The 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?

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.

6. 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.

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.

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