Annie Hauxwell, author of A Bitter Taste, answers Ten Terrifying Questions

Posted on May 23, 2013 by John Purcell, The Booktopia Book Guru

a-bitter-tasteThe Booktopia Book Guru asks

Annie Hauxwell

author of A Bitter Taste

Ten Terrifying Questions

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1. To begin with why don’t you tell us a little bit about yourself – where were you born? Raised? Schooled?

I was born in Hackney, East London. My family emigrated to Australia when I was 14, and I finished my schooling in the southern suburbs of Melbourne. I’ve spent most of my adult life travelling backwards and forwards between London and Australia.

2. What did you want to be when you were 12, 18 and 30? And why?

At 12 I wanted to be was far, far away from where I was, and preferably somewhere I was rich and glamorous . I can’t remember wanting to be anything at 18, except drunk or stoned, and at 30 I wanted to be an academic. What a come down.

3. What strongly held belief did you have at 18 that you do not have now?

That Mao Tse -Tung thought he would liberate the international proletariat.

4. What were three works of art – book or painting or piece of music, etc – you can now say, had a great effect on you and influenced your own development as a writer?ahx_small

At 18 (during a brief moment when I wasn’t drunk or stoned) I heard Jacqueline Du Pré play Elgar’s Cello Concerto in E Minor.  It was the first time that music, or art of any kind, had moved me to tears. Patrick White’s ‘Riders in the Chariot’, had a revelatory effect on me because it changed my understanding of what literature was for, and what it was about. Djuna Barnes ‘Nightwood’ made a deep impression on me because it made me realise what was possible with the written word.

A long time after these experiences I realised that communicating an extraordinary emotional experience requires restraint and great  discipline. However, I wouldn’t have the cheek to say that any of the above really influenced me as a writer. I wish.

5 . Considering the innumerable artistic avenues open to you, why did you choose to write a novel?

I had written a number of feature screenplays and got sick of them languishing in development hell. A novel seemed to be the way to go, as I could do it on my own, nobody would try to impose their ‘vision’ on it, and it wouldn’t take three years to raise the money to produce the finished article.

a-bitter-taste6 . Please tell us about your latest novel…

London is in the grip of a stifling heatwave. The city’s junkies are in the grip of a drought of a different kind. A strung-out ghost from investigator Catherine Berlin’s past turns up on her doorstep and an unpaid debt leaves her with no choice but to look for the woman’s missing ten-year-old daughter.

Corrupt detectives are on Berlin’s tail chasing drugs she doesn’t have, a young girl is murdered and the matrimonial case she’s been working on unravels. The temperature keeps rising.

From the publisher:

Treachery becomes a habit.

London is in the grip of a stifling heatwave. The city has slowed to a claustrophobic shuffle. Heroin-addicted investigator Catherine Berlin suffers while working the lowest of investigations: matrimonial.

The city’s junkies are in the grip of a drought of a different kind. Sonja Kvist a strung-out ghost from Berlin’s past, turns up on her doorstep. Sonja daughter is missing. An unpaid debt leaves Berlin no choice but to take the case of the missing ten-year-old.

Berlin is back. And soon the hunter becomes the hunted: corrupt detectives are on Berlin’s tail chasing drugs she doesn’t have, a young girl is murdered and the matrimonial case unravels.

And the temperature keeps rising.

Click here to buy A Bitter Taste from Booktopia,
Australia’s Local Bookstore

7 . What do you hope people take away with them after reading your work?

The sense of satisfaction that comes from having a good read.

8 . Whom do you most admire in the realm of writing and why?

Dickens, because he’s a fantastic storyteller and he endures.  Patrick White, because he changes the way you think about Australia as a place in the imagination. Virginia Woolf, because she changed writing. I also really admire authors who can produce a well-written ‘series’, consistently providing an engaging plot, a strong sense of place and an evolving protagonist: people like James Lee Burke, Donna Leon, Patricia Highsmith, Philip Kerr and Peter Temple.

9 . Many artists set themselves very ambitious goals. What are yours?

Sell a book. Sell another book.

10 . What advice do you give aspiring writers?

Sit down.

Annie, thank you for playing.

Click here to buy A Bitter Taste from Booktopia,
Australia’s Local Bookstore

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Mandy Magro, author of Flame Tree Hill, answers Six Sharp Questions

Posted on May 21, 2013 by John Purcell, The Booktopia Book Guru

flame-tree-hillThe Booktopia Book Guru asks

Mandy Magro

author of Flame Tree Hill and more…

Six Sharp Questions

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1. Congratulations, you have a new book. What is it about and what does it mean to you?

Thanks, I’m thrilled to see Flame Tree Hill hitting the marketplace! Kirsty Mitchell is involved in a terrible accident which haunts her to this very day. Returning to Flame Tree Hill after three years spent overseas she finds herself coming face to face with her past demons, the man she has loved since she was a teenager and the absolute terror of being told she has breast cancer. Kirsty has never been a quitter, and that isn’t about to change. Drawing from the strength of her family and friends while immersing herself in the beauty of FNQ she fights the cancer with everything she has. That is, until she reveals an earth-shattering secret and the budding relationship she’s begun with local vet, Aden, begins to crumble.

This novel means everything to me, and more. My best friend, Joanne Jackson, was the inspiration behind this story. She has battled breast cancer, not once but twice, and won! I gathered my research from journals she had kept throughout her cancer journey, and found myself writing through quite a few tears as I relived her terrifying journey through her own written words. It helped make Flame Tree Hill the powerful story it is, I think.

Click here to buy Flame Tree Hill from Booktopia,
Australia’s Local Bookstore

2 Times pass. Things change. What are the best and worst moments that you have experienced in the past year or so?

I’ve had a few highs and lows over the past year, in my career and in my personal life. The lowest moment was when I experienced my third miscarriage in a matter of two years. But my hubby and I haven’t given up, and we will keep trying until we have another little addition to our wonderful family! My high note was working with Adam Brand to have him as a character in my next novel, Driftwood. It was great fun. Oh, and also spending three months over in the UK…a very memorable trip.

3. Do you have a favourite quote or passage you would be happy to share with us? It doesn’t need to be deep but it would be great if it meant something to you.681

Don’t waste time counting the seconds, instead make every second count.

4. Writers have often been described as being difficult to live with. Do you conform to the stereotype or defy it? Please tell us a little about the day to day of your writing life.

I don’t think I’m that hard to live with, other than my fanatical cleanliness. My poor hubby is forever asking me where I’ve moved things to and I simply reply “where it goes”. Other than that I’m a pretty easy-going person. I don’t really have a set routine when it comes to my writing, I just do it when I can, as often as I can and wherever I can – writing, that is!

5. Some writer’s claim not to be influenced by the needs of the marketplace, while others seem obsessed by it. Would you please describe how the marketplace affects your writing (come on, tell the truth!).

I’m sorry, I’m going to be a bit tedious here and say that I write from the heart. I cannot write something if I don’t feel it. I do believe I may have to one day move away from the rural romance genre, if the huge desire for it peters out. But, at the moment, it’s where I’m in my happy place, writing Australian rural romance with my hero being a sexy, rough-around-the-edges cowboy.

jacaranda6. Unlikely Scenario: You’ve been charged with civilising 20 ill-educated adolescents but you may take only five books with you. What do you take and why?

Where did I come from? by Peter Mayle - just to eek them out and catch their attention!

Follow Your Heart by Andrew Matthews – to give them some positive things to think about.

Jamie’s 15 Minute Meals – to teach them how to cook without it taking forever (although the clean up seems to take me over an hour! Jamie didn’t put that in his book!)

Outdoor Survival Guide by Dave Pearce – I reckon kids spend too much time indoors these days and need to get back to basics!

A diary each – to express all those adolescent emotions!

Mandy, thank you for playing.

Click here to buy Flame Tree Hill from Booktopia,
Australia’s Local Bookstore

Filed under: Australian Author, Author Interview | Tagged: , , | 1 Comment »

Lorraine Elliott, author of Not Quite Nigella, answers Ten Terrifying Questions

Posted on May 16, 2013 by John Purcell, The Booktopia Book Guru

not-quite-nigellaThe Booktopia Book Guru asks

Lorraine Elliott

author of Not Quite Nigella

Ten Terrifying Questions

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1.To begin with why don’t you tell us a little bit about yourself – where were you born? Raised? Schooled?

I was born in Darlinghurst, Sydney, and raised in Maroubra and then Kensington. I went to school at Sydney Girls’ High School where I was an average student at best!

2.What did you want to be when you were 12, 18 and 30? And why?

At 12, I wanted to be a beautician because I loved the idea of beautifying people or making them feel better. At 18, I knew that I didn’t want to become a psychologist despite the fact that I was studying it at university (alarm, yes!) and at 30, I thought I wanted to be an Advertising Media Director until I was told that I just really wasn’t ready to be that for another ten years or so.

3.What strongly held belief did you have at 18 that you do not have now?

When I was younger, I saw the world in black and white, good and bad and now I realise that people are really a mix of both but that most people try to be good.xl-lorraine-elliott-not-qui-460x458

4.What were three works of art – book or painting or piece of music, etc – you can now say, had a great effect on you and influenced your own development as a writer?

I didn’t realise it at the time but Nigella Lawson’s Nigella Bites and How To Be a Domestic Goddess were really what I used as a template. Nigella has her own unmistakable voice but Nigella Bites was also a cookbook with fun -the Kitsch chapter for example. And How To Be a Domestic Goddess was devoted to baking, an exploit which I am similarly enamoured of.

5.Considering the innumerable artistic avenues open to you, why did you choose to write a novel?

Quite honestly, I can’t sing or dance and I’m tone deaf! I never thought that I enjoyed writing until I started blogging and I’m in love with words all over again.

not-quite-nigella6.Please tell us about your latest book…

It’s a memoir based on my life before and during the blog. It details how I went from a corporate job to finding something that I truly love. It’s not a cookbook but there are about a dozen recipes slotted in at the end of chapters where appropriate.

Click here to buy Not Quite Nigella from Booktopia,
Australia’s Local Bookstore

7.What do you hope people take away with them after reading your work?

I hope they understand blogging a bit more, are entertained and perhaps inspired!

8.Whom do you most admire in the realm of writing and why?

There are so many great authors that it’s hard to pin point one that I admire. But I do love J.K. Rowling because she has such a wonderful imagination and created a world in which I wanted to dwell.

9.Many artists set themselves very ambitious goals. What are yours?

It may sound disingenuous but I haven’t really set myself up with any goals. I think goals can almost limit you. That doesn’t mean to say that I’m not ambitious, but my ambition is to blog well and choose the right opportunities for myself, but I don’t have any set ambitions.

10.What advice do you give aspiring writers?

Never give up. And it’s never too late to discover that you love writing.

Lorraine, thank you for playing.

Click here to buy Not Quite Nigella from Booktopia,
Australia’s Local Bookstore

Filed under: Australian Author, Author Interview, Biography/Memoir, Food and drink, Non Fiction, Women, Writing tips | Tagged: , , , | Leave a Comment »

Honey Brown, author of Dark Horse, answers Ten Terrifying Questions

Posted on May 13, 2013 by John Purcell, The Booktopia Book Guru

dark-horseThe Booktopia Book Guru asks

Honey Brown

author of Dark Horse and more…

Ten Terrifying Questions

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1. To begin with why don’t you tell us a little bit about yourself – where were you born? Raised? Schooled?

I was born in Traralgon, Victoria. The family travelled around when I was young, then we moved to Tasmania, Campbell Town, into a convict built house near the historic Red Bridge. I finished primary school at Campbell Town, attended secondary there, and moved into Launceston for year 11. Then I shifted back to Victoria for work.

2. What did you want to be when you were 12, 18 and 30? And why?

When I was 12, I wanted to be an actress. Stories played out like movies in my mind, and I assumed this meant I wanted to act in movies. At 18 I was working at a chemist and saving up to travel, not career-minded at all. At 30 I was in a difficult period of my life, recovering from an accident that damaged my spine, so I was only thinking day-to-day and not too far beyond that.

3. What strongly held belief did you have at 18 that you do not have now?

I believed insecurities were flaws. Now I believe they are a part of what makes a person interesting and unique.honey brown

4. What were three works of art – book or painting or piece of music, etc – you can now say, had a great effect on you and influenced your own development as a writer?

The three books that were beside my computer when I wrote my first novel – James Dickey’s Deliverance, Tim Winton’s Dirt Music, The Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson. I would dip into those books all the time, for a reminder of pace, or what good prose looked like, for clarity, for a warm-up, for feel and texture, different things from each book. Each novel I write I always have a couple of books I lean on in this way. But these three helped me create my first published novel, Red Queen, so their influence is especially profound.

5. Considering the innumerable artistic avenues open to you, why did you choose to write a novel?

I’m not sure it’s something I got to choose. I didn’t study creative writing, I didn’t dream of being an author, all I know is I have stories turning in my mind, and the most enjoyable and natural way for me to get them out is to write. If I didn’t write, they wouldn’t develop fully. On the page is where they come to life.

dark-horse6. Please tell us about your latest novel…

Dark Horse is about a woman and her horse trapped on a mountain with a dangerous stranger. I was thinking about the idea of playing along with a dangerous person in order to lessen a threat. When fleeing or fighting isn’t an option, when you have to depend on the very person you fear, how far would you go to keep the peace? Intimacy, distrust, sex and survival, it’s about all those things. There’s also a twist. It’s the first twist I’ve ever written.

From the publisher:
It’s Christmas morning on the edge of the rugged Mortimer Ranges. Sarah Barnard saddles Tansy, her black mare. She is heading for the bush, escaping the reality of her broken marriage and her bankrupted trail-riding business.

Sarah seeks solace in the ranges. When a flash flood traps her on Devil Mountain, she heads to higher ground, taking shelter in Hangman’s Hut.

She settles in to wait out Christmas.

A man, a lone bushwalker, arrives. Heath is charming, capable, handsome. But his story doesn’t ring true. Why is he deep in the wilderness without any gear? Where is his vehicle? What’s driving his resistance towards rescue? The closer they become the more her suspicions grow.

But to get off Devil Mountain alive, Sarah must engage in this secretive stranger’s dangerous game of intimacy.

Click here to buy Dark Horse from Booktopia,
Australia’s Local Bookstore

7. What do you hope people take away with them after reading your work?

Vivid images. More than anything I want them to see the scenes and the characters, for my words create pictures in their mind. I hope my stories feel real to them.after the darkness

8. Whom do you most admire in the realm of writing and why?

Joyce Carol Oats. It might have more to do with envy. Stories pour from her, her themes are bold, she’s an academic as well as creative, nothing seems too hard for her, she can write on such a grand scale, her intelligence leaps from the page.

9. Many artists set themselves very ambitious goals. What are yours?

For me, being an artist has a lot to do with being a realist. Fiction is more about being honest than what readers might imagine. Feelings, in particular, have to be true, you have to strip away the surface layer and get to the heart of things. It’s a revealing process, and the reason why showing your writing can be confronting. I’d love to have a worldwide bestseller, but it’s not a goal. My goal is to keep enjoying the writing.

10. What advice do you give aspiring writers?

Respect your reader. Write a story that will entertain them.

Honey Brown, thank you for playing.

Click here to buy Dark Horse from Booktopia,
Australia’s Local Bookstore

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sbkGjjary8g

Filed under: Australian Author, Author Interview, Book Trailer, Fiction, Thriller, Writing tips | Tagged: , , , | 1 Comment »

Hannah Kent, author of Burial Rites, answers Ten Terrifying Questions

Posted on May 10, 2013 by John Purcell, The Booktopia Book Guru

 burial-ritesThe Booktopia Book Guru asks

Hannah Kent

author of Burial Rites

Ten Terrifying Questions

 ——————————–

1. To begin with why don’t you tell us a little bit about yourself – where were you born? Raised? Schooled?

I was the first baby born in Adelaide on the Easter Sunday of 1985. My parents raised me and my little sister amid the gums and oak trees of the Adelaide Hills, where I spent a lot of my time running around in paddocks, building cubbies, and attending the local schools. I had an idyllic childhood.

2. What did you want to be when you were twelve, eighteen and thirty? And why?

An easy question! I’ve had an unwavering desire to be a writer since I was very small. By the time I was twelve it was certainly a burning ambition – I started my own newspaper, called The Owl, which I distributed to about fifteen friends, publishing articles and stories. Unfortunately the little newspaper had long folded by the time I reached eighteen, but I was still keenly writing poems, stories and plays. I was in Iceland for most of my eighteenth year, and the long hours of darkness in winter were very amenable to long hours spent scribbling. I’m not yet thirty – I have about three years to go before I get there – but no doubt I’ll still want to write then, too. I can’t not write. It’s as simple as that.

3. What strongly held belief did you have at eighteen that you do not have now?

I believed I knew myself completely, that I would never surprise myself. I believed my character to be static. Now I know this to be false: we can never understand ourselves wholly. There is always the possibility of change, of re-creation, and of growth, particularly when confronted with hardship. I now believe in the continual evolution of selfhood, and that we are all far more complicated than we believe ourselves to be.

4. What were three works of art – book or painting or piece of music, etc – you can now say, had a great effect on you and influenced your own development as a writer?authorHannahKent

The first book that impacted me in a lasting way was Little Women by Louise M. Alcott. I read it on the brink of adolescence, and loved the characters so much that I kept re-reading it, almost as if it were a manifesto – I found comfort in the wholesome themes of kindness and morality. It was the first book I read where the characters became as dear to me as my real friends. Little Women was also the book where I started to seriously consider the idea of a writing career, probably because I saw myself in Jo.

More recently I’ve found that music, particularly that of singer-songwriters such as Laura Marling, influences my writing. I have a lot of admiration for the way in which these musicians can convey whole narratives in a few short lyrics. I admire the concision that requires; their ability to give a three-minute song such incredible depth of feeling. It’s like aural Impressionism – it’s all about suggestion and atmosphere. It inspires me to attempt the same in my writing.

5. Considering the innumerable artistic avenues open to you, why did you choose to write a novel?

I ought to confess something. When I first decided to write the story that would become Burial Rites, it was going to be a verse novel. The first lines I wrote of the story were poems. I soon discovered, however, that it’s not so easy to convey the unfamiliar world of nineteenth-century Iceland – the setting of my book – to a reader in a few concise stanzas. The novel form, on the other hand, offered me the opportunity to more completely build this strange and unfamiliar world. It gave me the space I needed to plumb the story and its possibilities as deeply as possible.

burial-rites6. Please tell us about your latest novel…

In 1829, in Iceland’s far north, a servant woman called Agnes Magnusdottir was found guilty of murdering her employer as he lay sleeping. Immediately condemned by the small community she grew up in, she was sentenced to death. My novel, Burial Rites, is based on these true events.

In my book, the story begins with Agnes being taken to the small farm of Kornsa, where she is to remain in custody until the date of her execution. Here she meets the farmer, his wife, and their two daughters. Horrified to have a convicted murderess in their midst, the family avoid speaking with Agnes. Only Tóti, the young assistant priest appointed as her spiritual guardian, is compelled to try and understand her. As winter descends and the hardships of rural life force everyone to work side by side, the family’s attitude to Agnes starts to change, until one night, she begins to tell her side of the story, and they realise that all is not as they had assumed…

I first heard the story of ‘the Illugastadir murders’ when I was living in Iceland as an exchange student. Struck by what I thought was the unfair representation of Agnes as a ‘monster’ – an undoubtedly evil, manipulative schemer – in most records, I researched her life story and wrote Burial Rites out of a desire to find her humanity.

Click here to buy Burial Rites from Booktopia,
Australia’s Local Bookstore

7. What do you hope people take away with them after reading your work?

I hope that Agnes remains with them long after they turn the final page. Her story has haunted me for ten years, and by the time I completed the first draft she was as vivid and as close to me as any member of my family. I hope readers are similarly haunted. I hope she lingers for them, and that they are reminded anew of the ways in which history is fallible, and all stories unreliable.

8. Whom do you most admire in the realm of writing and why?independent-people

That’s a tough question! There are many authors I deeply admire, and whose work I return to again and again, for very different reasons. Margaret Atwood is an author I adore – I have immense respect for her command of language, and the intelligence behind even the most (seemingly) straightforward of her narratives. I think Angela Carter was a genius. I admire authors who can offer insight into the human condition; who write books that give you heart-stopping moments of I thought that was just me. For me, those books have included those by Virginia Woolf and Janet Frame. Thomas Hardy is a favourite, as is Halldor Laxness. Annie Proulx was an inspiration when I was younger. I’ve become very enthusiastic about Hilary Mantel, Emma Donoghue, Edward St Aubyn and Ron Rash in recent years. Gosh, there are so many – these are only some who come to mind.

9. Many artists set themselves very ambitious goals. What are yours?

My most recent goal was to be published before I was thirty. Now that I’m in the very fortunate position of having attained that, I’m looking forward to challenging myself in new ways. I would love to be able to speak several languages. At the moment I’m trying Swedish.

10. What advice do you give aspiring writers?

To be a writer I think you must, first and foremost, be a reader. Read as much as possible, as often as possible. Remember to be professional, and foster discipline. Write even when you feel uninspired. Be aware. Practice empathy.

Hannah, thank you for playing.

Click here to buy Burial Rites from Booktopia,
Australia’s Local Bookstore

Filed under: Australian Author, Booktopia, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Women, Writing tips | Tagged: , , | Leave a Comment »

Kelly Doust, author of The Crafty Minx at Home, answers Ten Terrifying Questions

Posted on May 2, 2013 by John Purcell, The Booktopia Book Guru

the-crafty-minx-at-homeThe Booktopia Book Guru asks

Kelly Doust

author of The Crafty Minx at Home
and more

Ten Terrifying Questions

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1. To begin with why don’t you tell us a little bit about yourself – where were you born? Raised? Schooled?

I was born in Perth but raised mostly in Sydney’s Inner West. Our family moved around a lot when we were children so I attended something like seven or eight different schools. This made me adaptable, but also gave me quite a restless, wandering spirit.

2. What did you want to be when you were twelve, eighteen and thirty? And why?

From the age of about six or seven I wanted to write and starting making up short stories and prose for my family (most memorably, a poem imaginatively titled ‘My dog’ when our beloved childhood pet died). My dream of being a writer never really changed, but I’ve certainly had a few failed careers in the interim. I’ve finished exactly one year of a hairdresser’s apprenticeship, and I never quite cut it in the corporate world. I also thought that if I couldn’t write, I’d study to be a fashion designer. I might still do that one day.

3. What strongly held belief did you have at eighteen that you do not have now?

The better question would be what strongly-held belief didn’t I have… the older I get, the more I realise that life is less black & white than I thought it was then, and people are much more complex and fascinating than I ever gave them credit for. I’m friends with people who vote differently, follow religion, and even listen to different music than me these days.

I did think I’d never marry or have children, though. I was wrong.

4. What were three big events – in the family circle or on the world stage or in your reading life, for example – you can now say, had a great effect on you and influenced you in your career path?Kelly-Doust-2-web

Apart from my dog dying?

- My father taught me to read before school, and fed me novels from an early age. I remember reading John Irving’s A Prayer for Owen Meany when I was about twelve, and it was like the world of adult motivations and weirdness suddenly opened up for me. I realised how randomly strange, violent and beautiful they could be, and wanted to grow up and be one, like, immediately.

- I had a couple of seriously inspiring English teachers at the various schools I attended. They seemed to disagree with other members of the faculty who thought I was a hopeless case who’d never amount to anything (I had a maths teacher once who actually said this to me – in his defence, I was playing the class clown by pretending to chop off my tongue with a pair of scissors at the time, so he may have had a point). These two brave, wonderful women encouraged me to pursue writing.

- Several years ago I had a good job in an industry I loved, but wasn’t doing anything creative to speak of and I certainly wasn’t writing. Two things happened: a dear friend encouraged me to put a book proposal together, and I fell pregnant. Both gave me the courage to quit my job and start writing The Crafty Minx. I never thought I’d see a good side to the rubbish maternity leave provisions in Australia (which did improve somewhat after I left full-time employment) but if they had been better, I might not be writing now.

5. Considering the innumerable electronic media avenues open to you – blogs, online newspapers, TV, radio, etc – why have you chosen to write a book? aren’t they obsolete?

You’re trying to rile me, I can tell.

Other forms of entertainment are important (and distracting), but surely there will always be people who want to sink their teeth into something as meaty as a full-length book? I don’t think anything can replace the beauty of books as objects to covet, touch and possess. Especially illustrated titles, which only grow more tailored and exceptional as time wears on.

This is probably a good time to point out my books are also sold as e-books, and look lovely on e-readers.

the-crafty-minx-at-home6. Please tell us about your latest book…

The Crafty Minx at Home: 50+ handmade and recycled objects for beautiful living is about the things closest to my heart: living the handmade life and appreciating the beauty of vintage objects. It also shares the joy in making things yourself and sharing them with loved ones.

From the Publisher:

A gorgeous guide to creating an original, appealing and handmade home, The Crafty Minx at Home is all about the joy of making things by hand so as to create a uniquely personal home around your favourite people.

Sharing her passion for making and collecting special items for decoration and use within the home, Kelly Doust shows readers how to make and collect for a lifetime and longer, creating the treasured family heirlooms of tomorrow. Featuring 50+ immediately do-able craft projects and a wealth of advice on how to source beautiful vintage items and materials in flea markets, charity shops and auction houses, plus tips on how to display and use them in your home, The Crafty Minx at Home is a pretty, inspiring and practical guide to making, collecting and transforming handmade and vintage objects for the home.

Revel in the joys of a home-made life, times shared with family and friends, and the joy of making and feathering your nest with exquisite handmade or vintage items to feed both heart and soul, with The Crafty Minx at Home.

7. If your work could change one thing in this world – what would it be?

To make people more mindful of how unsustainable our culture of waste and want is, both spiritually and for the environment.

8. Whom do you most admire and why?

Anyone who stays true to themselves but manages to do so with respect for other people. In terms of famous identities, I really admire Jamie Oliver for his passion, ambition and success. He seems like a good person to me. And writers such as Jeannette Winterson, Lena Dunham, Jonathan Tropper and Annie Proulx blow me away with their insight and talent.fun-family-crafts

9. Many people set themselves very ambitious goals. What are yours?

My goals are no less ambitious. I’d like to make a living as a writer for the rest of my days, and see my books translated into different languages all over the world. I also wish I could live between Europe and Australia in future, and be an exceptional mother. Is that too much to ask?

10. What advice do you give aspiring writers?

Read, especially in the genre you’d like to write in. And as the Nike tagline goes, just do it. Unfortunately, talking about writing doesn’t help put those words on the page. You have to actually sit down and put yourself through what can, at times, feel like an excruciating ordeal. Then you’ll have something to play with. Be prepared for it to be rubbish to begin with – it’s not possible to edit an empty page, and you will improve.

Also, don’t do it for any other reason than that you love it and feel like some part of you isn’t complete unless you’re able to write. Relatively speaking, there are very few massively successful authors in the world. If you’re in it for the money or status, you might find yourself brutally disillusioned. That said, failure’s the best instigator there is, so throw yourself into it with everything you’ve got.

Kelly, thank you for playing.

Filed under: Art, Australian Author, Author Interview, Booktopia, Craft, Design and Style, Non Fiction, Women, Writing tips | Tagged: , , , | Leave a Comment »

Janine Allis, author of The Secrets of My Success – the story of Boost Juice, juicy bits and all, answers Ten Terrifying Questions

Posted on April 11, 2013 by John Purcell, The Booktopia Book Guru

the-secrets-of-my-successThe Booktopia Guru asks

Janine Allis

author of The Secrets of My Success – the story of Boost Juice, juicy bits and all

Ten Terrifying Questions

1. To begin with why don’t you tell us a little bit about yourself – where were you born? Raised? Schooled?

I was born in the Ferntree Gully Hospital, in the east of Melbourne. I was raised in the semi rural (at the time) suburb of Knoxfield in a very small house. I shared a bedroom with my two sisters. I went to a tech college called Knox Technical College. It no longer exists. The school was very casual, we called the teachers by their first name and there were no uniforms.

2. What did you want to be when you were twelve, eighteen and thirty? And why?

At twelve, I just wanted to be in A grade for netball.

At 18 years old, I simply wanted to be a traveller having adventures all over the world.

By 30, I wanted my own business.

Funnily enough, I achieved all of the above.

3. What strongly held belief did you have at eighteen that you do not have now?Janine-allis-1

That I was invincible. That my friends will have my back and they are the most important people in the world.

I now know it is that family who you think are not very important when you are 18, who had then and has now, always got your back.

4. What were three big events – in the family circle or on the world stage or in your reading life, for example – you can now say, had a great effect on you and influenced you in your career path?

• Meeting David Puttnam (producer of Chariots of Fire, Midnight Express, Killing Fields ) on a boat in the Caribbean.

• It was David Puttnam, who was a friend of David Bowie (Janine worked on David Bowie’s yacht), who introduced me to the CEO of Village Roadshow, which stated my career in retail.

• From there I met my husband who is the most influential person in my life.

5. Considering the innumerable electronic media avenues open to you – blogs, online newspapers, TV, radio, etc – why have you chosen to write a book? Aren’t they obsolete?

History is re-written all the time. What I read about myself and the difference between the stories and reality is interesting. It is nice to trace the journey in my own words. Life goes by so quickly, and many people have helped me on my journey. I am hoping this book shows the human and faulty side of me. I want readers to have a laugh (normally at me) and with a bit of luck the reader will take something away, to help them in their life and business journey.

I believe there will be always a place for books. Maybe in 5-10 years they will not be in the printed form, but they will exist…what else are you going to do on a beach?

the-secrets-of-my-success6. Please tell us about your latest book…

My book is about my journey in my life from a young girl from the burbs to a woman in her late forties and changes I went through whilst creating this business called Boost. The start of the book is stories about my life, and the second part is tips and lessons that I wish I had known prior to starting Boost.

From the Publisher:
How do you turn a single juice bar into a global company with more than 6000 employees and $160 million in global sales? Ask Janine Allis. In The Secrets of My Success, Australia’s hottest entrepreneur tells the inside story of the growth of Boost Juice, including her personal journey from housewife with no formal business training to successful entrepreneur. Along the way, she discovered the 30 business and leadership tips she calls her ‘recipes for success’. The Secrets of My Success also explores how Allis’s personal philosophy based on a love for life has brought the company loyal customers and created satisfied, dedicated employees.

    -The perfect guide for budding entrepreneurs to reject the traditional wisdom that the only way to succeed in business is with a business degree
    -An inside look at the successful management and leadership philosophy of one of Australia’s greatest entrepreneurs
    -Includes a full-colour photo insert section.

For today’s entrepreneur looking for non-traditional paths to extreme success, The Secrets of My Success offers practical business and leadership wisdom combined with Allis’s own compelling personal story.

Click here to buy The Secrets of My Success from Booktopia,
Australia’s Local Bookstore

7. If your work could change one thing in this world – what would it be?

The growth in obesity and obesity related diseases has increased with the growth in fast food. I would hope that my work can contribute to people living a longer and healthier life.

8. Whom do you most admire and why?

I admire my mum, for her selflessness to me and my family.

I admire my husband for his incredible drive and passion.

In the business world, I admire Howard Schultz and Anita Roddick. Both these businesspeople have taken an idea, and created an iconic brand that has been a trailblazer in its respective field. No easy feat.

9. Many people set themselves very ambitious goals. What are yours?

We do BHAGS (Big Hairy Audacious Goals), which is to be the largest and most successful juice and smoothie bar in the world. I would say we have achieved this.

Also, to be the most loved and known brand in the world. We are still working on this one.

10. What advice do you give aspiring writers?

To be yourself, let “you” come through so the reader gets to know you, not your editor.

Janine, thank you for playing.

Click here to buy The Secrets of My Success from Booktopia,
Australia’s Local Bookstore

Filed under: Australian Author, Author Interview, Booktopia, Business & Management, Diet and Nutrition, Fitness, Non Fiction, Writing tips | Tagged: , , , | Leave a Comment »

Annabelle Brayley, editor of Bush Nurses, answers Ten Terrifying Questions

Posted on April 9, 2013 by John Purcell, The Booktopia Book Guru

The Booktopia Book Guru asks

Annabelle Brayley

editor of Bush Nurses

Ten Terrifying Questions

 —————————-

1. To begin with why don’t you tell us a little bit about yourself – where were you born? Raised? Schooled?

I was born and raised with four brothers on the western Darling Downs in Queensland; and schooled at the local state primary school then as a boarder at St Margaret’s Girls School, Brisbane.

2. What did you want to be when you were 12, 18 and 30? And why?

12: Not sure

18: Hair dresser- it appealed to my creative, chatty side I think. I liked the idea of hearing people’s stories and doesn’t everyone tell their hairdresser everything?

By 50: I wanted to be a published storyteller.

3. What strongly held belief did you have at 18 that you do not have now?

I believed people were lucky when I was young. Now I know you make your own luck by recognising opportunities and making the most of them.

4. What were three big events – in the family circle or on the world stage or in your reading life, for example – you can now say, had a great effect on you and influenced you in your career path?

1. My mother reading us The Hobbit and all the Australian children’s classics…Seven Little Australians, the Billabong books etc. when we were kids.

2. Reading Pieces of Blue by Kerry McGuiness. It was/is a really beautiful piece of writing about life in outback Australia. It inspired me to keep writing and pitching.

3 Mark Muller, Editor of RM William’s OUTBACK Magazine giving me a break and publishing my first story in the magazine in 2006.

5. Considering the innumerable electronic media avenues open to you – blogs, online newspapers, TV, radio, etc – why have you chosen to write a book? Aren’t they obsolete?

Absolutely not! Nothing beats the feel of a real book, actually physically turning the pages to journey through the story. It’s a partnership with the author that just doesn’t work electronically.

6. Please tell us about your latest book…

It’s a collection of stories about nurses who work/have worked in rural and remote areas of Australia. Their amazing stories, some of which are hair-raising, some funny, some sad, reflect the enormous contribution nurses have made to the medical, social and economic wellbeing and sustainability of the outback.

From The Publisher:

It takes something special to be a bush nurse working in rural and remote Australia. These remarkable women patch people up and keep them alive while waiting for the doctor to arrive. They drive the ambulances, operate the clinics and deliver the babies. They are on call around the clock and there are no days off. They often make do with whatever is at hand while working in some of the most isolated places on the planet.

Be they devastating family tragedies, close scrapes with bushfires or encounters with true larrikins of the outback, some stories will make your hair stand on end, others will make you laugh and some will make your cry. With tales from Birdsville to Bedourie, Oodnadatta to Uluru, you’ll be amazed at the courage and resourcefulness of these nurses who have been the backbone of medical practice in remote Australia for more than a hundred years.

Click here to buy Bush Nurses from Booktopia,
Australia’s Local Bookstore

7. If Bush Nurses could change one thing in this world – what would it be?

People’s understanding and appreciation of rural and remote nurses and the work they do in the outback. They are usually multi skilled and extraordinarily well qualified because of the broad range of their experience. Often they are the only immediate medical help available.

8. Whom do you most admire and why?

• Peter Ford (CEO Control Bionics)… brilliant, focused, compassionate, imaginative and courageous.

• Jessica Watson…young Australian yachtsman…focused, resilient, determined to follow her dream.

• The young Royals…displaying grace under the most extreme pressure.

9. Many people set themselves very ambitious goals. What are yours?

To make a living out of writing.

10. What advice do you give aspiring writers?

Don’t give up on your dream and write about what you know (unless you’re into fantasy). Keep pitching and recognise the potential of any opportunity presented to you.

Annabelle, thank you for playing.

Click here to buy Bush Nurses from Booktopia,
Australia’s Local Bookstore

Filed under: Australian Author, Author Interview, Biography/Memoir, Women, Writing tips | Tagged: , , | Leave a Comment »

Richard Beasley, author of Me and Rory Macbeath, answers Ten Terrifying Questions

Posted on April 9, 2013 by John Purcell, The Booktopia Book Guru

me-and-rory-macbeathThe Booktopia Book Guru asks

Richard Beasley

author of Me and Rory Macbeath and Hell Has Harbour Views…

Ten Terrifying Questions

—————————————-

1. To begin with why don’t you tell us a little bit about yourself – where were you born? Raised? Schooled?

I was born in Sydney, but my parents separated when I was very young, and my mother moved back to Adelaide. I grew up in the Adelaide suburbs, went to school there, then did law at Adelaide Uni and Sydney Uni.

2. What did you want to be when you were twelve, eighteen and thirty? And why?

At 12, I wanted to be a cricketer, a footballer, a tennis player, a golfer and an Olympian. Why? Because I really love sports. At 18 and 30, I wanted to be a writer. Why? Because I love books more.

3. What strongly held belief did you have at eighteen that you do not have now?beasleyrichard01

Two things – first, I thought I was a grown up and knew everything. It’s gradually become apparent that I don’t. Secondly, I believed firmly in the existence of a progressive, left of centre political party called the Australian Labor Party. It’s rarely sighted these days, and has become extinct in my home state of NSW.

4. What were three works of art – book or painting or piece of music, etc – you can now say, had a great effect on you and influenced your own development as a writer?

First, a cliché I know, but The Catcher in the Rye. When I was 15, I was Holden Caulfield. It was the first book I read that I wished I had written. Next, another cliché, The Great Gatsby. I studied it in Year 12. Hunter S Thompson typed it out, because he wanted to know what it was like to write like Fitzgerald. I memorised long passages of it, and bored a lot of young women in my late teens and 20’s with it, almost always while I was learning to drink like Fitzgerald. Thirdly, Jay McInerney’s Bright Lights, Big City. A wonderful novel about a disillusioned 20-something young professional in New York in the 1980’s. It was part of the inspiration for my first novel.

5. Considering the innumerable artistic avenues open to you, why did you choose to write a novel?

Can’t paint, sculpt, dance, sing, act, tell jokes etc. I am a hell of a cook though, but the hours would be awful.

me-and-rory-macbeath6. Please tell us about your latest novel…

Me and Rory Macbeath is the story of a growing friendship between two boys who meet at the start of one summer when they’re both twelve. They have the kind of fun together that kids did in summer in the 1970’s, but eventually their childhood is ended abruptly by a terrible event. In the trial that follows, the female defence counsel is the kind of barrister I wish I’d grown up to be, although I would smoke and drink less than her. The themes the book explores include friendship, bullying, domestic violence, and I think above all courage.

My publisher says it’s about this: Adelaide, 1977. The year Elvis died. And the year twelve-year-old Jake Taylor meets Rory Macbeath. Until then, Jake’s world was small, revolving around his street, his school, and the courthouse where his mum, Harry, was a barrister. His best friend lives only a few houses away.

For them daylight is for spinning a cricket ball, riding bikes around the neighbourhood and swimming at the pool until their skin is wrinkled and the zinc on their noses has washed away. But then Rory Macbeath moves into the red-brick house at the end of Rose Avenue and everything changes.

At first Jake has his doubts about Rory. But after long days and nights of swimming, fishing and daring each other into trouble, Jake discovers Rory has talents and courage beyond anyone he’s ever known. Then, early one evening, Rory disappears. And everyone on Rose Avenue is about to discover why.

For Jake and Rory, nothing will ever be the same.9780857980946

Click here to buy Me & Rory Macbeath  from Booktopia,
Australia’s Local Bookstore

7. What do you hope people take away with them after reading your work?

I hope they’re moved by the story, and that it stays with them for a while.

8. Whom do you most admire in the realm of writing and why?

For the greatness of their prose, Hilary Mantel and Cormac McCarthy. For making me fall off the couch laughing, Carl Hiassen. As a lawyer who loves legal thrillers, Scott Turow for being a very fine writer first, a master of that genre second. For creating the ultimate measuring stick for both a lawyer and a father, Harper Lee. For making my kids enjoy reading, I admire (but my admiration is not limited to) JK Rowling, Derek Landy, Lemony Snicket, Anthony Horowitz and Michael Morpurgo.

9. Many artists set themselves very ambitious goals. What are yours?

My goal doesn’t sound ambitious, but it is. I’d like to do more writing, less lawyering.

10. What advice do you give aspiring writers?

I’m arguably more qualified to give aspiring writers legal advice rather than writing advice. As legal advice is prohibitively expensive, and often wrong or confusing or both, I would use two simple words: “write” and “read”. It takes a lot of things to create a good novel, but you can’t write any kind of book without persistence, and a love of reading.

Richard, Thank you for playing.

Click here to buy Me & Rory Macbeath  from Booktopia,
Australia’s Local Bookstore

HA05_rory_bktp_770_v1STILL (465 x 121)

Filed under: Australian Author, Author Interview, Booktopia, Contemporary Literature, Fiction, Writing tips | Tagged: , , , | Leave a Comment »

Kate Forsyth, author of The Wild Girl, Bitter Greens and more, answers Five Facetious Questions

Posted on April 8, 2013 by John Purcell, The Booktopia Book Guru

the-wild-girlThe Booktopia Book Guru asks

Kate Forsyth

author of The Wild Girl, Bitter Greens
and many, many more…

Five Facetious Questions

1. Every writer spends at least one afternoon going from bookshop to bookshop making sure his or her latest book is facing out and neatly arranged. How far have you gone to draw attention to your own books in a shop?

I’ve trained every member of my family, from my mother to my youngest child, to turn my books cover outwards … not to mention the sneaky transfer to the Bestsellers shelf.

2. So you’re a published author, almost a minor celebrity and for some reason you’ve been let into a party full of ‘A-listers’ – what do you do?

Enjoy myself.

3. Some write because they feel compelled to, some are Artists and do it for the Muse, some do it for the cash (one buck twenty a book) and some do it because they think it makes them more attractive to the opposite sex – why do you do write? (NB: don’t say -‘cause I can’t sing, tap or paint!) Kate by tree sml

Because its my one true destiny. Trust me, you don’t do it for the cash!

4. Have you ever come to the end of writing a particularly fine paragraph, paused momentarily, chuffed with your own genius, only to find you’ve been sitting at the computer nude or with your dress half-way over your head or shaving cream on your face or toilet paper sticking out the back of your undies or paused to find that you’re singing We are the Champions at the top of your voice, having exchanged the words ‘we are’ for ‘I am’ and dropping an ‘s’?

No? Well, what’s your most embarrassing writing moment?

I often find myself writing half-nude … thanks to flashes of inspiration in the middle of the night … perhaps I should wear more to bed.

5. Rodin placed his thinker on the loo – where and/or when do you seem to get your best ideas?

A lot of my best ideas comes to me as dreams. I also like to walk every morning, as a kind of meditation in motion. Ideas will come, inspiration will strike … I can’t manage without it.

Filed under: Australian Author, Author Interview, Booktopia, Children's Fiction, Fantasy, Fiction, Historical Romance, Writing tips, Young Adult | Tagged: , , , | 1 Comment »

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