Q&A with Sally Kilpatrick

  

 

 

Sally Kilpatrick is the author of the new novel Little Miss Petty. Her other books include Nobody's Perfect. 

 

Q: What inspired you to write Little Miss Petty, and how did you create your character Stella?

 

A: This novel began with a question, an idle musing: What if there were someone you could hire to get a petty sort of revenge on the people who’ve wronged you? Pretty sure it originated from something I’ve often said to my husband: Karma doesn’t work fast enough for me.

 

Fiction is a great place to get the sort of catharsis you can’t get from the real world, and that’s how Little Miss Petty was born. Stella then emerged as my Little Miss Petty. She had her own ideas about how the story should go, as characters so often do.

 

Q: How was the novel’s title chosen, and what does it signify for you?

 

A: It doesn’t always happen like this, but the title came first.

 

For me, it’s a humorous play on the old Mr. Men and Little Miss books that my mom used to check out of the library. Sometimes those characters were nice; often they were naughty.

 

Naturally, there was a lesson to be learned, and every book character should learn something over the course of their arc, so it all made sense to me.

 

I like to keep things light, but there’s usually a somewhat serious message underneath the humor. As authors, we don’t always get to choose our title, but, in this case, the title was the main selling point.

 

Q: What do you think the novel says about karma?

 

A: The novel reminds us—me, especially—that I’m not in charge of karma nor any laws of the universe. It’s hubris to think otherwise.

 

Also, our Western interpretation of karma is not correct. In reality, karma isn’t immediate reward and punishment but more reliant on each individual’s intention. Of course, this is a rom com, so I don’t get into the subtleties or nuances of the actual concept of karma.

 

While drafting this novel, I did read a lot about Eastern interpretations of karma, including the Bhagavad Gita, but I am a dilletante at best. Anything beyond one woman’s wishful thinking for cosmic accountability is above my pay grade.

 

Q: The author Valerie Bowman said of the book, “Smart, hilarious, and surprisingly poignant, Little Miss Petty is the cozy revenge fantasy I didn’t know I needed.” What do you think of that description?

 

A: I adore that description. It’s definitely a cozy revenge fantasy because I’m using the social media definition of “petty” rather than the dictionary definition. All forms of retribution must be logical and not overly harmful; Stella’s job is to punch up rather than punch down.

 

I gotta love the other descriptors, too.

 

As a writer, my goal is to entertain and to leave my readers on a hopeful note. It’s gravy if there’s something meaningful they can also take away from the story.

 

Q: What are you working on now?

 

A: My next novel will be called See Box City about one woman’s attempt to survive moving cross-country. Just kidding. I have some ideas marinating, but I don’t have a current work in progress because I have moved cross-country and am living amongst the boxes.

 

I do have a finished mystery that I’m finetuning. I’ve also toyed with a sequel to Nobody’s Perfect, and I always have at least three ideas for a Christmas novella, but I’ll be working on those more in the next month or so. (If someone is interested in the novel See Box City, call me. I’ll make it work.)

 

Q: Anything else we should know?

 

A: Oooh, so much. Um. I have the rights back to my entire backlist, and they are all getting audio editions. If anyone’s into country-fried small-town romance, I’d be honored if folks to give them a shot.

 

Speaking of audio, the narrator for Little Miss Petty, Amanda Stribling, is an alumna of the University of Tennessee, as am I. I’m pretty pumped about that and the sample of her work that I heard.

 

Finally, if you preorder from The Ripped Bodice here in California or The Book Worm in Georgia, you can get your very own vinyl sticker that says Little Miss Petty. Both feature the calico kitten from the book, the one I named after Brené Brown. You can find that information at www.sallykilpatrick.com.

 

You can also find me on Instagram, Threads, and sometimes TikTok. My user name is @superwritermom, which is either a joke that has outlived its origin or wishful thinking on the “super” part. Oh, and thanks for having me!

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb