11 Quick Questions for Jojo Moyes

11 Quick Questions for Jojo Moyes


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Claudia Janke Facebook Twitter LinkedIn


New York Times best-selling author Jojo Moyes, 53, has found success with hits such as The Giver of Stars and Me Before You. In her latest book, Someone Else’s Shoes, she tells the story of


how an innocent mix-up brings two women together to forge an unlikely alliance. 

Your new novel explores female friendships. Did you draw inspiration from your own relationships?


Oh, completely. The older I get, the more important my girlfriends are to me. They’re the ones who make me laugh, pick me up when I’m on the floor, turn up at 1 in the morning with a bottle


of wine and a big hug. I just think there’s a sort of sympathy and shorthand among women that I’m ever more appreciative of.


Members only Have your friendships been affected by your fame?


Only positively. I mean, most of my close friends I’ve known for many years, my best friend I’ve had since school. But I have to say, it’s enabled me to meet a lot of amazing new friends,


some of whom are quite successful. I’ve learnt a lot from them — watching how people create or navigate the world of publicity, how they present themselves. I watch and learn from them.


When you’re not reading or writing, what are some of your favorite pastimes?


My favorite time of day is walking my dogs [mixed-breed rescues]. I’ve just moved back to London after 22 years. My favorite thing, having lived in the middle of nowhere for years [at a


farmhouse in Essex], is to be able to buy a coffee and maybe a pastry, and I walk and meet my best friend with her dog early in the morning. We just have a chat for an hour or an hour and a


half, and then I start my day. It feels like an immense privilege every day that I do it.

You have a penchant for rescuing animals, including a former racehorse and a mountain dog. Do


those rescues ever show up in your writing?


Definitely pets show up in my writing. I don’t think I’ve ever written about a rescue, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it happens in the future, because they’re such an important part of my


life. Having rescue animals has changed me. People say that you rescue them, but actually they rescue you right back. Every step they make towards being less afraid, more relaxed, more happy


feels twice as sweet because you know you’ve made their life so much better.