Genevieve Gannon
Author Interview - Genevieve Gannon
Author of The Mothers
The Mothers is a story set in Sydney Australia that follows two couples, Grace and Dan Arden, and Priya and Nick Archer, who both dearly want to become parents but are having trouble conceiving. They are brought together by a horrible mistake that changes all their lives and seemingly has no answer. The Mothers is inspired by shocking, real-life IVF mix-up cases. The official tagline is: What if you gave birth to someone else’s child?
Author Interview - Genevieve Gannon
Author I draw inspiration from: I really love Curtis Sittenfeld’s writing. I was completely absorbed in her debut Prep from the first sentence, and marveled at her capacity to draw a reader into a scene in a classroom. I remember analyzing the opening chapter of Prep to figure out how Curtis managed to make such a simple scene so full of tension and emotion. The main character, Lee Fiora, is being called on to present an assignment to her class. And each little action and emotion is described with precision. Eligible is another of her books that really stands out to me. Her modern incarnation of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice was vivid and enjoyable. Her latest book, Rodham, was just about perfect.
Author Interview - Genevieve Gannon
Favorite place to read a book: Recently I’ve been really enjoying reading books on regional trains. I’ve had to travel quite a bit for work and there’s nothing I love more than getting on the train early in the morning with a coffee and tucking myself into a window seat and opening up whatever I’m reading at the time.
Book character I’d like to be stuck in an elevator with: Joan Castleman, the secret talent behind the award-winning writer Joe Castleman in Meg Wolitzer’s The Wife. After we talk about tearing down the patriarchy, I’d ask her for writing advice.
Author Interview - Genevieve Gannon
The moment I knew I wanted to become an author: I always loved writing so it’s hard to pin-point the exact moment. When I was in Grade 6 we were supposed to write a story for an English assignment. I won a prize for mine, which I turned into a book, with colour illustrations. I remember staying up as late as I could every night until the assignment was due to get it right. I also recall spending my Year 9 typing class writing a story on the sly (it was about a vampire, and Twilight was years from being released – I should have stuck with it!) that same year I made my history teacher cry with a story I wrote about a homesick woman who left England for Australia not long after settlement. I think for a long time being a professional writer felt like an unreachable fantasy. I’m glad I met people along the way who helped me to make it a reality.
Hardback, paperback, ebook or audiobook: Paperback, although I have been known to order special hardback editions of books if they have beautiful covers and it’s a book I really love. I’ve got a gorgeous edition of Stephanie Danler’s Sweetbitter that took months to arrive from America. My brother lives in Portland, Oregon, which is the home of Powell’s, AKA, bookstore heaven. I could have spent so much money there on the various different editions of some of my favourite books but I had to restrain myself because I was travelling.
The last book I read: Sorrow and Bliss by Meg Mason. It’s an incredibly satisfying, very dry, clever, darkly hilarious, but incredibly gut-wrenching story. Martha is married to Patrick, who has loved her since they met aged 14 at Martha’s rich relative’s house. When they get together it seems perfect, except for Martha’s unnamed mental health disorder. She has an eccentric mother, a tender father and a best-friend in her sister, Ingrid. It was a wonderful, original story.
Author Interview - Genevieve Gannon
Pen & paper or computer: Mostly computer, then editing with pen and paper. Sometimes I even use my phone. Something I like to do is to open the file to a random spot on my phone if I’m on a train or even a short flight. I find that reading pages out of context helps me to see errors or if something could be worded better, or if it doesn’t make sense. I’ll make notes of any changes that are needed for later when I’m at my computer.
Book character I think I’d be best friends with: Arthur Less from Andrew Sean Greer’s wonderful book, Less. Less is a mid-list author who embarks upon a world tour (he accepts all the obscure invitations he receives) in order to be out of the country for his ex-boyfriend’s wedding. It’s an elegant solution to the problem the invitation presents: he doesn’t want to attend his ex-boyfriend’s wedding, but he also doesn’t want to decline so he contrives to be out of the country. I can imagine friends of mine doing something similar and laughing with them as they describe their plan over a mid-week dinner that then segues into book talk. The book made me laugh out loud more than any other book I can remember reading, but Arthur Less is also a little bit socially awkward, which is something we’d share. I love the idea of us becoming friends at a book event, standing off to the side at the launch of a writers festival or something. Possibly near the cheese table.
Author Interview - Genevieve Gannon
If I weren’t an author, I’d be a: A pastry or dessert chef. All of the women in my family are great bakers, and since I was little they were always making “event cakes”. I have a memory from my early childhood of my aunt making a chocolate and hazelnut cake that had 21 eggs in it, and my great-grandmothers chocolate eclairs were legendary. I started attempting complicated recipes like black forest cakes around the age of nine. Another big feature of my childhood were the renowned cakes from The Women’s Weekly Children’s Birthday Cake Book. This is a famous recipe book in Australia that teaches parents how to construct colourful but simple cakes for kids. The book includes simple instructions for making cakes that look like a train, a castle, a mouse and a robot and dozens more. I loved these cakes and got really interested in cake construction and decoration. I’ve made a few wedding cakes for friends. It’s a fun hobby.
Favorite decade in fashion history: I’m sure not many people who answer this question would say the 1930s. The 30s get sort of lost between the flapper dresses of the roaring 20s and Dior’s New Look that debuted in 1947 but really took hold in the 50s. But to me the 1930s were a wonderful time to in fashion. Coco Chanel was at the height of her powers when a bold new upstart in the form of Elsa Schiaparelli was making waves with her high-concept, absurdist designs. Schiap dressed Wallis Simpson in a dress featuring a lobster drawn by Salvador Dali. How could you go wrong with the 1930s?
Place I’d most like to travel: Right now the answer to that question is Portland Oregon, where my brother and sister-in-law live. I haven’t seen them in 18 months because of Covid, and they have a new baby I’m dying to meet. (Also, Portland is beautiful and cool and full of great food and culture, and in easy travelling distance to San Francisco and Seattle, and surrounded by incredible nature.)
My signature drink: My 8 am latte gets me through the day, but on a night out I love to drink sloe gin over ice with a twist of lime. I also once accidentally invented a cocktail using grapefruit soda, Cointreau and gin. It was very tasty! Oh, another thing I like to do is make hard spiders – which is pouring an alcoholic soda over vanilla ice-cream.
Favorite artist: Visual artist: I just bought a beautiful print of New York by Tomer Hanuka that I am in love with, so I’m going to say him – because the answer to this question changes depending on my mood.
Recording artist: I’m going through a bit of a Prince phase at the moment. I got to see his last tour of Australia shortly before he died. His performance of Purple Rain was phenomenal.
Number one on my bucket list: I’m dying to see Spain. I’d love to spend a big chunk of time there, travelling around at a leisurely pace and eating Pintxos.
Find more from the author:
Instagram: @gen_gannon
Twitter: @gen_gannon
Author Bio: Genevieve Gannon is an award-winning journalist, author and houseplant murderer from Sydney, Australia.
