Book Launch: Public Comment, by S.L. Jacobs
Posted by David Duhr in 
We’re excited to announce that S.L. Jacobs’s Public Comment is now available from Tucker DS Press. Book 1 in the Debra Wolfson series, the novel follows the murderous misadventures of Wendell Williams, a groundskeeper at the local golf course whose sociopathy just might remind you of someone we’re all familiar with.
His foil is Debra Wolfson, family-law mediator, local selectwoman, renowned cookie lover, and — as S.L. and I discuss in the Q&A below — originally a minor character who makes a brief appearance in Act III.
It’s a fun and funny ride for, as S.L. tells us, “anyone who pays attention to any given news cycle and has a sense of humor/irony” … and “It will piss off a few folks.”
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So who came first, Debra or Wendell? Or was it the story itself?
Wendell came before both Debra and the story, no question. Can someone really bury crimes, hide in plain sight, and skulk behind respectability and governance? It was driving me nuts and Wendell materialized, with flaws and quirks at the ready. Debra started out as a minor late-chapter mention, but early beta readers seemed to really like her. I was encouraged to bring her out of the shadows and, to my and Wendell’s surprise, she proved a worthy adversary.
I love this, the fact that what was initially a minor character is now the protagonist of an entire series. Writing is so funny.
So Wendell came first. He’s kind of a money-grubbing grifter with a penchant for burying bodies under golf courses and labeling his own deeds as “tremendous.” If I didn’t know better, I might think he’s inspired by some kind of real-life figure. He’s an excellent—tremendous, even—antagonist. But he’s also… dare I say, likeable? Was that a goal of yours, or did it just sorta happen? (Or is it just me?)
Indeed, Wendell, the plot, and the story’s satiric elements were spawned by a certain (sur)real-life figure. I certainly did NOT set out to make him likable, but I did want to make him believable. That meant that I had to face the fact that “likability” is an essential component of the charlatan’s tool kit. Once I came to terms with Wendell’s ersatz likability, I had fun with it, as I think some of his inner thoughts reveal.
You hear a lot these days that satire is dead. That everything, particularly the political ecosystem, is so F’d up that satire no longer has a chance to land. But maybe in small doses it’s still possible? I mean, you wouldn’t label this entire book a satire. Or would you? I know we struggled to funnel Public Comment into a specific category. Are there elements of satire that went into Debra, too?
I would never suggest that satire is dead, nor even moribund, but it does seem as though the grotesqueries we associate with satire are currently sourced from the very place that used to be the target. I think part of the reason we struggled to pin a genre on Public Comment is that the satiric elements teeter not on exaggeration, but on the edge of the daily news cycle. When does Wendell go from being merely distracting to genuinely destructive? Enter Debra! However, while Debra is wholly sincere in her efforts to debunk Wendell and protect her community, I don’t think anything in the book escaped a satiric poke including the cozy mystery genre, itself. Let’s face it. Murder is not supposed to be funny, or cozy, but it sells like crazy. Leadership is not supposed to be corrupt or venal, but it gets elected. All fair game, if you ask me.
In my chats with writers, lately the topic of autofiction has come up often. Or if not necessarily autofiction, the idea that even if something is totally fictionalized, it still draws from the writer’s life and experiences. Which is a roundabout way of asking: Is there any Susan in Debra? Maybe not so much in traits, but more like, do you wish you could go around thwarting the Wendells of the world, and/or falling ass-backwards into mysteries at the community theater?
First, keep in mind that I am an old lady so I had to look up the term “autofiction” as I had never heard it before. Sounds like stories about vehicles. But I am always happy to learn something new!
I am fairly certain that “even if something is totally fictionalized,” including science fiction, fantasy, even horror, it still draws from the writer’s life or experiences. I don’t think any imagination exists in a vacuum and we are who we are, we bring what we bring. Having said that, a number of readers have asked me if I am Debra. Absolutely not. Debra is a pain in the ass, whereas I am always mindful of boundaries. Debra is unbelievably pushy, whereas I am quiet and docile. Debra loves oatmeal raisin cookies, whereas I will always favor a chocolate chip choice. Debra and I do share a complete intolerance for fraud, breach of trust, and deceit, particularly when the public trust is involved, but other than that, we have nothing in common, not a thing, nothing.
Let’s talk about audience. What types of readers will most enjoy Public Comment? Make a pitch to your fellow WriteByNighters!
Ah, audience. I confess, I have a really hard time with this question in no small part because Public Comment is a bit of a genre mishmash. Yes, it’s a small-town mystery, but it is not a cozy (as a zillion agents and cozy publishers made clear). Yes, it has an AARP vibe and all those older folks who live on golf courses will love it (!), but it also calls out for political acuity and tolerance for F bombs. Bottom line, I think anyone who pays attention to any given news cycle and has a sense of humor/irony will enjoy Public Comment. It will also piss off a few folks. At least I hope it does.
I’d love to hear from any readers it pisses off. So after those zillions of agents and publishers you mentioned, Debra found a home at Tucker DS Press. What were your takeaways from the querying process, and do you want to tell us about how the book landed where it did and what has been the book’s journey since then?
How much time have you got? Let’s face it, the querying process can be fraught and had I not connected up with WBN for querying help, I would have given up a long time ago. That sounds like a commercial! So be it! WBN connected me to my reader, my reader connected me to conferences and competitions, my newfound confidence connected me to perseverance and disconnected me from my shredder, and out of the blue, Tucker DS Press completed the circle. The takeaway is that the writing community is generous, supportive, and thrives on connectivity. Yesterday, I celebrated my official pub date (all my children sent me bouquets of flowers) and there are book talks and parties on the calendar. None of that would have happened if I had stayed all my myself, alone, at my desk.
I’ll leave off with two fun questions: A) Can you give us a preview of what’s next for Debra? B) If you were to cast the film adaptation of Public Comment, who plays Debra, who plays Wendell, and in which role do you make a cameo?
Debra is desperately trying to figure out the criminal mischief and murder that somehow got connected up with her synagogue’s long-standing community theater efforts. She thinks she knows who is responsible, but the show must go on! And, speaking of performance, the SNL comic James Austin Johnson is Wendell, no question. He looks the part, he’s got the cadence, it’s a slam dunk. As to Debra, not even Meryl Streep could do her justice.
So I’ll take that as an “I don’t want a cameo”? In closing, do you—a published novelist now! congrats!!—have any advice for writers working on a debut book? Advice about the process itself; about the querying stage; about the phase between book deal and publication date? About how to celebrate those various stages?
Oh Lord, of course I want a cameo! Maybe two cameos! Or a half dozen! I could speak at Public Comment!!
I don’t think I’m in a position to offer advice. But I can say that in the early stages of writing I poopooed workshops, classes, resources and connectivity, not because I thought I was above it but because I doubted that they had any value for someone of my age and experience. I was wrong. I am happy to report that eventually I got to celebrate every phase of this cockamamie process because every day I learned something new. At my age, that’s life affirming!