Big Little Lives: Meet the Moriarty sisters

31 books; eight international best-sellers; three Number-1-New York Times bestsellers and a swag of awards. Our own Suzy M. introduces us to the family.

The Moriarty sisters’ author event was the second in my life, the last one had been over a decade ago.

That was Emma Jane (formerly known as Emma Tom) talking about her hilarious pregnancy book; Attack Of The Fifty Foot Hormones. I had a sickly toddler in tow, who succeeded in making it all about her rather than the author, so I shied away from further literary events for a good while.

This one I wasn’t going to miss: it was after-all the Moriarty Sisters. 

I adore them, not just as fabulously talented authors but also terribly nice women.  Especially Jaclyn Moriarty who is 50 shades of awesome and just so happens, used to be just my shy and lovely next-door neighbour.

I was told by the real estate agent who sold us the house; “I think the woman next door writes children’s books or something”. 

As I became friendly with my new neighbour, I thought I’d better take an interest and read at least one of her books. So, during a week in Bali I got lost in Dreaming of Amelia.  

It was the most beautiful, intriguing and original story I’d read, and I posted as much on social media. Immediately my Instagram blew up with fan-spam, gratuitous use of exclamation marks and comments like; ‘OMG! Do you know Jaclyn Moriarty?!?!?’ JM? She’s amazing!’ ‘Oh, I LOVE her books!’.

There were more likes than my posts of the dog wearing wigs, and those are mighty popular (especially during his Katy Perry phase).

Oh, I thought; seemed my friend Jaci-Next-Door is kind of famous, and I’m kind of slow on the uptake.  Well since then I’ve continued reading and relishing her books. And re-reading and re-relishing them.

I read A Corner of White three times, the first book of Jaclyn’s Colours of Madeline Tribology.  The scope of Jaci’s creativity and imagination is simply staggering. Any wonder the first two books were both awarded the NSW Premier's Literary Award and the Queensland Literary Award.  Loosely speaking it’s ‘Shadow and Bone’ meets ‘Harry Potter’ (if Hermione Granger had been an ordinary but slightly mysterious girl, living in Cambridge and regularly finding messages from other worlds tucked into broken parking meters).
These are books thoroughly deserving of George Lucas or Spielberg attention for screen adaptation.

Jaci’s more recent adult fiction; Gravity is the Thing was emotionally transformative, with its beautifully written characters, heartbreak mixed with her signature humour and quirkiness.  Her sister Liane described this book as: `a brilliant, beautiful, hilarious, heartbreaking, extraordinary book. I say this without bias, only awe.’   I would have to agree.

Eventually I became curious about Liane’s books and Jaci recommended What Alice Forgot & The Hypnotists Love Story, both of which I devoured, feet up on the dashboard, totally shirking my duty to take turns at driving the long round trip between Sydney and Melbourne.  

Back in Sydney I immediately downloaded The Husband’s Secret onto my Kindle and did nothing else with my life or family until I’d devoured that one too, followed closely by Big Little Lies.

So, an author event with all three is never to be missed.

I text Jaci-Next-Door: I’m super super super excited…

And Jaci being Jaci, never mind prepping before heading up to the podium immediately responds: ‘Nervous!’

It’s a fascinating and rare opportunity to hear three successful authors from the one family talk about their individual experience of the writing process.

Liane Moriarty apparently is a rough outliner. She’ll come up with a plot premise, adding bits and pieces of inspiration that day to day life throws in her path, but still lets the story take its course.

Jaclyn related a wonderful quip about expressing to Liane her amazement at a twist in her book,: 'I couldn't believe when this happened',  and Liane responded; 'I know! Me neither!’

Jaclyn Moriarty’s a planner: she plans her plot, her characters.  But responding to a question on this she told the audience for the most part her characters do as they’re told, but sometimes she might have to wrestle them back on track or occasionally let them wander off on their own.

Nervous she may have been, but Jaclyn Moriarty is as charming and engaging speaking, as are her words on the page.

Mae West once said, “Keep a diary, and someday it'll keep you”, and Nicola Moriarty’s fourth out of six books Paper Chains apparently grew from her own diarised (and blogged) struggle with post-natal depression.  

She explained how interesting and a little therapeutic it can be to take your own life dramas, your choices and turn them around on themselves in a big ‘what if’, to create a work of fiction that explores what might have happened.  A kind of Sliding Doors treatment, I guess.  Like Nicola, I’m a diary keeper when times get tough, so Paper Chains is definitely next on my list. 

The next time these three appear on stage together, I’ll be there again.  Listening to them relate stories of their family life growing up together and how their father paid them a dollar for every exercise book they filled with stories, is a treat in itself.  But their struggles to get published before eventual success, and the realities of raising children and writing fiction for a living, these are an eye opener for their fans and an inspiration for any aspiring writer.

Jaci still lives nearby, so I’m so very lucky to have that inspiration on tap walking back home from the shops and over the occasional glass of wine. 

Jaclyn Moriarty, my very clever gifted friend, who’s taken more literary prizes than Venezuela has Miss World titles, will ever be in my mobile contacts as Jaci Next Door. I’m sentimental like that.

It makes me smile to remember how much I liked her, long before I knew her last name. 

Find the books of the Moriarty sisters on Kindle Unlimited.

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