{"id":72345,"date":"2017-05-16T15:24:16","date_gmt":"2017-05-16T04:24:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.booktopia.com.au\/?p=72345"},"modified":"2017-05-16T15:24:16","modified_gmt":"2017-05-16T04:24:16","slug":"inga-simpson-understory-love-affair-place","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/2017\/05\/16\/inga-simpson-understory-love-affair-place\/","title":{"rendered":"Inga Simpson: Understory is a love affair of place."},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-70939\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.booktopia.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/Screen-Shot-2017-04-06-at-6.49.59-pm.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"662\" height=\"99\" \/><\/p>\n<div id=\"yui_3_6_0_1_1494807297940_17\" class=\"yui3-widget yui3-tabview\">\n<div id=\"product-details\" class=\"yui3-tabview-content\">\n<div id=\"yui_3_6_0_1_1494807297940_290\" class=\"yui3-tabview-panel\">\n<div id=\"description\" class=\"yui3-tab-panel yui3-tab-panel-selected\">\n<p id=\"yui_3_6_0_1_1494807297940_289\">Inga Simpson began her career as a professional writer for government before gaining a PhD in creative writing. In 2011, she took part in the Queensland Writers Centre Manuscript Development Program and, as a result, Hachette Australia published her first novel, <i><a href=\"http:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/mr-wigg-inga-simpson\/prod9780733630194.html\">Mr Wigg<\/a>,<\/i> in 2013. <em><a href=\"http:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/nest-inga-simpson\/prod9780733637407.html\">Nest<\/a><\/em>, Inga&#8217;s second novel, was published in 2014, before being longlisted for the Miles Franklin Literary Award and the Stella Prize, and shortlisted for the ALS Gold Medal.<\/p>\n<p>Inga&#8217;s third novel, the acclaimed <a href=\"http:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/where-the-trees-were-inga-simpson\/prod9780733637858.html\"><em>Where The Trees Were<\/em><\/a>, was published in 2016. Inga won the final Eric Rolls Prize for her nature writing and recently completed a second PhD, exploring the history of Australian nature writers. <a href=\"http:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/understory-inga-simpson\/prod9780733635960.html\"><em>Understory<\/em><\/a>, released this month, is Inga&#8217;s first work of non-fiction.<\/p>\n<p>Inga now answers the Booktopia Guru&#8217;s Ten Terrifying Questions.<\/p>\n\n\t\t<style type=\"text\/css\">\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 {\n\t\t\t\tmargin: auto;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 .gallery-item {\n\t\t\t\tfloat: left;\n\t\t\t\tmargin-top: 10px;\n\t\t\t\ttext-align: center;\n\t\t\t\twidth: 33%;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 img {\n\t\t\t\tborder: 2px solid #cfcfcf;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 .gallery-caption {\n\t\t\t\tmargin-left: 0;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t\/* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes\/media.php *\/\n\t\t<\/style>\n\t\t<div id='gallery-1' class='gallery galleryid-72345 gallery-columns-3 gallery-size-medium'><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon portrait'>\n\t\t\t\t<img width=\"200\" height=\"300\" src=\"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/inga-simpson_19.jpg\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" \/>\n\t\t\t<\/dt><\/dl><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon portrait'>\n\t\t\t\t<img width=\"196\" height=\"300\" src=\"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/xunderstory.jpg.pagespeed.ic_.t4KQcLoGyi.jpg\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" \/>\n\t\t\t<\/dt><\/dl><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon portrait'>\n\t\t\t\t<img width=\"199\" height=\"300\" src=\"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/inga-simpson_10_LR.jpg\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" \/>\n\t\t\t<\/dt><\/dl><br style=\"clear: both\" \/>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><strong>1. To begin with why don\u2019t you tell us a little bit about yourself &#8211; where were you born? Raised? Schooled?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>I was born in Young, NSW, and grew up on a property near Grenfell, NSW \u2013 birthplace of Henry Lawson and Eric Rolls. Apart from four years in Canberra, I went to Grenfell Primary and then the Henry Lawson High School \u2013 a literary beginning perhaps.<\/p>\n<p><strong>2. What did you want to be when you were twelve, eighteen and thirty? And why?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>At 12 \u2013 a writer. It seemed like the most worthwhile thing I could do. Or maybe, a detective.<\/p>\n<p>At 18 \u2013 a translator. I was studying literature, two languages, and linguistics, so it seemed to add up (and I had stopped believing I could be a writer).<\/p>\n<p>At 30 \u2013 Director of Major Investigations in the agency where I worked. It was the natural progression up the ladder from where I found myself at that time. Or, maybe \u2013 a writer.<\/p>\n<p><strong>3. What strongly held belief did you have at eighteen that you do not have now?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>That chardonnay was not worth drinking.<\/p>\n<p><strong>4. What were three big events \u2013 in the family circle or on the world stage or in your reading life, for example \u2013 you can now say, had a great effect on you and influenced you in your career path?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>In my reading life: <a href=\"http:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/the-fellowship-of-the-ring-j-r-r-tolkien\/prod9780007488315.html\"><em>The Lord of the Rings<\/em><\/a>, <em>The Grass Sister<\/em> by Gillian Mears, and <a href=\"http:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/walden-and-civil-disobedience-henry-david-thoreau\/prod9780140390445.html\"><em>Walden and Civil Disobedience<\/em><\/a> by H.D. Thoreau.<\/p>\n\n\t\t<style type=\"text\/css\">\n\t\t\t#gallery-2 {\n\t\t\t\tmargin: auto;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-2 .gallery-item {\n\t\t\t\tfloat: left;\n\t\t\t\tmargin-top: 10px;\n\t\t\t\ttext-align: center;\n\t\t\t\twidth: 33%;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-2 img {\n\t\t\t\tborder: 2px solid #cfcfcf;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-2 .gallery-caption {\n\t\t\t\tmargin-left: 0;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t\/* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes\/media.php *\/\n\t\t<\/style>\n\t\t<div id='gallery-2' class='gallery galleryid-72345 gallery-columns-3 gallery-size-medium'><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon portrait'>\n\t\t\t\t<img width=\"194\" height=\"300\" src=\"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/519IxlUWDL._SX320_BO1204203200_.jpg\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" \/>\n\t\t\t<\/dt><\/dl><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon portrait'>\n\t\t\t\t<img width=\"196\" height=\"300\" src=\"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/xthe-fellowship-of-the-ring.jpg.pagespeed.ic_.6ygikBRnk_.jpg\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" \/>\n\t\t\t<\/dt><\/dl><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon portrait'>\n\t\t\t\t<img width=\"189\" height=\"300\" src=\"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/xwalden-and-civil-disobedience.jpg.pagespeed.ic_.8RRIS6wujt.jpg\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" \/>\n\t\t\t<\/dt><\/dl><br style=\"clear: both\" \/>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n<p><strong>5. Considering the innumerable electronic media avenues open to you &#8211; blogs, online newspapers, TV, radio, etc \u2013 why have you chosen to write a book?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>For me, escaping into a physical book for a few hours is still one of life\u2019s greatest pleasures. And book-length writing is my natural form, I think. Nature writing, too, is best read off-screen, preferably under a tree somewhere.<\/p>\n<p><strong>6. Please tell us about your latest book\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/understory-inga-simpson\/prod9780733635960.html\"><em>Understory: A Life With Trees<\/em><\/a> is my first work of non-fiction. It\u2019s a nature writing-memoir \u2013 or \u2018eco-memoir\u2019 as someone generously called it. It\u2019s about a decade I spent living in a little scrap of forest in Queensland\u2019s Sunshine Coast hinterland \u2013 and the ways it shaped my life.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s a love affair of place. Each chapter explores a particular species of tree, layering description, anecdote, and natural history with aspects of my own story \u2013 how I ended up there, and how I see the world. And how sometimes losing everything can be the best thing that happens to you.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/understory-inga-simpson\/prod9780733635960.html\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-72409\" title=\"Understory by Inga Simpson\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.booktopia.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/inga-in-blog-1.jpg\" alt=\"Understory by Inga Simpson\" width=\"668\" height=\"225\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>7. If your work could change one thing in this world \u2013 what would it be?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>For people to care about the natural world a little more. And to take responsibility for the future of this planet \u2013 it\u2019s our habitat, too.<\/p>\n<p><strong>8. Whom do you most admire and why?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>American nature writer, Rick Bass, for his sentences, but also for being able to put environmental advocacy ahead of his own writing and ego.<\/p>\n<p><strong>9. Many people set themselves very ambitious goals. What are yours?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>To be able to continue writing books \u2013 and for them to be read. To be remembered for my body of work.<\/p>\n\n\t\t<style type=\"text\/css\">\n\t\t\t#gallery-3 {\n\t\t\t\tmargin: auto;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-3 .gallery-item {\n\t\t\t\tfloat: left;\n\t\t\t\tmargin-top: 10px;\n\t\t\t\ttext-align: center;\n\t\t\t\twidth: 33%;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-3 img {\n\t\t\t\tborder: 2px solid #cfcfcf;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-3 .gallery-caption {\n\t\t\t\tmargin-left: 0;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t\/* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes\/media.php *\/\n\t\t<\/style>\n\t\t<div id='gallery-3' class='gallery galleryid-72345 gallery-columns-3 gallery-size-medium'><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon portrait'>\n\t\t\t\t<img width=\"194\" height=\"300\" src=\"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/nest.jpg\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" \/>\n\t\t\t<\/dt><\/dl><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon portrait'>\n\t\t\t\t<img width=\"194\" height=\"300\" src=\"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/xwhere-the-trees-were-1.jpg.pagespeed.ic_.pjW9sQ-DHb-1.jpg\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" \/>\n\t\t\t<\/dt><\/dl><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon portrait'>\n\t\t\t\t<img width=\"192\" height=\"300\" src=\"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/xmr-wigg.jpg.pagespeed.ic_.XEDWDEf1jt.jpg\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" \/>\n\t\t\t<\/dt><\/dl><br style=\"clear: both\" \/>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/search.ep?pn=1&amp;productType=917504&amp;author=Inga+Simpson&amp;list=9\">Discover Inga Simpson&#8217;s books<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>10. What advice do you give aspiring writers?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Read, read, read, and WRITE. Focus on your own process. I come across a lot of people who talk about being writers, but far fewer who are writing every day, editing, finishing the work in progress, sending it out, starting another.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Thank you for playing, Inga!<br \/>\n<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Inga Simpson began her career as a professional writer for government before gaining a PhD in creative writing. In 2011, she took part in the Queensland Writers Centre Manuscript Development Program and, as a result, Hachette Australia published her first novel, Mr Wigg, in 2013. Nest, Inga&#8217;s second novel, was published in 2014, before being longlisted for the Miles Franklin Literary Award and the Stella Prize, and shortlisted for the ALS Gold Medal. Inga&#8217;s third novel, the acclaimed Where The Trees Were, was published in 2016. Inga won the final Eric Rolls Prize for her nature writing and recently completed a second PhD, exploring the history of Australian nature writers. Understory, released this month, is Inga&#8217;s first work of non-fiction. Inga now answers the Booktopia Guru&#8217;s Ten Terrifying Questions. 1. To begin with why don\u2019t you tell us a little bit about yourself &#8211; where were you born? Raised? Schooled? I was born in Young, NSW, and grew up on a property near Grenfell, NSW \u2013 birthplace of Henry Lawson and Eric Rolls. Apart from four years in Canberra, I went to Grenfell Primary and then the Henry Lawson High School \u2013 a literary beginning perhaps. 2. What did you&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":72355,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":""},"categories":[4,6676,6703],"tags":[2598,2615,7514,7172,5184,7513],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/Untitled-design-30.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72345"}],"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\/24"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=72345"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72345\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":72422,"href":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72345\/revisions\/72422"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/72355"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=72345"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=72345"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=72345"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}