Author Toni Jordan

You are a molecular biologist. What made you switch to writing novels?

I’ve been obsessed with reading novels my whole life, so I enrolled in a TAFE course

on fiction writing for fun.

The Dinner with the

Schnabels family is larger than life. Where did the

inspiration for the characters come from?

I don’t know! I’ve always daydreamed funny little scenes with made-up people.

Your novels are laughout-loud funny and also

poignant. What is the secret to writing comedy? Observation. The world is a ludicrous place and I try to

notice ridiculous things.

What do you think is at the heart of the unique voice found in

Australian fiction?

Our unique circumstances: we’re a mostly immigrant nation living on land with 70,000 years of history.

What is your favourite

novel of all time? What a question! Today, it’s Persuasion by Jane Austen.