Des Jardins talks publishing, music and family at book signing

The Hopkinsville-Christian County Public Library welcomed home Hopkinsville native Kathy Des Jardins as she spoke with readers and signed copies of her new book, Mama Tried.

Des Jardins hasn’t called Hopkinsville home in many years, but her life started here and she still has strong connections to the community, a lot of which is reflected in her reimagined version of the city in her book. It details the life of a country music radio disc jockey as she navigates life and an interesting relationship with her mother, which Des Jardins says laid out in the title of the book.

She had many words of wisdom for aspiring authors out there, especially those aiming to become published, simplest of which was to just ‘get the words right’.

She’s already looking forward to the next book, saying she plans to focus on the history of the Land Between the Lakes.

Des Jardins fielded questions and comments from the audience, detailing the publishing process, the fun and stress of doing edits and rewrites, and how happy and excited she is to finally be done with her book and have it out for others to enjoy.