Q&A with Duck Dynasty's Jessica Robertson

The women from A&E's hit show "Duck Dynasty" are giving their side of the story in their new book, "The Women of Duck Commander: Surprising Insights from the Women Behind the Beards About What Makes This Family Work."

In the book, five wives share the story of how they met their husbands, as well as anecdotes from their family life. They'll be in Indiana for a book signing June 14 at the Sam's Club in Terre Haute, 4350 S. U.S. 41, from noon to 2 p.m.

Jessica Robertson, married to Jep Robertson, answered some questions for the Indy Star about their book, their family and what life is like on a reality TV show.

Q: What made you ladies decide to write the book?

A: With the show, it's mainly about the men, so you don't get to see us, the women, as much. So there are many questions I think people have, and I think it gave us an opportunity to share with the world some inside stories from our viewpoint. ... There are so many people who didn't know us. Half the people didn't know we have kids (Jessica and Jeb have four), and half of them kind of had their own opinions without even knowing us. So it was just a way for us to open up our lives to them a little bit.

Q: What do the husbands think about you writing the book?

A: They thought it was a great opportunity. They knew we had a lot to say, even though it's hard to find what you don't want to say because we're writing it with so many people. ... It was good because then we can just shed light on the things we really wanted to share with the world.

Q: Do you ever feel like back-ups to the men?

A: No, it's not a big deal because we're able to still be hands-on moms. I love filming with everybody.But I also love that the time when Jep's filming, I can still be home with the kids. It happens that when I'm filming, a lot of times Jep won't be filming with me. o he's able to pick up the slack if I'm really busy and can't pick the kids up from school or take them to piano or all the other stuff they do. He can do it. So it's a juggling act, and we do the best we can do, and we have a great support system with the family.

Q: Does the family get any say over what gets put on TV?

A: We don't get any say-so in the editing, but we do in the filming. Like we all come together and a lot of it is stuff that we have done or that we're going to do, so we let it be a great opportunity to film it. Like Mia's surgery, it was something that was gonna happen, but we knew it would be powerful for other people to see. It has helped so many families that are going through that. (Mia is the 11-year-old daughter of Jase and Missy Robertson. The March 26 episode dealt with Mia undergoing her fifth cleft palate surgery.)

Q: What is the most embarrassing thing that's been on the show?

A: Oh, I don't know. I laugh at myself so I don't really take myself too seriously. In those embarrassing moments, I just think it's hilarious. Nothing has been like embarrassing where I want to hide my face. I have like the one snort laugh on the interview and they play it a lot. I just kind of laugh with the crowd. I think that's what you have to do and not take yourself too seriously.

Call Star reporter Hannah Smith at (317) 444-6755. Follow her on Twitter: @hannsmit.