5 minutes with... DI MORRISSEY
Australia’s most-read author, 79, chats about her new novel and what she spends her time doing when she’s not writing her next bestseller...
Tell us about your journey to The Night Tide...
All my books are inspired by a particular Aussie setting. I travel to that place to research, I hang out for a month or so, talk to locals, quietly researching, most people have no idea who I am or why I’m there. But during COVID I couldn’t go anywhere so I had to reflect on places that were meaningful to me and that I knew well – and Pittwater was it. I was maybe just five years old when we moved there. I have a clear memory of my mother telling me we were moving to a magic place (from the tiny rooms above a laundry in the heart of Sydney where we’d been living) and it was indeed magical. To this day it’s ingrained in my DNA.
You’ve mastered the epic Australian mystery novel – is there another genre you’d like to try your hand at?
I don’t think I write a specific genre, much as people want to put me in a box. There’s a bit of everything in my novels… strong characters, tangled relationships, deep emotions, modern dilemmas, history, humour and an authentic setting. I don’t sit down to write a genre, I just spin a great yarn.
Which of your books would you like to see on the big or small screen?
I think Tears Of The Moon. It’s set against the pearling history in modern Broome
and the Kimberley – it’s a no-brainer for the screen.
Do you have a favourite book from your back catalogue?
I can’t say I have a favourite book… it’s like asking who’s your favourite child!
You’re such a prolific writer – how are you able to write a book every year!?
I trained as a journalist so I would never miss a deadline! I’m very lucky that I’ve had wonderful editors, especially Liz Adams mainly, who is a woman my own age and a friend. Liz and I have a system – I write a chapter, send it to her and while she makes notes, I start the next chapter, then we swap. So I don’t go off the rails before being hauled back into line. We also have long phone “conferences” arguing over plot points and a word or such.
Describe an average day in the life of Di…
I work a full day every day unless I’m away from home. I’m at my desk early ( I had years in breakfast TV so it’s a habit.) I also produce the monthly The Manning Community News, which is highly respected in the world of independent media. The community rely on the paper to let them know what’s really going on. I also love cooking and my husband Boris and I entertain a lot.
For anyone in need of a fun but mindless film to have running along in the background, this Netflix original is perfect. Starring Camila Mendes (Riverdale) and Maya Hawke (Stranger Things), Do Revenge is a subverted Hitchcockian dark comedy that features the scariest protagonists of all – teenage girls. The movie explores an unlikely connection between Drea and Eleanor as they begin their individual journeys of retribution.