moment you had the idea. Did it start with a person, place, or thing? (Mine always start with a sentence, and I think “Oh my, I need to write that down.”)

Kate: I’d always wanted to be a writer, but until five years ago, I...[read on]

Visit Kate Hilton's website.

--Marshal Zeringue