I recently read & reviewed Soup in The City by
Kelly Hollingsworth. Kelly has kindly taken time out of her busy schedule to grant me a blog interview!
Bookworm: What inspired you to write "Soup In The City"?
Kelly: I started writing this book in January 2008, just as our financial markets were careening into their current skid, and I was getting deeper and deeper into my own personal version of mortgage hell (like Avery, I’m learning to deal with a new financial reality since I lost my hedge fund job). I was inspired to write the book after reading an article in the New York Times about how Manhattan ’s fashionable elite are scaling back in response to the end of America ’s economic heyday. I wanted to explore how one girl would cope with the new austerity, and maybe learn a few things along the way.
Bookworm: What was the hardest thing about writing this book? How long did it take you to write?
Any plans for a sequel?
Kelly:
As far as books go, this one was fairly painless, because I enjoyed the subject matter and the main character so much. But writing books is never easy, so “fairly painless” in this context is probably like having a four-hour labor instead of a thirty-hour ordeal. Writing and re-writing took about six months, followed by a few months of editing, and the book was “born” in late August 2008.
For me, the hardest part of any book is the end, tying up the plot in a way that’s authentic to the character and satisfying to the reader.
I miss Avery, so a sequel is forthcoming soon!
Bookworm: Avery really made me laugh. I think she's funny & smart, and she's one tough cookie. Is her character based on someone you know?
Kelly:
She’s based on someone I’d like to know. I admire how she dives into whatever she’s doing, however misguided it might be, without much agonizing or soul-searching. She just rolls up her sleeves and gets to work. This characteristic initially is her downfall, but when she learns to channel her energies in the right ways, it winds up being her saving grace. She’s also adept at grabbing on to serendipity when it flies by, which means she’s always going someplace.
Bookworm: Avery loves watching episodes of "Sex and The City" and there's several references to the show in your book. Are you a fan of the show as well?
Kelly:
I love the show, the characters, the writing (especially in the later episodes), and how New York City is so beautifully portrayed. Over the years, Carrie Bradshaw and her friends have become our friends, and the show is fantastic in that respect. On the other hand, sometimes it seems that watching those girls live their magical lives makes the rest of us feel even more isolated by comparison. I wanted to explore this idea in Soup in the City, so Avery’s feelings are similarly conflicted. Because Avery is lonely in the beginning of the story, she spends a lot of time with the girls from Sex and the City. Occasionally she’s resentful and sarcastic about them (such as when she realizes that not even Carrie Bradshaw could possibly live like Carrie Bradshaw), but she’s also in awe of their friendships and their opportunities, and she wants some of that for herself. I think we all do on some level, which probably explains the show’s great impact and resonance. It also could explain why a lot of us have way too many shoes and way too much credit card debt.
Bookworm: What message do you want your readers to grasp when they read your book?
Kelly:
That authenticity is attractive--people are drawn to it, which Avery is very surprised to discover. Also, that too much money (or worse, too much credit) can breed neurotic perfectionism that keeps us from seeing what’s really beautiful in life—we miss out on a lot when we spend our days running around from appointment to appointment trying to become perfect. Last, obsessively trying to lose weight can be a big obstacle to weight loss. When Avery learns to eat what she wants and quits trying to diet so strictly, her weight takes care of itself.
Bookworm: Who are your favorite authors and what is it that really strikes you about their work?
Kelly:
Geneen Roth is a constant source of inspiration for me. She is so smart and funny and wise about food, body image and dieting. I firmly believe that anyone who struggles with emotional or obsessive eating (or not eating) should keep at least one of her books on the nightstand at all times. My favorite is “When you Eat at the Refrigerator, Pull up a Chair.”
Judith Martin, aka Miss Manners, is simply the most entertaining writer I’ve ever read. She’s perfectly dry, perfectly knowledgeable and perfectly perfect. My copy of “Miss Manners’ Guide to Excruciatingly Correct Behavior” was so rumpled I had to buy a new hard cover. I love to give this book as a wedding gift.
I also read a lot of books about writing. Some of my favorite writing books are by Sol Stein, Renni Browne and Donald Maass. I love how they get to the heart of what makes writing bad, and what makes it good, and how to improve.
Bookworm: Do you have any advice for other writers?
Kelly:
Expect it to be hard, and learn to enjoy the difficulty. When it gets fun, you’ll be so shocked and exhilarated you won’t want to do anything else.
If you want to feel good, don’t be a writer. Review your work with a harsh eye. When it stinks, hit the books and figure out why. Also, look for and welcome criticism wherever you can get it. When other people take the time (and risk their relationship with you) to comment on your work, honor the risk they are taking and listen for the criticism, no matter how deeply it’s buried. Then put your hurt feelings aside and heed the advice.
Also, writing is about writing. In other words, a writer is someone who sits down and writes, just about every day. Writing does not include talking about writing (even if the talking occurs in a writer’s group), or thinking about writing, or doing anything that doesn’t result in words on a page. Television and the Internet are a writer’s worst enemies in this regard.
As a final point, coffee and carbohydrates seem to fuel the writing cog. I wish this weren’t the case, but I fear it’s a universal law of nature from which there is no escape.
Bookworm: Last but not least, if you were stranded on a deserted island, and were allowed to bring 3 items with you, what would they be?
Kelly:
A laptop. Sex and the City--Seasons 1 through 6. Definitely a toothbrush.
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Thank you for taking the time to answer my questions Kelly. This has been a great interview.
If you haven't read Soup in the City yet, I recommend it! I am glad to hear there's a sequel in the works.
Visit Kelly's website here.
