Author Interview: Jaclyn Moriarty

Jaclyn Moriarty wrote the popular Ashbury/ Brookfield High School series; Feeling Sorry for Celia, Finding Cassie Crazy, The Betrayal of Bindy Mackenzie and Dreaming of Amelia.

Her most recent novel, A Corner of White, was released in October 2012 and is the first in the Colours of Madeleine Trilogy.  

Feeling Sorry for Celia has been a favourite of mine since I first read it in 2000.

Please welcome Jaclyn Moriarty to The Tales Compendium!

I was the kind of kid who... got lost, tripped over, fell over, spilled paint on my clothes, got my arms stuck between fence posts, and was often essentially blind because my hat kept slipping forward over my face.

My mother always told me... that I had to learn to look after myself (emphasis in the original).

The biggest lesson I learnt at school was... to avoid eye contact with the Wells’ twins.

My first big crush was... on a leg. Someone came to school with a photo from a party, and you could see a boy’s leg in the corner: the lower part of his left leg (he must have been wearing shorts) and his foot. His calf muscles were beautifully toned (his left calf muscles, anyway); he had nice, fine, manly leg hair (again, going by the left leg); and his foot had a solid, good-natured, humorous, grounded look. I developed an instant crush. Nobody knew who owned the leg. A lot of people got involved in trying to find out for me, and at one point someone thought his name could be Peter. But that has never confirmed.

I earnt my first pay cheque... when I was seven and my dad paid me $1.50 to write a novel. After that I made a modest fortune polishing chandeliers for the lady who lived down the street. She had arthritis in her fingers, she said, and metal screws in all the joints, so she couldn’t do it herself.

I really hate it when... I get parking tickets, late fees, penalty notices, reprimands from the body corporate for hanging my laundry on the balcony, etc, etc. I’m a Good Girl but often absent-minded and I can’t stand getting into trouble.

I’m very good at... gazing out the window.

The hardest thing I’ve ever done is... read Cases and Materials on Administrative Law. Having a baby was not exactly a walk in the park either, but lord, those cases were boring.

I’m frightened of... snakes. I have a lot of nightmares about snakes.

When I’m in the shower I sing... No I don’t. When I’m driving, I sing.

My road to publication... probably had just the right number of rejection letters although it didn’t seem like it at the time.

The last book I read was... Sam the Sudden by P.G. Wodehouse.

I would love to meet... Thor, the god of thunder.

When I get the munchies I eat... chocolate.

I’m currently working on... the third book in my trilogy about the Kingdom of Cello. The first, A Corner of White, has just been released, and I just finished writing the second, Cracks in the Kingdom.

I hope I never... have to become an administrative lawyer.

Life is... not remotely like a box of chocolates, but is often blindingly brilliant anyway. 

Thankyou for being part of Aussie Author Month, Jaclyn!

Jaclyn on Goodreads

Jaclyn's website