The Graeme Simsion Project

Photo credit: Text Publishing and Girl Well Read.  Do not use without written permission.

Blue Heron Books and HarperCollins hosted an event to celebrate the release of Graeme Simsion's newest Rosie book, The Rosie Result.

Graeme was engaging and funny. He spoke about the series, his writing process, and the inspiration behind the Rosie novels. A question and answer period, as well as a book signing, followed.

The Rosie Project was originally written as a screenplay and it took Simsion about three weeks to write. Optioned to Sony Pictures, Graeme said that Ryan Reynolds is being considered for the role of Don Tillman. (Um...yes, please!)

In the original story, Don was a physicist and then was changed to be a geneticist. Also, the working title was The Clara Project but Graeme was trying to come up with something that sounded good with the word "project" and thought that the "ro" of Rosie sounded good with the "pro" of project. Had he realized the pronunciation outside of Australia, he would have called it The Laurie Project ("la-rie" and "pra-ject").

On writing as a person that is not autistic

Simsion spoke to the politically correct language: Tillman is a person with autism, not an autistic person. He thinks it is okay to write as though he was a person with autism—authors inhabit their characters. Also, his books have been embraced by the autistic community.

What is your idea of a successful novel?

"When it touches or changes people."

What is your greatest fear as an author?

"Causing harm."

Who are the characters you like the least?

"Gary (Blanche's father) is close to a villain as possible. He is an anti-vaxer."

Who is the character you most admire?

"Hudson."

Who are some writers that you admire?

Camus—The Plague; Hemmingway—when he was 20; John Irving—assured writer (he name checks him).

What is an occupation that you would most like to try?

"CEO of a small company."

eReader or print?

"Print. I have never done a book event from an eseller," Simsion admitted.

Grammatical error that bothers you?

Apostrophe—it's, its.

What is your favourite word?

"Serendipity."

What is your favourite cocktail?

"Margarita," Graeme said. Don Tillman keeps it simple—lots of ice with two parts liquor, one part lemon or lime, and one part sweet (simple syrup or liquor).

What are you working on next?

Simsion is writing a guide to meals: Don Tillman’s Standardized Meal System: Recipes and Tips from the Star of the Rosie Novels (forthcoming).

How did you conduct your research on autism?

Graeme spent thirty years in IT and Tillman is an amalgamation of the people he met—he used real people as his research. These people were probably never diagnosed, but looking back, Simsion says that they were definitely on the spectrum. It was important to him to not be offensive or to enforce any negative stereotypes.

In the original book, Clara was a nerd, and he wanted to make it more challenging so Rosie was born. Simsion's wife is a psychiatrist who helped mold Rosie and shape what kind of woman would be attracted to Don.

A common misconception of someone with autism is that they have a lack of empathy when in fact it is a communication issue. What was acceptable in Rain Man would not be tolerated today.

While writing, Simsion stayed away from anything with autism (The Good Doctor, The Big Bang Theory, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time) except for Helen Hoang's book, The Kiss Quotient, or any novels he was asked to endorse.

The Rosie Result

Don Tillman and Rosie Jarman are about to face their most important challenge.

Their ten-year-old son, Hudson, is struggling at school: he’s socially awkward and not fitting in. Don’s spent a lifetime trying to fit in—so who better to teach Hudson the skills he needs?

The Hudson Project will require the help of friends old and new, force Don to decide how much to guide Hudson and how much to let him be himself, and raise some significant questions about Don’s own identity.

Meanwhile, there are multiple distractions to deal with: the Genetics Lecture Outrage, Rosie’s troubles at work, estrangement from his best friend Gene…

And opening the world’s best cocktail bar.

Hilarious and thought-provoking, with a brilliant cast of characters, The Rosie Result is the triumphant final installment of the much-loved and internationally bestselling Don Tillman trilogy.

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GRAEME SIMSION is a bestselling author of most notably, the Don Tillman trilogy. The first book, The Rosie Project, has been optioned for film by Sony Pictures, it was also a Globe and Mail Best Book of the Year and won the Australian Book Industry Association Book of the Year. The second book, The Rosie Effect was also a #1 Globe and Mail bestseller, an instant New York Times bestseller, and a People magazine Pick of the Week. Another of Simsion’s novels, The Best of Adam Sharp, has also been optioned by Toni Collette. He has also co-authored a book with his wife, Anne, called Two Steps Forward.

Graeme lives in Australia with his wife, Anne, and their two children.