Romantasy author Cait Jacobs to speak at A Book Place

Mattituck author Cait Jacobs, 27, has been working on their writing career for almost their entire life. All that dedication has paid off; Jacobs is currently on a book tour for their first novel, “The Princess Knight,” from HarperCollins Publishers. Fans can meet the author at A Book Place in Riverhead (489 East Main St.) Friday, Oct. 24, at 6:30 p.m.

Jacobs, who uses they/them pronouns, knew it would be incredibly hard to get published. Instead, they went down other paths. They went to school for computer science and mathematics. But, hard as they tried, writing called out to them.

“I was trying to be a little bit more realistic, but I couldn’t stop writing, no matter what I did,” said Jacobs.

Starting in middle school, they began participating in National Novel Writing Month, or NaNoWriMo. Writers challenge themselves to write a full manuscript in the month of November.

“I try to write 50,000 words every November. I did that every year, starting in middle school. I wasn’t always successful with it, but I always tried,” Jacobs said. 

But when they began “The Princess Knight” in 2018 as one of those challenges, they knew the idea was something special. 

“I knew it was sure to be long, so I gave myself two months, so I could write double the amount. And I had no idea what would come of it,” said Jacobs. “It was just like previous challenges where I would try to write it and get the story out of my head.”

Jacobs has a strong online presence where they often talk about their passion for books. These videos caught the attention of a staff member at HarperCollins, which led to a literary agent and a publishing deal. 

“I was very, very lucky that I documented the process online and my current publisher saw some of those videos and was very interested in the book,” said Jacobs. 

“The Princess Knight” is a romantic fantasy novel set in a medieval era, and it follows a princess who is trying to win over a prince that her kingdom is relying on her to marry. When he backs out of the agreement, she decides that she needs to prove herself to him. To do so, she enrolls in a prestigious military academy, where she meets his guard and best friend.

The story is a combination of multiple inspirations, from early 2000s romantic comedies and fantasy classics like “The Princess Bride” to traditional Irish folklore. A big part of the plot is representing both the disabled and queer communities.

“The story takes place in a queer-normative world, and the main characters of the book are disabled,” Jacobs said. “[Part of] it was making a safe place for myself and the people that I love and kind of a nice escape.”