Author Confessions: Julia Kelly
On her tenth (!) novel, her greatest day as an author and the moment that changed her life.
There are certain writers whose books carry a hallmark, and it’s certainly true of Julia Kelly. When you open one of her novels, you know you’re going to get an emotional, charming story that enchants you with its setting and relatable characters. Her latest novel, The Dressmakers of London, out today, is exactly that.
The World War II era story follows two estranged sisters, Sylvia and Izzie, who have lived entirely different lives for the last fifteen years. When their mother dies unexpectedly, they’re shocked to hear that they’ve both inherited her dress shop, despite the fact that Izzie has been toiling at her mother’s side while Sylvia has turned her back on her family since she married a handsome doctor. With Izzie’s resentment building and her eventual conscription to the WAAF, the two sisters are forced to face the past in order to save the shop—and their relationship.
I began reading the book last week, and I ended up bringing it on vacation this week since I was immediately taken with the two sisters. The tension in the novel is palpable, and I’m dying to see how the book unfolds since Julia is such a skillful writer. Plus, with all of the stress unfolding in Washington, all I wanted to do was slip back in time, even if times were complicated then, too.
I asked Julia to tell us about her engaging new novel, her writing life and how she got her start.
Thanks for stopping by, Julia! Why did you choose to write about sisters in The Dressmakers of London?
Some of the most complex and rewarding relationships of my life have been my friendships with other women, so it’s little surprise that I have always been drawn to writing about the dynamics between women. However, when I was sitting down to write The Dressmakers of London, I realized that I had yet to explore the relationship between sisters, which felt like a big miss!
My younger sister and I are very close, and she is one of the most important people in my life. As I began dreaming up this book, my writer's imagination took over, and I wondered what it might be like to be one half of a pair of sisters who were estranged. That is where Izzie and Sylvia start out at the beginning of this book. There are old hurts and misunderstandings about the lives the other wants to leave. I felt a responsibility as a writer to help these two sisters find their way back to one another.
I love that!! The story is told through the two sisters writing letters to one another. Why did you choose the epistolary form? What was challenging about it?
Given how emotionally far apart Izzie and Sylvia at the beginning of The Dressmakers of London, I knew that healing their relationship would take some effort. I also suspected that Sylvia, who was more willing to open back up to her sister at the beginning, might get there faster than Izzie.
When Izzie is conscripted into the WAAF and sent to work on air bases as part of a barrage balloon unit, she needs Sylvia’s help running their family dress shop back in London. The shop and the physical distance between the sisters were both good reasons for having them begin to write letters to one another. I sometimes think people find it easier to write their thoughts and feelings than articulate them as part of a conversation, and Izzie definitely proved to be one of those people.
In terms of the difficulty of writing letters, it’s a skill—and one that I don’t use very often anymore! There were definitely some false starts as I got back into the habit.
You write historical fiction and you write mysteries. How is this book different from your previous novels and would you ever write a contemporary novel? Why or why not?
I like to think that no matter whether a reader picks up one of my historical novels or one of my Evelyne Redfern mysteries, they’ll find some common threads running through them. I often focus on ordinary women who are pushed into circumstances which reveal just how much they are capable of. I also like to write about female friends, as I mentioned above, and I always hope that readers are satisfied but a bit sad to see the characters go when they finish a book.
Although I love writing historical novels, I would never say no to contemporary-set books. For me, it’s all about the right idea coming along at the right time to create that incredible alchemy that is a good book.
What is your favorite time period to write about and why? Which of your books are set in that time?
I’ve focused mostly on World War II Britain for my novels and my mysteries so far. However, I’m a real magpie when it comes to reading for pleasure, and I find myself reading about a lot of different time periods. I have flirted with the idea of writing about the Victorian and Georgian eras, as well as the 1920s. Right now, however, the very early twentieth century has my attention as I work on a new book. Unfortunately, that’s about all I can say at this point!
What was your best day in publishing so far?
I quit my day job just after starting to date my now-husband, so he saw all of the excitement and anxiety that came with committing to being a full-time author. That’s why it was so exciting when, about two months later, I got the call from my agent as we were talking into a movie theater that we had an offer on a pitch I had submitted. It was unlike anything I’d done before, and I hadn’t been certain how publishers would feel about it. Getting to share that with him was pretty special!
Have you ever had a day you considered quitting? How did you get over the hump?
I hate to be one of those people who says I would do this even if I wasn’t getting paid, but I did for a very long time before I ever secured my first publishing deal. I worked very demanding day jobs first in journalism and then in the tech world for about ten years before I felt secure enough in my writing career to go full-time, and now that I’m here I don’t think I could give it up.
Lastly, if you could relive any one day in your life so far, what would it be and why?
There are too many to count, but my wedding day was pretty special. The entire day was very romantic and a lot of fun with everything from good food to saxophone solos to a blackout mid-way through the wedding reception. (Don’t worry, we got power back very quickly!)
What a fantastic interview! It's so neat to hear about an author's writing, style and some of the background of the inspiration--thank you! As a woman with a sister with a difficult relationship I look forward to reading this book