Many aspiring writers dream of an idyllic creative space where they can pen their next masterpiece. Sulari Gentill, who has recently released her 15th book, The Woman in the Library, turned that dream into reality when she installed a writing hut on her property in the Snowy Mountains in Australia.
The Woman in the Library is a cleverly constructed mystery that centres around an Australian crime writer who is penning her latest tome in the Boston Public Library. And it all started as an idea in Sulari’s writing hut. She’s given us a sneak peek into this idyllic creative space.
Writing in a grove of oak trees
“We live on a truffery. We grow French black truffles – and truffles grow on the roots of oak trees,” explains Sulari. “A couple of paddocks away from the house, I have a grove of oak trees which are quite mature at the moment. They're beautiful.”
It’s in the middle of these trees that Sulari constructed her writing hut. “It's an octagonal building with windows all the way around and a set of doors. It has a peaked roof and on the top of that is a weather vane with a dog on it. It’s a depiction of my old truffle dog.”
Inside the hut
Inside, Sulari has a green leather chaise longue (“because I like to write with my feet up” she says), an oak bookcase, a small cabinet that houses her manuscripts, a heater for chilly days, an armchair and a tin of snacks.
The talented writer is also a true Renaissance woman because she’s not only a writer and truffier (grower of truffles), she’s also a portrait painter. So she also has a matching twin hut nearby, which serves as her artist’s studio.
“Periodically through the year, I will get the feeling that I need to paint. I find that it loosens up my brain. If I've been writing intensely for a while, then painting for a while actually just lets everything get back into balance … it's a bit like unclenching your mind.”
