Briefly tell us about your book.
The Trivia Night is about a group of primary school parents who make the reckless decision to partner-swap for one night only, and the book explores the fallout in terms of marriages and relationships. The story is told from the point of view of three very different women, who each have a unique motivation for doing what they do and who all handle the consequences differently.
If I looked at your internet history, what would it reveal about you?
It would reveal a very detailed interest in swinging! When I was researching the novel, I was clueless about any of this and searched up all sorts of things like ‘is it true swingers take pineapples to parties?’ and, ‘what are the rules of swinging?’ I researched a lot of this on my sister’s home computer when I visited the UK in 2019 – I’m sure she’d be thrilled!.
There were other random things like, ‘what is it called when you have six toes on each foot instead of five?’ (one of my characters reveals they have his condition at trivia night), and random information about dead bodies to add colour to the later chapters.
Tell us about your background and what led you to writing this book.
I’ve been a journalist for twenty years, both in London and in the UK, primarily in magazines. I was features editor at OK! Magazine in London, a role I gave up when I moved to Australia in 2006. After having my three children, I went freelance and ended up writing cover stories for the Mosman Daily and North Shore Times, commissioned by editor Tim McIntyre. After submitting one of my cover stories, Tim emailed me to ask if I had ever considered writing a novel and this sat in the back of my mind because I had always wanted to write a novel. Tim then commissioned me to interview the novelist Jaclyn Moriarty, who recommended the Faber Writing A Novel Course, and it was as if the stars aligned. I wrote a good deal of The Trivia Night on the Faber course, and my London-based agent signed me overnight after reading the manuscript.
What’s some great advice you’ve received that has helped you as a writer?
There are two bits that have stuck. The first was from my Faber course director and mentor Kathryn Heyman, and it was to allow myself a bad first draft – to just write the book and not look back until I’d finished. That advice was gold. The second was from Michael Robotham. He isn’t a planner, and nor am I, and he said ‘if you know the ending, then the reader will too. If you don’t know who is guilty, then you make six other characters credible suspects.’ I’ve clung to this piece of advice and it really helped in writing my second and third books.
Who are some of your favourite authors? Or favourite books?
I grew up reading Agatha Christie novels over and over, and I still believe they are genius. I also love Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier and have read it many times over the years. Essentially I am drawn to mysteries/thrillers with brilliant characterisation. I will devour anything by Sally Hepworth and Liane Moriarty for this reason. Sally’s new book The Younger Wife is excellent. I also love Ber Carroll’s books and Vanessa McCausland’s whimsical Australian mysteries.
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