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Words: Lauren Sams. Photography: Adrian PriceLIANE MORIARTY CELEBRATES having
a bestselling book with champagne. “I’m not
fussy. I’ll have anything, really. Just the real stuff,
the French stuff.”
Given that Moriarty has sold, to date, in the
ballpark of 14 million books, given that she
is the only Australian author ever to debut at
number one onThe New York Timesbestseller list
(where the book in question,Big Little Lies, stayed
for 35 weeks), given that she had two books
in the top 10 bestsellers in Australia last year
(a year in which she didnot release a new
book)... given all that, well... Liane Moriarty must
drink a lot of champagne.
The numbers are compelling, even more
so because it’s never been harder to sell books.
Against the odds, Moriarty has tapped into
something deep within the psyche of women.
Her books are dark and deftly funny, observant
and satirical, witty but knowing. Her skill is taking
seemingly ordinary characters – a trio of sisters,
a group of suburban mothers, a pair of childhood
best friends – and digging beneath their surface
to uncover secrets, fears, anxieties and guilt. Her stories make
you go, “Oh my God. Iknow someone like that.” Sometimes,
that person is you.
Nine Perfect Strangers is Moriarty’s eighth novel. Set at
a fictional wellness retreat, it pairs her signature darkness with
sharp satire of the wellness industry, which she calls “the new
religion”. LikeTruly Madly Guilty, her last bestseller, andBig
Little Lies, which was adapted into a miniseries by HBO starring
Reese Witherspoon and Nicole Kidman (they also produced
it), each character in her new book is messy, flawed and,
crucially, hiding something. One of them, Frances, is a formerlybestselling romance novelist on the verge of losing her career.
Does Moriarty – at the top of her game – share some of
Frances’ anxieties about failing as a writer? “Oh yes,” she says.
“Definitely I do. I think every author does. I mean, authors are
the most insecure, approval-seeking people in the world.” The
goalposts, she says, shift every time a new book is published.
“I wonder if readers who come to my books now are thinking,
‘What’s all the hype about?’ So they’re likely to be more critical
than if they didn’t know anything about me. The expectations
are higher. Much higher.” The only way to go, Moriarty
worries, is down.With the release of her eighth
novel, a second series of Big Litle
Lies and seven upcoming screen
adaptations, Liane Moriarty is at the
top of her game. Which is why she’s
worried it’ll all fall downThe marvellous
Ms Moriarty