Category: The War on Sarah Morris

Author Kathleen Jones will be signing copies of her novel The War on Sarah Morris at:

• Coles: Eglinton Square Mall, Victoria Park and Eglinton, Toronto
• When: Saturday, November 15, 2025, 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Kathleen Jones presents her novel The War on Sarah Morris and discusses the troubling social trends dealt with in this book: precarious jobs, contract and gig work, age discrimination, sexism, income inequality, bullying on the job by bosses, heavy workloads, and unpaid overtime. The presentation includes a reading following by a Q&A.

Register in branch or by calling 416-396-3975.

Thursday December 11, 2025 – 6:30-7:30 pm 

S. Walter Stewart Library, 170 Memorial Park Ave., Toronto, ON M4J 2K5

Meeting Room

If you identify as a person with a disability or as a person who is Deaf, and require an accessibility accommodation to participate in this program, please contact Accessibility Services by email, accessibleservices@tpl.ca, or voicemail, 416-393-7099, to make a request. Please contact us at least three weeks in advance.

On January 8, 2025, author Kathleen Jones discussed her novel “The War on Sarah Morris” with Gary Johnson, the host of Writers for Readers, a radio show on CHOP-FM 102.7 in Newmarket, Ontario. (CHOP-FM is based at Pickering College.) Gary asked Kathleen about her writing process. He also asked Kathleen if she based “Sarah Morris” on her own personal experiences and whether the issues raised in the novel—which was set just after the 2008 recession—are still relevant today. The interview was broadcast in February 2025. To hear Kathleen’s interview, click on this link:

“The War on Sarah Morris” (published by Legacy Book Press) is available from Amazon, Indigo Books & Music, and Barnes & Noble.

Author Kathleen Jones will be signing copies of her novel The War on Sarah Morris at:

• Indigo: The Eaton Centre, 220 Yonge St., Toronto
• When: Saturday, March 22, 2025, 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.

(magazine.torontomu.ca)

Kathleen Lepidas, Publishing ’97

Kathleen (whose pen name is Kathleen Jones), a former book editor, is enjoying a successful second career as a novelist. Since she retired eight years ago, she has published two novels with two U.S. publishers. Her current novel, published by Legacy Book Press, is The War on Sarah Morris, about a middle-aged book editor who is struggling to hang onto her job in a bad economy.

TREGOLLS LODGE BOOK CLUB

BIOGRAPHY SPOTLIGHT

Kathleen Jones

Kathleen Jones is a Canadian novelist and a former book editor. Her latest novel, The War on Sarah Morris (Legacy Book Press, April 2024), deals with a middle-aged woman’s struggle to stay employed when the company she works for is reorganized and her boss tries to bully her out of her job. Kathleen’s first novel, Love Is the Punch Line, an offbeat, midlife romance set in the world of stand-up comedy, was published by Moonshine Cove in 2018. Both books have received several 4- and 5-star reviews on Amazon and Goodreads.

Kathleen also writes frequent book reviews for Goodreads, Amazon, and LibraryThing. She lives in Toronto, Ontario, Canada with her husband, son, and German Shepherd dog.

AUTHORS Q&A

Featuring Kathleen Jones

What is the most unethical practice in the publishing industry?
There are countless publishing, marketing, and promotional scams that target inexperienced authors. These con artists make extravagant promises—always for a hefty fee of course—but fail to deliver the goods. Paid book reviewers are a particularly aggressive bunch! I’ve been approached by far too many of them.

Does writing energise or exhaust you?

Writing energises me. I often don’t know where it will lead me; one idea seems to lead to another and another and another.

Do you think that someone could be a writer if they don’t feel emotions strongly?
Someone who doesn’t feel emotions strongly might succeed as a non-fiction writer because a lot of non-fiction writing is based on facts. However, it’s unlikely that she or he would have the emotional depth and imagination to write good fiction.

What other authors are you friends with, and how do they help you to become a better writer?
I’ve connected online with a number of good writers, including KD Sherrinford, Kathy Coatney, Bernie Bro Brown, and Kathleen Duhamel. We read and review each other’s novels. When I read their books, I often spot what’s missing in my own writing.

What’s the best way to market your books?

The best way to market your books is to sell them yourself. First, get your book listed on a store’s website. Then meet with the store’s manager, try to get him or her to carry the book in their store and schedule an in-store book signing. The book signing will give you the opportunity to pitch your novel directly to customers.

Do you read your book reviews, and how do you deal with bad or good ones?
I read all my book reviews. I thank people who liked my book. I don’t respond to people who didn’t, and I try not to take their feedback personally. Instead, I keep in mind a comment from author Margaret Atwood: if some people like your writing but others don’t, you’ve succeeded as an author.

What advice would you give a budding novelist?

Read good fiction, learn how the book publishing business works, hire professionals (a substantive and line editor, a copy editor, a proofreader) to polish your manuscript before you submit it, research book publishers before you approach them, create a marketing plan for your book several months before it’s released.

Are your books plot driven or character driven?

My books are character driven; however, I try to create interesting plots for my characters.

How much of you is there in your books?

There is a lot of me in my books; I base them—loosely— on my personal experiences.

How long does it take you to write a book?

It takes me five or six years to write a book. I write three drafts before I show the manuscript to anyone. I then hire a substantive and line editor. After I get feedback from the editor, I do a substantial rewrite of the entire book. I’ll then hire a copy editor and a proof reader and rewrite the book again and again. The book usually goes through ten drafts before I submit it to agents and book publishers.

Where do you write?

I write at home on the couch in my living room.

Do you prefer paper books or an e-reader?

I prefer paper books. It’s much more comfortable to curl up with a paper book.

CHAPTER ONE
… I stare at the email on my computer screen, my mind suddenly flooded
with questions.
Why on earth did the company do this to me? Maybe it’s my age. I’m forty-nine, practically a wizened old geezer as far as the business world is concerned. Or maybe …”

– Kathleen Jones, The War on Sarah Morris

 

 

 

 

 

By Kathleen Jones, The Quirky Novelist

Author Kathleen Jones celebrated the recent release of her new novel, The War on Sarah Morris, with a party! Kathleen and several friends got together at the Yorkville Public Library in Toronto, Ontario, Canada on Saturday, June 1, 2024. The author talked about the novel’s central theme—the main character’s struggle to stay employed while coping with age discrimination, bullying, misogyny, and penny-pinching bosses—and read the first chapter. Afterwards, all the attendees enjoyed a delicious lunch catered by Druxy’s Deli.

The War on Sarah Morris was published by Legacy Book Press (@legacybookpress) in April 2024. The paperback and ebook are available NOW from:

Amazon.com: https://www.amazon.com/War-Sarah-Morris-Kathleen-Jones/dp/B0CVQ28JYC/

Amazon.ca: https://www.amazon.ca/War-Sarah-Morris-Kathleen-Jones/dp/B0CVQ28JYC/

Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-war-on-sarah-morris-kathleen-jones/1145154224?ean=9798987482346

Indigo Books and Music: https://www.indigo.ca/en-ca/the-war-on-sarah-morris/9798987482346.html?searchType=products&searchTerm=the%20war%20on%20Sarah%20Morris