Katherine Scott Jones & Her Memory of Music

Katherine Scott Jones grew up in cities on every U.S. coast and overseas as her family moved with her father’s Navy career. Seattle became home when she married her husband twenty-seven years ago. After graduating from Whitworth University with a degree in communications, she established herself as a freelance writer before turning her hand to fiction. She blogs about the broken and the beautiful at www.katherinescottjones.com. Katherine and her husband have two teenage children. Her Memory of Music is her debut novel.

Can you tell us a little about the motivation for writing HER MEMORY OF MUSIC?

Toni Morrison famously said, "If there is a book that you want to read but it hasn't been written, yet, then you must write it." When I began writing HER MEMORY OF MUSIC, there wasn't an abundance of inspirational (Christian) novels that compellingly addressed real-life issues, where answers weren't easy and problems were complex - maybe even scandalous. Fortunately, in the years since then,  more of these have arrived on the scene. I hope readers will find my book to be one of these. 


I strove to have my characters mirror real life, where people grapple with eternal issues: of fear, and faith, and forgiveness. I also aimed to broaden the typical reader's awareness of the plight of so many girls and women around the world who are objects of oppression. I sought to bring together two very different lifestyles - that of the woman in the developed world living in relative comfort but with significant questions of faith and purpose; and that of the woman in the developing world whose basic needs are great but whose voice has so little chance of being heard.


I wanted to show the connection between these different women, bringing their two worlds together and showing them as one. I also wanted to show how living in fear is no way to live (a lesson I'm still learning). To show that God is a very big God who sees and cares, who orchestrates events and fights on our behalf. And to celebrate the empowering of women by God's daily grace. 


I also hoped to use my voice to provide a voice for women who have none of their own. TO show other who are like me that we may play a role in helping others who, through no fault of their own, find themselves helpless and voiceless. My hope is that readers will be encouraged to find their own empowered voice - and in doing so, to give a hand up to other women who need one. 

Among the characters in HER MEMORY OF MUSIC are a human trafficking investigator and a single mom who is haunted by an abusive relationship from her past. To what extent did your faith inform how you developed these characters?

Fabulous question. I wanted to explore how a real-life, growing faith might play out in each of these two scenarios. Though they look very different, both characters provide gritty examples of faith in action; the first in a “hands and feet of Jesus” kind of way; the second in “seeking God in the midst of our pain.” The latter is one I expect more of my female readers might identify with—not, I hope, as victims of abuse, but as human beings who must daily learn to let God step into the space created by life’s inevitable wounds in order to heal them.

Most of HER MEMORY OF MUSIC takes place on Whidbey Island (in Washington state). Can you tell us why you picked this location?

Soon after I moved to Washington, when my husband and I were newly married, we frequently visited this Puget Sound island, often staying in the real-life town of Langley. From the start, I was struck by the island’s natural beauty and Langley’s small-town, seaside appeal. The island is a bit removed from well-trodden paths, and unique in that it’s accessible by both ferry and a rather stunning bridge. It struck me as the kind of place that someone who needed to hide might choose. Readers can glimpse Whidbey Island by visiting my HER MEMORY OF MUSIC Pinterest board, here.

What was the most challenging aspect to writing HER MEMORY OF MUSIC? The most fulfilling?

Most challenging was digging beneath the characters exteriors, especially their self-protective facades, to get at the whys of their choices and behaviors—and to make these relatable and believable. Most fulfilling was being able to use my voice in storytelling to speak up for oppressed women who don’t have a voice. It was also very satisfying to see the way the three main story threads braided together in the end. When I started, I had some little inkling as to how they might all tie up, but I couldn’t fully envision it until I got there.

Can you describe your writing process for HER MEMORY OF MUSIC? (How long did it take to write? Where did you do most of the writing?) What’s your writing process, in general?

Writers like to say there are two kinds of writers: outliners and pantsers (those who write by the seat of their pants). I fall somewhere in between. I must begin with at least some form of an outline because I need a target at which to aim my arrow. But then I’m very much about letting the story evolve organically on its own. Maybe it’s just the way my mind works, but there’s no way I can anticipate at the outset every plot twist—nor, really, would I want to! I enjoy the experience of being surprised. The guard rails (that keep me on track plot-wise) become my characters and what I know about them. Their choices and behaviors have to be consistent from beginning to end (although of course as they grow through the story, their choices at the beginning can and should differ from those they make toward the end), but it must still follow a credible trajectory. 

From initial concept to published book, I probably spent about three years at the keyboard working on HER MEMORY OF MUSIC. The bulk of it was accomplished in my writing chair, a burgundy leather armchair with ottoman in our cozy study, with occasional batches done standing at the kitchen island or in the car or waiting rooms as I waited for my kids to finish one activity or another. None of which offers terrific ergonomics, but it’s what works for me.

You’ve taught memoir writing.  Would you care to offer some tips about this specific genre/writing in general?

Just write. Everyone has a life story to tell, but if you’re waiting for the perfect time to begin writing it, you’ll never find it. There will never, ever be the perfect time. You have to create time for yourself, carve it out of your day, and then make it a consistent priority. Allow your first draft to be worthy of nothing but the trash can—but purpose nonetheless to get your words on paper. You cannot edit an empty page. Even 10 or 20 or 30 minutes a day will at the end of six months amount to a surprisingly substantial body of work. Once you have your first very rough draft, you can begin molding it into a cohesive story. I recommend Anne Lamott’s Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life for inspiration (fair warning: occasional salty language). It’s a book I read and reread with great pleasure, and it never fails to motivate me.

How about your involvement with the Northwest Christian Writers Association?

The NCWA played an instrumental role in my early years as a writer, providing invaluable support, networking, and critique. I would highly recommend membership to this or a similar local association to any new writer. I learned so much, especially during the time I had the privilege of serving on their leadership team.

Can you tell us a bit about your own faith journey?

I had good fortune to grow up in a home that provided me a foundation of Christian faith. I consider that my own spiritual journey really took off—that is, I began engaging with Jesus in a personal, relational way—when I was in my mid-twenties. To that point, my faith had informed my choices and provided a moral compass, but it lacked an experiential, personal relationship the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Once I made that shift, I began to mine Scripture for how it revealed God for who He is and to discover how my life fit into His redemptive story. I continue on that path today and every day.

How about your involvement with World Vision?

Ah, World Vision. I am so fortunate that this world-class, Christian humanitarian organization headquarters in practically my own backyard. My husband and I have long supported our church’s mission work and many other exceptional organizations, but after writing HER MEMORY OF MUSIC, I knew I personally wanted to do something more. Something tangible to help real girls like my fictional Jayashri avoid oppression. I am deeply passionate about World Vision’s child sponsorship program because it is proven to work, to provide not just a handout but to transform lives, families, communities. I began by sponsoring a little girl named Kajal, who lives in India like Jayashri. It satisfies me greatly to know that because of the monthly support we provide, her family will never need to make the difficult choice of selling her into sex trafficking or slavery (tragically, a very common practice). I then trained as a Child Ambassador so that I could help to connect other sponsors to children in need.

You’re also part of the Open Door Sisterhood. Would you share what the group’s purpose is and how you became involved?

The Open Door Sisterhood is a gathering of Christian women compelled to walk through open doors.  We are committed to linking arms to support each other as we step out individually in faith to fulfill our callings. We value unity, growth, humility, generosity and encouragement, and we strive to be characterized by these as both a group and individually.

I became involved in the Sisterhood when I was invited to attend one of their mastermind retreats, a pivotal point in my ministry and writing career. My “sisters” have helped me transition to the next level of my calling, and they continue to support me in my journey, as I do them. I now serve as the editor for the Open Door Sisterhood blog.

In 2016 you and your family traveled to Thailand. What was the motivation for the trip and what impressed you the most?

Our trip to Thailand last year was part of our family’s tour of Southeast Asia, which was motivated by our desire to visit some dear friends who work and minister in Malaysia. On a broader level, my husband and I purpose to make world travel a family value. (I
wrote on the topic for The Lookout magazine, here.) We are an ordinary, middle-class American family that makes world travel a budgeting priority. We have now set foot as a family on 15 countries on 4 continents. One of the chief reasons we appreciate travel is for the way it expands us. Travel enlarges our thinking and allows us to value and appreciate the beauty of other countries and cultures as well as our own. Traveling teaches us that there is much to be valued everywhere—abroad and at home.

Is there anything else you’d like to mention?

Thank you for your interest in HER MEMORY OF MUSIC and these thoughtful questions! It’s been a pleasure.