How did the idea for The Younger Wife come about?
The inspiration came a couple of years ago, after my great aunty Gwen had a fall. After she was admitted to hospital, she called and asked me to fetch her hot water bottle from home and bring it to the hospital. I offered to bring in my own hot water bottle, or even buy her a new hot water bottle on my way, but Gwen was oddly insistent that it had to be her bottle. By this point, I’ll admit, I was intrigued. Why on earth did she want her hot water bottle at the hospital? And why did it have to be that particular bottle? I got my answer when I retrieved the bottle from her house and found it stuffed with tens of thousands of dollars. I was blown away. Gwen is a woman of modest means … why would she keep this much money hidden? Was she a granny drug dealer? Unfortunately, it turned out to be far less interesting. A win on the poker machines and a hearty distrust of banks. But it was too late, my writer’s brain had started ticking. This hot water bottle formed the basis of The Younger Wife.
You write domestic scenes so well – did you have fun with the quirky family dynamic in this novel – especially between Stephen and his two daughters Tully and Rachel?
Writing about families will always be a love of mine. There’s just so much fodder there. The push / pull of love and resentment in families just adds a delicious tension to any scene … which makes my job easy!
So yes, the quirky dynamic of the Aston family was fun to create. I particularly enjoyed the relationship between the adult daughters, Tully and Rachael, and how they grew to understand each other better, and even, heal each other.
You are our first ever Dymocks Author of the Month – which author would you like to see as an Author of the Month down the track and why?
Wait … can I only name one? I would love to see all my favourite Aussie Authors celebrated -- Kelly Rimmer, Jane Harper, Kate Morton, Holly Wainwright, Jessie Stephens, Liane Moriarty, Jane Cockram … I could go on.
Your previous novels have been given a stunning new cover refresh – do you have a favourite of your books or is that like choosing a favourite child?
My favourite book is always the most recent one – in this case, The Younger Wife – because the characters are still fresh in my mind and I feel such affection for them. But I do have a soft spot for each of the books, for different reasons (much like my kids!)
How did it feel to have your previous novel The Mother-in-Law optioned for the screen by none other than Amy Poehler? Any further news on that adaptation?
It’s fair to say it was a dream come true. As for updates, Amy Poehler’s company PaperKite, together with NBC are developing it as a TV show, and I read a great draft of the script recently. I’m just excited to see what comes next!