Writer Jaclyn Moriarty Interview

Thanks to our friends from the Burn Bright site, we had the chance to share an interview with prize-winning, best-selling author of novels for young adults and adults Jaclyn Moriarty.

1) How has your personal life experiences living in USA, UK, Canada and Australia helped you to write your books?

On a practical level, A Corner of White is set partly in Cambridge, England, so the three years I spent living there definitely helped with this book.

More generally, I think that living overseas has had a profound effect on my understanding of the complexity of, and similarity between, people’s characters and stories, and of the breathtaking strength and kindness of the human spirit.  (I guess I might have figured that out eventually anyway, but seeing these things from different angles and in different climates helped.)

2) How long does it take to write a book for you? Which one has been the hardest one to write and why?

I always say that it takes a year for me to write a book, but that’s not true.  I think I just hope that it will take a year.  It’s usually more like two to three years.   The hardest one to write was Dreaming of Amelia (The Ghosts of Ashbury High) because I wrote it looking after a new baby on my own, during a difficult time in my life when I doubted everything about myself.

3) Which has been your favourite book to write?

A Corner of White.  It’s closest to the kind of book I’ve always wanted to write, I let myself go a bit crazy with it, and I felt close to all the characers.  I also feel as if I’ve stepped away from the difficult time into happiness with this book.

The research has also been fun: I’ve had my aura read; and I bought myself a cello on ebay and started taking lessons.

For more information about Jaclyn Moriarty visit www.jaclynmoriarty.com

We must thank the Burn Bright site and Bec Stafford for this great interview opportunity.

Visit www.burnbright.com.au