Liane Moriarty is a global sensation. With over 20 million copies of her books sold, she not only is at the pinnacle of the literary world, but her adaptations have also been mega hits. Whether you fell in love with her trademark, domestic suspense by reading The Husband’s Secret or you were first exposed watching Big Little Lies on HBO Max, her emotionally rich tales leave a lasting impression.

With large ensemble casts of characters and heart-pounding twists you don’t see coming, whether set in a wellness retreat or playing with the intricacies of memory loss, one thing can be counted on, you won’t be able to put a Moriarty book down.

Now, she’s releasing her next novel, Here One Moment, about an ordinary flight where something extraordinary happens. A woman on the plane tells everyone onboard when they will die. Some will have long lives, others aren’t so lucky. When the first passengers die as predicted, the others whose time is nearly up have to contend with fate, mortality and what it means to live a full life.

Here One Moment

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We got the chance to chat with Liane about the themes in her newest novel and she shared some insight into what drew her to the subject.

Your latest book, Here One Moment, deals with the concept of fate. What drew you to this subject? 

I wasn’t drawn to the concept of fate, so much as death. My preoccupation with my own mortality is perhaps not surprising considering recent events in my life. Firstly, my sister was diagnosed with breast cancer, then my beloved father died, we had a global pandemic where the whole world stared death in the face, and finally and most recently, I myself was diagnosed with breast cancer. My sister and I are both fine now. (She’s running marathons. I’m doing yoga and the occasional spin class.)  However, in spite of my good health I have a new, seemingly permanent awareness of the finite nature of life and I guess that led to the concept of fate.

As we all await our copies (releasing in the US on September 10), we know one thing for sure, she will take us for a ride and end with a conclusion we didn’t see coming. But how did she get here? How does any author go from typing their first words of a novel to #1 New York Times bestseller, crafting characters meant specifically for Nicole Kidman?

Success Doesn’t Mean No Struggle

Any writer just getting started may have dreams as big as Liane Moriarty’s reality, but no one truly knows how to get there. And the truth is, the writers who have gotten there, don’t always know either. It’s easy to look at the highlights and miss the simple fact that it’s an uncertain path for every author embarking on the journey.

Do you feel like fate has played a role in your writing life?

I don’t know about fate but I think luck has definitely played a role. I was lucky, for example, to be picked up by my editor Amy Einhorn, who helped me ‘break out’ in the US with my fifth novel The Husband’s Secret.

As is always the case, from the outside, it can appear someone who has risen to such heights achieved the coveted “overnight success”, but everyone who knows, knows there is no such thing. Often, a true success is years in the making. In Moriarty’s case, the first seed was planted in her childhood when her father would pay her and her sister for the writing they produced.

You’ve discussed how your father helped foster your love of writing at a young age. Teaching the lesson “Do what you love, then the money would follow.” Was there ever a time when you doubted if your passion was leading somewhere? 

I must not have truly believed him, because I didn’t even try to write a novel until I was in my thirties and my sister did it first. Sibling rivalry was the incentive I needed to write my first novel, and even then, it took many years for the money to follow. I kept writing advertising copy on the side until my books began to sell well enough for me to become a full time writer.

For anyone stealing quiet hours to write around a 9-to-5 job or after the kids go to bed or before class, it’s always reassuring to find that that’s how so many (if not the majority) of all writers get started. That no matter how far away a new writer’s goals may feel, once upon a time, all of our favorite authors felt the same. Furthermore, aspiring authors can sleep soundly knowing that while skills will develop overtime, writing is challenging no matter the successes that have been stacked up.

Are there any parts of the writing process that are hard, no matter how many times you do it? Conversely, what has gotten easier with time? 

The early, flailing-about stage of a new novel has never got any easier. I think I have got better at the promotional stage. I’m not as nervy and self-conscious!

Often, writing and the typical mayhem of life don’t mix well. For writers feeling like things might never coalesce, keep this in mind about Liane’s circumstances when writing one of her beloved novels.

Can you discuss a challenge in your writing career that you’ve faced and how you overcame it? 

I was struggling with the ending of my novel, What Alice Forgot, which is the story of a woman who loses ten years of her memory. I don’t write to a plan, and I had no idea how Alice would reconcile the two perspectives she now had on her life. Also, I was meant to deliver the manuscript just before I delivered my first baby and he made an unexpected appearance five weeks early. We were also renovating the house, as you do just before you have a baby, so everything was in chaos. I was so shocked. It was like I’d never heard of a baby arriving early.  I overcame this challenge by crying a lot and then asking for an extension. I ended up finishing the novel six months later, while my baby kicked and cooed in his ‘jungle gym’ on my office floor and that’s when the ending became perfectly obvious.

It’s clear that Liane is as human as the rest of us. Juggling life’s obstacles while trying to create art, struggling to wrestle a new idea into a coherent narrative. So, what are some of the components that have contributed to her rise to the top?

Creating a Category All Your Own

From star-studded adaptations to chart-topping bestsellers, Liane Moriarty has clearly pushed through the hurdles to find spectacular success. Getting into the nitty gritty, we explored what her writing routine looks like, what she feels makes a great twist and how she managed to cultivate a category that’s both distinct and universal (not to mention ideal for the screen).

Perhaps one of the biggest dreams writers dare to imagine, is the opportunity to see their stories adapted to film in TV. The characters they created, played by a cast of A-listers. Liane’s adaptations star the likes of Nicole Kidman, Reese Witherspoon, Melissa McCarthy, Adam Scott and Luke Evans. But is there a way for writers to tailor their stories to be a perfect for the screen?

Do you feel there is something in particular that makes your books such a great fit for screen adaptations? Is there anything you do intentionally for the translation to TV/film?

My books tend to have a lot of characters, which is sometimes annoying for readers because they can’t keep track of them. However, it means they offer lots of roles for adaptations and it’s much easier to keep track of characters when you can literally see them. I don’t do anything intentionally for translation to TV and film, my characters are always thinking one thing and doing another, so that’s a challenge for whoever is adapting my work. Having said that, I do remember reading somewhere that a tip for improving your writing is to ask yourself: Could you film it?

If there’s one thing that unites all of Liane’s stories, it’s that the twist is always jaw-dropping and the payoff is always there. And sometimes, she’s just as surprised as we are.

At what point do you feel like you know “the twist”? What makes a great twist, in your opinion? 

It varies. Sometimes it’s early on and sometimes it sneaks up on me and I’m as surprised as the reader. I think the best twists are obviously totally unexpected but are also feel as if they were somehow meant to happen. They don’t feel contrived or forced and they don’t make the reader feel like they’ve been tricked.

Though Liane’s books can be labeled “domestic thrillers” and “psychological thrillers”, anyone who has indulged in her stories knows there’s a style and a cadence that doesn’t quite fit in one genre. In a publishing landscape that’s always trying to sell the importance of knowing where to shelve a book, we were curious how Liane went about cutting out a category that’s all her own (and how other writers wanting to do this can approach it).

You’ve sort of created your own genre, blending women’s fiction and mystery and drama into a category that feels universal and yet, unique to you. What advice would you give writers who feel like their stories don’t fit neatly into a category?

I would say don’t think about ‘categories’ when you’re writing, leave that to other people. Write what interests you and you may find you have created your very own category.

Ultimately though, Liane is still very grounded in what it is that makes the job of an author so great. And if you’re going to follow any of her advice, perhaps, it should be this.

If you were giving advice to your pre-published self now, what would it be?

Believe in yourself, stop overthinking it and just write for the pleasure of writing, the way you did when you were a child.