We are very pleased to be giving away two copies of WL Moloney’s book, ‘What Do You Do All Day?’, to our GrownUps members.
All you need to do to enter the draw is be a GrownUps member, make sure you’re signed up to our newsletter and fill in your details near the bottom of the page!
Set in Auckland, What Do You Do All Day? is a darkly funny novel that is both entertaining and thought-provoking.
What does a wealthy Auckland stay-at-home mother and wife do all day? What really goes on when the cat’s away?
On the surface, Sam has everything any woman should want: a successful husband, a nice house, a holiday home, two lovely kids, and a desirable, expensive car. Yet Sam is frustrated and unfulfilled. When her usual distractions fail her, she retraces the steps of how her life turned out like it has.
At breakfast, Sam takes up her daily dose of magic mushrooms. This transforms a normal day into an enjoyable, surreal roll around Auckland. Till she is cruelly dragged back to reality by a worrying call from her daughter’s school. Prepare to laugh out loud, gasp, cringe, and be entertained, as the real Sam is revealed.
Author Note
‘What Do You Do All Day? is WJ Moloney’s third book, the first not to be governed by the constraints of writing historical fiction. This gave WJ Moloney more scope to explore his own views on the way we live today. The novel is set over the course of one single day. This enabled WJ Moloney to illustrate the menial and manual nature of motherhood, especially as all those millions of tasks go unseen, unpaid, and undervalued.
WJ Moloney is constantly angry on behalf of women, at the structural inequality they face in the workforce, in their homes, in their relationships, at the tiny compromises they have to make, for their men, for their kids, each and every day and in the violence they face. And the way women are still expected to defer. WJ Moloney gets madder still watching the little gains that have been made by women over the last 40 years currently being rolled back by the inherent structures of our society.
What Do You Do All Day? is intentionally provocative and confrontational. WJ Moloney has tried to fire both barrels. The main character, Sam, is unreliable, whiny and sneaky. She seemingly has everything, yet she is unsatisfied. This challenges the reader to ask what she does not have and why that is more important than all the baubles of wealth.
The underlying structure of the book, which occurs over one day, means that none of the characters can grow and learn. This reflects the author’s belief that most people neither have the energy nor the inclination to change their lives, even if they are bombarded by the Instagram stories, reels, and TikTok videos of wellness influencers. It also shows that WJ Moloney watched a lot of Seinfeld whilst writing What Do You Do All Day? a show whose characters never, ever, seek or achieve personal growth.
About the Author
WJ Moloney was born and bred in Wellington. He does not live there currently but the city colours his thinking to this day. He recently bought an old Wellington bus blind to remind him of the many enjoyable hours travelling on the old red buses.
WJ Moloney returned to New Zealand in 2018 after nearly 20 years overseas. He lived in both London and the Middle East. Both of which he enjoyed, but for very different reasons. WJ Moloney arrived at Heathrow in Thai fisherman pants with $50 tucked in the waistband. He left with a wife, three kids and a Master’s Degree. In his time in London WJ Moloney progressed from living a life of fun in the East to that of a breeder in the West.
WJ Moloney was described by one of his oldest friends as ‘having an uneasy relationship with paid employment’. His old friend was not wrong. WJ Moloney’s career can be best described in the immortal words of Wayne Campbell of Wayne’s World, ‘He has an extensive collection of name tags and hairnets.’ This may be because WJ Moloney had always wanted to write but had never been brave enough. That changed after getting fired after moving to Abu Dhabi, which gave WJ Moloney the time and inclination to give writing a go.
WJ Moloney is still married and lives with three teenage sons at home. He also has an opinionated 53.5kg dog. Occasionally, he is able to get a son, or the dog, to do what he would bid. But never two of them and never at the same time.
WJ Moloney is addicted, in varying degrees to vaping, podcasts, audiobooks, naps, cricket bats, long walks and coffee. He has written two previous books, The Battle of Messines Road and Invincible.
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Terms and conditions
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- You must be a GrownUps member and receive our newsletter to be eligible to win.
- Competition closes on the 27th August 2025, winners will be notified via email by 28th August 2025.
- It is your responsibility to ensure you correctly enter a New Zealand postal address where the prize can be sent. GrownUps will not take responsibility for prizes sent to incorrect addresses.
- Winners are drawn at random by the GrownUps administration team.
- GrownUps employees and family are not eligible to enter.
- By entering the giveaway, you approve for GrownUps to use your name on social media as winner of the competition.
- One entry per household.
- Prize in non transferrable.
- You must reside in New Zealand – the prize can only be redeemed within New Zealand.
- You must be over 50 years of age to enter, please check your details are correct in your membership dashboard.
