An Interview by Elizabeth Simmons
Jane Kirkpatrick is a New York Times and CBA bestselling author whose deeply researched historical novels have brought overlooked women and true events to life for decades. In this interview, she reflects on traditional publishing, the diversity of the American West, the changing landscape of Western literature, and the advice she would offer the next generation of women writers.
Elizabeth Simmons: Readers now discover Western stories through audiobooks, podcasts, YouTube, BookTok, short-form videos, and social media. How do you see these platforms shaping the future of Western storytelling and reaching younger audiences?
Jane Kirkpatrick: We have to go where the readers are, and younger audiences are in the places you outlined.
I sometimes wonder if stories will become more abbreviated to cater to the fast-paced lives people lead, with so many things calling for their attention.
On the other hand, the Norse word radon, translated as “to read,” also means “to unveil a mystery.” We ask readers to unveil the mystery of our stories while they are also unveiling mysteries within their own lives.
Reaching readers is more important than where they are reached, so the wise writer will adapt.
I also think there is something unique about Western literature that weaves together landscape, relationships, spirituality, and the work of people’s lives as they seek dreams that take us back to our roots or our ancestors’ roots.
Does Southern literature do that? Not in the same way, at least not to my reckoning.
ES: During my travels in Europe and Canada, I was delighted to meet readers who deeply admired cowboy and cowgirl culture and actively sought out books about the American West, sometimes in translation. Why do you think Western stories resonate so strongly with international audiences?
JK: I was surprised to find my books popular in the Netherlands, Finland, and Germany.
I asked my editor about the Finnish connection, and he said the nights are long, Finnish people love to read, and they love epic stories—and he thought mine were.
So there might be traditions that appeal to an international audience. But it’s also true that the Western myth of heading west to make something new is, I think, a universal longing that for many years has been at the core of Western literature.
Resilience, coming back after loss, and dreaming big are all themes that resonate around the world. Western literature captures those longings.
And we give the Finnish, at least, something for those long winter nights.
ES: Many women and girls dream of writing and publishing their own books, but not everyone has access to creative-writing programs, publishing connections, professional mentors, financial resources, or higher education. What words of encouragement and practical advice would you offer someone who is just beginning that journey? What should she do first, and what do you hope she remembers when the path feels difficult?
JK: Self-publishing is a worthy way forward.
Connecting with people who have succeeded in this endeavor at conferences, for example, is a great way to explore what comes first. There are more hybrid publishers, too, who, for a fee, will help with that process.
I’m sure there are a million how-to articles and probably even a YouTube video. I haven’t asked AI, but I suspect there’d be an outline happily coming my way.
As for advice when the path feels difficult, I will share a metaphor from my carpenter husband’s toolbox: a coping saw.
It’s a blade used to fit things into tight places, like a cabinet into a corner. But the name comes from the blade being both strong and flexible. If it were too strong, it would splinter what it is trying to fit. If it were too flexible, it would leave gaps.
In order to cope, you must have both strength and flexibility. The blade also allows you to change directions quickly without a lot of friction.
I’d encourage people in a time of trial to remember the coping saw.
ES: For generations, many women did not have the financial, educational, or social opportunities to study literature, develop their craft, or pursue publication. As a result, some women begin writing or publishing much later in life, while others may feel they have already missed their chance. What would you say to women who once gave up on their dream of becoming published authors? Is it ever truly too late to begin again?
JK: It’s never too late.
If you have a story calling your name, you owe it to the story—and yourself—to write it. My first book came out the day before I turned forty-five. Writing was, and is, a second career for me.
The life wisdom a woman brings to the story now will very likely have more depth and determination than if it had been written in younger years.
As a wise writer friend once told me, sometimes you have to live the story and write about it later.
Writer Jean Rhys said it well. I’ll paraphrase, but she wrote that all of life is like a lake made up of many stories, fed by many streams. Some of the streams are long and mighty, like Tolstoy and Dostoyevsky. Some of the streams are small, like me.
The size of the stream doesn’t matter. All that matters is the lake.
Feed the lake.
ES: After more than forty books, what still excites you when you begin a new story?
JK: What excites me is discovering what the woman I’m writing about is trying to tell me and hoping I am faithful to her story.
I’m always surprised at the end because I start out thinking, “This is what the story is about,” based on those three questions. But I also discover what that story had to tell me—something I would never have found out if I hadn’t written it.
ES: What do you hope readers carry with them after they reach the final page?
JK: What I hope is that a reader will be moved—changed in some way.
Kafka said a story “should be an axe to the frozen sea within us.”
I hope my work is an axe.
About the Interviewer:
Elizabeth Simmons is a writer and interviewer whose work includes poetry and short fiction for literary magazines.
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