Jaclyn Moriarty

This month I spent a delightful hour chatting with Australian novelist Jaclyn Moriarty about her book for adults Gravity Is The Thing.

We talked about her inspiration for the novel, the unusual structure including what she calls fragmented storytelling, and the idea of the reader trusting you to deliver on the promise of the novel. Jaclyn also talked about some of the techniques she uses to fire her creativity, the unique partnership she embarked on with her editor and backstory.

Gravity is the Thing is the story of Abigail Sorensen. She lives in Sydney, is a former lawyer, now owner of the Happiness Cafe and single mother to four year old Oscar. When she was 16, Abi’s brother, who she was extremely close to, went missing and his disappearance has never been solved. On the same day her brother went missing, she began receiving random chapters from a self-help book called The Guidebook in the post.

She believes the absurdity of The Guidebook and the mystery of her brother's disappearance must be connected so she agrees to keep receiving these chapter for the next 20 years.

Now, at the age of 36, Abi has been invited to an all expenses paid retreat to learn the secret behind The Guidebook. What unfolds is a beautiful, heartwarming exploration of opening yourself up to new people and ideas, the unresolved grief of having a missing family member, single parenthood and friendship. All the characters in this book felt like friends by the end. I just loved it so much and have urged so many friends to read it. 

Remember there can be spoilers in this podcast, although we don't reveal the big resolution to the main mystery of the novel, but as always if you hate knowing anything about a book before you've read it, you can buy a copy of Gravity is the Thing in all the usual places.

ABOUT JACLYN MORIARTY

She grew up and still lives in Sydney. She studied Law and English at Sydney University in Australia, Yale in the US and Cambridge in England. She was working as a media and entertainment lawyer when she published her first novel Feeling Sorry for Celia. She now writes full time and is the author of 13 books for children, young adults and grown ups. She has been the recipient of the NSW Premier’s Literary Award, the Queensland Literary Award, and the Aurealis Award for Fantasy.

JACLYN’S WEBSITE - https://jaclynmoriarty.com/
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