{"id":59091,"date":"2016-03-31T14:13:26","date_gmt":"2016-03-31T03:13:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.booktopia.com.au\/?p=59091"},"modified":"2017-01-09T20:15:41","modified_gmt":"2017-01-09T09:15:41","slug":"59091","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/2016\/03\/31\/59091\/","title":{"rendered":"Kelly Doust: Don\u2019t believe the hype about art being torture to create."},"content":{"rendered":"

\"precious-things_booktopia-banner\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Since 2009, Kelly Doust has published five non-fiction books about craft and fashion: The Crafty Minx<\/a>, The Crafty Kid<\/a>, A Life In Frocks: A Memoir,<\/a> Minxy Vintage <\/a>\u00a0<\/i>and\u00a0<\/i>The Crafty Minx At Home<\/i>.<\/a>\u00a0Her latest book, Precious Things<\/a>,<\/em> is an intricate mystery entwining love, desire and fashion.<\/p>\n

She has a background in book publishing and publicity, and has worked in the UK, Hong Kong and Australia and freelanced for magazines such as Vogue, The Australian Women\u2019s Weekly<\/em> and Sunday Life Magazine<\/em>. She currently lives in Sydney, Australia with her husband and daughter.<\/p>\n

Kelly Doust now answers the Booktopia Book Guru’s Ten Terrifying Questions.<\/p>\n

To begin with why don\u2019t you tell us a little bit about yourself – where were you born? Raised? Schooled?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I was born in Perth but mostly raised in Sydney. Our family moved around a lot when I was young so I went to lots of different schools. It makes you quite adaptable but also very restless.<\/p>\n

What did you want to be when you were twelve, eighteen and thirty? And why?
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

I’ve wanted to be a writer since I was small, although when I was twelve I probably dreamed of being an air hostess more than anything. It seemed like a highly glamorous way to travel the world.<\/p>\n

\"kelly<\/a><\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n

What strongly held belief did you have at eighteen that you do not have now?<\/strong><\/p>\n

That thirty is really, really old.<\/p>\n

What were three works of art \u2013 book or painting or piece of music, etc \u2013 you can now say, had a great effect on you and influenced your own development as a writer?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Hole\u2019s album Live Through This<\/em> had an enormous impact on me when I was growing up. The Seattle grunge scene seemed so raw and real, and my first proper forays into writing (terrible, angst-ridden poetry and prose) were inspired by it.<\/p>\n

Brother of the More Famous Jack<\/em><\/a> by Barbara Trapido is one of my most favourite novels ever. I first read it in my twenties and have re-read it many times since. I love how Trapido makes her largely domestic subjects seem sweeping, funny, clever and full of pathos. I dream of writing as well as she does one day.<\/p>\n

Similarly, Annie Proulx\u2019s novel Accordion Crimes<\/em><\/a> is a favourite and was the first inspiration behind Precious Things<\/em>. Proulx follows a 400-year-old accordion from when it is first created to its eventual destruction, an idea which really struck a chord with me. I\u2019ve always wondered about the lives of antique objects.<\/p>\n

Considering the innumerable artistic avenues open to you, why did you choose to write a novel?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Because apart from clothes, novels are the most beloved objects in my life. In writing about the former I\u2019m allowed to indulge in both of my obsessions. I also think that reading a novel is the best way to experience life in someone else\u2019s shoes.
\n
\n<\/strong>Please tell us about your latest novel\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n

Precious Things<\/a><\/em> is about a beautiful handmade collar and its journey through time in the hands of the women who created it, loved it, wore it and lost it, and the modern-day woman who can\u2019t help but be intrigued by its mysterious past. It\u2019s set all over the world \u2013 in the circus grounds of Paris, 1890s Normandy, Istanbul\u2019s Grand Bazaar and 1920s Shanghai \u2013 as well as London in the present day.<\/p>\n

Maggie, Precious Things<\/em>\u2019 main protagonist, works in an auction house and is juggling the demands of a busy family, career and the notion of having it all when Francesca, a wealthy older woman searching for the truth behind her past suddenly enters her life. As Maggie sets out to uncover the secrets of the collar\u2019s past for Francesca, she finds herself tempted to reach for things that she has never wanted before\u2026<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

What do you hope people take away with them after reading your work?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A pure sense of pleasure and warmth. I wrote the book to be escapist and enjoyable to read, but hopefully it touches a nerve as well and feels full of wonder and truth.<\/p>\n

Whom do you most admire in the realm of writing and why?<\/strong><\/p>\n

It\u2019s very tricky to choose just one! Joanne Harris<\/a> for the sheer depth of her imagination, Jeanette Winterson<\/a> for her sensuous and passionate writing style and Cheryl Strayed<\/a> for her honesty, open-mindedness and for opening a vein in the name of art.<\/p>\n

Many artists set themselves very ambitious goals. What are yours?<\/strong><\/p>\n

My big goal at the moment is to find a US or UK-based publisher for Precious Things<\/em>. Fingers crossed.<\/p>\n

What advice do you give aspiring writers?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I recently read Elizabeth Gilbert\u2019s Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear<\/em><\/a> and I think she nailed it. Don\u2019t believe the hype about art being torture to create, and don\u2019t weigh down your writing with the need to make a living from it. Most art since the dawn of time has been created in snatched moments \u2013 there\u2019s always time to create if you love it enough.<\/p>\n

Thank you for playing, Kelly!<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Since 2009, Kelly Doust has published five non-fiction books about craft and fashion: The Crafty Minx, The Crafty Kid, A Life In Frocks: A Memoir, Minxy Vintage \u00a0and\u00a0The Crafty Minx At Home.\u00a0Her latest book, Precious Things, is an intricate mystery entwining love, desire and fashion. She has a background in book publishing and publicity, and has worked in the UK, Hong Kong and Australia and freelanced for magazines such as Vogue, The Australian Women\u2019s Weekly and Sunday Life Magazine. She currently lives in Sydney, Australia with her husband and daughter. Kelly Doust now answers the Booktopia Book Guru’s Ten Terrifying Questions. To begin with why don\u2019t you tell us a little bit about yourself – where were you born? Raised? Schooled? I was born in Perth but mostly raised in Sydney. Our family moved around a lot when I was young so I went to lots of different schools. It makes you quite adaptable but also very restless. What did you want to be when you were twelve, eighteen and thirty? And why? I’ve wanted to be a writer since I was small, although when I was twelve I probably dreamed of being an air hostess more than anything. It…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":59099,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":""},"categories":[4,24,118,6676,6714,62,73],"tags":[3034,6715,5184],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/Social-Media-Image.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59091"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/17"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=59091"}],"version-history":[{"count":26,"href":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59091\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":67497,"href":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59091\/revisions\/67497"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/59099"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=59091"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=59091"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=59091"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}