Now, ever heard of Liane Moriarty? We’re sure you have: She’s the bestselling author of such beloved novels as Three Wishes, The Hypnotist’s Love StoryandThe Husband’s Secret—plus two more that have each been turned into a hit TV series: Big Little LiesandNine Perfect Strangers. Her latest title has just arrived: Apples Never Fall, which tells the story of a well-respected family (including four adult siblings) known for their impressive tennis prowess, whose ties begin to fray when a mysterious stranger arrives at their door and one of their own goes missing. Here’s the thing: Moriarty was once a confidence-gap victim as well, and gaining back that belief in herself—at least when it came to her ability to craft captivating tales of fiction and make a living doing so—was, as she tells Parade.com in an exclusive new interview, anything but quick. In fact, the 54-year-old’s world-famous novels count as her second career: She worked in advertising, copywriting and marketing until well into her 30s. It wasn’t until she was around 38, when she obtained a master’s degree in creative writing at Australia’s Macquarie University, that she produced the manuscript that would become Three Wishes, her first published novel. Her first unpublished book, however, was something she’d written nearly 30 years prior for the princely sum of $1. “My father commissioned a ‘novel’ [when] I was just a kid, probably around 10 years old,” Moriarty tells Parade.com. “Dad paid a dollar for an exercise book filled with words. He did the same for my younger sister, Jaci [fellow author Jaclyn Moriarty href=“https://jaclynmoriarty.com/” target="_blank"]. However, as I grew older, I lost the crazy confidence I had as a child, and I wrote less and less. That critical voice in my head became far too loud.” Turning to advertising copywriting, Moriarty admits today, was a sort of intermediary step. “At least it was a job that involved writing,” she explains. “I did write some first chapters of novels that didn’t go any further, but not much else.” Jaci, it turns out, would be the key to unlocking Liane’s potential as a novelist and reviving her self-confidence—although probably not in the way you’d expect. “It was pure envy and sibling rivalry that got me back to the keyboard [after Jaci] had her first novel published,” Liane says. “I’m so grateful to my sister for achieving our childhood dream first because she proved it could be done. I’m not sure that I would ever have done it if not for her doing it first.” (For what it’s worth, writing wasn’t Jaclyn’s first career, either. She earned a law degree from Yale and a Ph.D. from UK’s University of Cambridge, then practiced law for four years before her first book, the YA novel Feeling Sorry for Celia, was published in 2000.) Returning to school, Moriarty says, gave her “a feeling of accountability that allowed me to finally complete my first novel,” as well as another critical source of support: her fellow students. “I was… incredibly grateful,” she says about the other writers she met while pursuing her degree. “[They] provided feedback and encouragement each week. That helped me keep going, and I don’t think I would have been as successful in completing that first novel without that support.” The characters in Moriarty’s stories often live amongst the trappings of success and exude a having-it-all glow—but as Moriarty’s writing (and her writing career) prove, what success actually looks and feels like in practice is never quite so pristine. “I’m mostly proud of the fact that I finally finished that first novel, and that I went ahead and wrote the second one, while still working as a freelance copywriter,” she says before adding, “Actually, now that I think about it, I’m probably most proud of the fact that I wrote The Husband’s Secret and Big Little Lies after I became a mother to my two children. I was nervous about how I would balance motherhood and writing, but the truth was that it actually made me far more productive and self-disciplined because time was so precious.” She adds, “I guess some people might think that success and fulfillment look like wealth and fame, and in fact, that might genuinely be very fulfilling for some people, but I think most of us simply want the immense satisfaction of doing work that we enjoy and the privilege of being able to support ourselves with that work. For me, success is the privilege of being paid to do a job that I absolutely love. I can’t believe that I get up each day and write stories for a living. I never take that for granted.” Next, 40 Second Act Stories About Women Who Achieved Their Dreams When They Were Over 40, Proving It’s Never Too Late to Start
