Gabrielle Tozer is an award-winning author and freelance writer based in regional New South Wales in Australia. She has published six books, including the young adult novels Remind Me How This Ends, Faking It and The Intern, which won the 2015 State Library of Victoria’s Gold Inky Award.
Her first picture book, Peas and Quiet (illustrated by Sue deGennaro), was published in 2017, as was her young adult short story ‘The Feeling From Over Here’ (featured in Begin, End, Begin: A #LoveOzYA Anthology). Gabrielle’s debut children’s novel, Melody Trumpet, hit shelves in 2019.
Can’t Say It Went To Plan is her latest young adult novel, and she is currently working on her next project. Gabrielle loves sharing her passion for storytelling and creativity with readers and aspiring writers, and has appeared at numerous events including the Sydney Writers’ Festival, the Somerset Festival of Literature and the Children’s Book Council of Australia’s national conference.
We chat with Gabrielle all about her latest release, along with writing, book recommendations, and more!
Hi, Gabrielle! Can you tell our readers a bit about yourself?
I’m an Australian author of YA novels and children’s books, I’ve recently returned to my country hometown of Wagga Wagga (pronounced “Wogga Wogga”) with my husband, a three-year-old and a new baby after 13 years living in Sydney, and I love all things pop culture, film, TV, music, podcasts and books.
When did you first discover your love for writing?
My love of writing began with a love of reading, and that started from when I was extremely young. My parents are both retired teachers so I’d receive books for every Christmas and birthday, but it was never a chore to read them – I adored escaping into various fictitious worlds. Still do.
Quick lightning round! Tell us the first book you ever remember reading, the one that made you want to become an author, and one that you can’t stop thinking about!
I loved the Australian children’s book series Grug; wanted to become an author after binge-reading books like The Baby-Sitters Club, Goosebumps, Sweet Valley High, Unreal! and Looking For Alibrandi; and still can’t stop thinking about the 2019 non-fiction book Three Women, even though I read it years ago.
Your new novel, Can’t Say It Went To Plan, is out now! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?
A holiday they’ll never forget.
What can readers expect?
A coming-of-age contemporary YA novel that follows three girls – Samira, Zoë and Dahlia – at Schoolies Week (a party-packed holiday in Australia after high school students finish their final exams). They were all hoping for a dream holiday, but their plans get upended in multiple ways which forces them out of their comfort zones and into all sorts of life-affirming, challenging and hilarious situations.
Where did the inspiration for Can’t Say It Went To Plan come from?
I went to Schoolies when I was 17-nearly-18 years old with my friends for a whopping 17 days! I still don’t know how I was allowed to attend because my parents were fairly strict. But it was such a fun, vivid, memorable time – and the first time I’d ever been away from home with friends for such a long period. I still look at photos of me and my friends and laugh at how wild, silly and free we all were. When I was older, it became clearer that Schoolies could be a strong setting for an Australian YA novel. The possibilities for fun, drama and shenanigans are endless! It was one of the main reasons I wrote it as a multi-perspective story with three strangers – I wanted to show a range of different Schoolies experiences to paint a fuller picture.
Can you tell us about any challenges you faced while writing and how you were able to overcome them?
The hardest part was writing and editing the novel while juggling a move to another town, inconsistent childcare, the ongoing stress of the pandemic and falling pregnant with our second child. The creative process itself was really enjoyable – a glorious distraction from all the hard things happening in my life! Looking back, I’m not even sure how I got through it, other than blocking out time on weekends to work at the library and in cafes (before the pandemic, obviously!), asking my parents for babysitting help when my daughter was stuck on the daycare waiting list, and focusing on the “Why?” for my novel – that is, “Why do I want to write this story?” Knowing those “Why?” reasons helped me to stay focused and committed. Plus, after years working in the magazine and book industries, I’m a sucker and nerd for a deadline… I never want to let my editor and publisher down so that helps me to stay on track!
Were there any favourite moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring?
I had so much fun writing the scene in the haunted house – it was actually inspired by a holiday my husband and I had in the US at Universal Studios. And, without giving away too many spoilers, I adored writing some of the more slow-burn romantic moments involving Dahlia. As for characters, I fell in love with some of my secondary girls too, especially Tilly and Florence. They’re so free-spirited, big-hearted and willing to live life to the fullest – I wish I was more like them!
Your first novel, The Intern, published in 2014 (which I still have on my bookshelf might I add). Can you tell us about how you have changed as an author over the last seven years?
Oh, The Intern! Writing that book feels like another lifetime, as I actually wrote the first draft in 2011-2012. It was before kids, before marriage, before moving back to the country, before quitting my fulltime job and going freelance as a writer and editor… my lifestyle was different in every way! I’ve also had six more books published with HarperCollins since then so I’ve learnt so much about myself as a person and an author in that time. The biggest shifts in my writing practice include becoming much more of a planner, learning to write in the cracks around kids as opposed to having set times and a strict schedule, and – this may sound strange – but enjoying the creative process more.
What’s next for you?
I’m currently on maternity leave so writing time is non-existent but I’ll be throwing myself into the first draft of a new contemporary YA novel later in the year and can’t wait. Watch this space!
Lastly, do you have any book recommendations for our readers?
I encourage everyone to explore some more Australian stories. There are so many fabulous YA authors from Down Under so check out the #loveozya hashtag on Twitter and see what aligns with your interests. Our YA community is so passionate, vibrant and hardworking – come say hi!
You can find Gabrielle on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, along with at her website.
