Author Interview ~ Nicole Mazzarella

Nicole Mazzarella grew up in Ohio and writes with sensitivity and precision about rural, Midwestern life. Nicole currently teaches creative writing at Wheaton College. Prior to teaching, Nicole worked in a variety of settings, including the 1996 Olympics, an Episcopal Cathedral, a bank, an insurance company, and a software company. She now lives with her husband and daughter in Illinois.








Can you give us a look into a typical day for you?

I don’t know if “typical” exists now that I have an eleven-month old baby. Typical includes reading Goodnight Moon every night to lull my daughter to sleep, stepping on Cheerios every time I walk into the kitchen, and laughing at my daughter’s joke of saying “Da Da” when I ask her who I am.

Does my typical day include writing? Most days do. Even if I don’t write every day, I work out aspects of my novel every day. As I’m driving, walking, vacuuming, or standing in line, I’m also imagining conversations between my characters, considering the plot, or trying to figure out the back story of a minor character. I do sit down almost every day for at least a half an hour to get these ideas on paper. This usually happens during my daughter’s naptime or late at night.

Teaching also enlivens my writing. I typically teach my classes in the morning or early afternoon. It’s helpful to remember some fundamentals of fiction writing in the midst of a project as consuming as a novel.

How long had you been writing before you got a contract? How did you find out and what went through your mind?

In a box of old elementary school papers, I found a fill-in-the-blank ditto sheet “All About Me.” To the question, “What do you want to do when you grow up?,” I answered “write books.” I don’t remember writing that or admitting to anyone other than my mother than I wanted to write.

As a freshman in high school, I wrote what I then called a novel. Every night my mom listened to the latest installment - only a mother can give that type of encouragement. I did complete it, though it loudly echoes what I was reading at the time. Writing has always been my natural response to reading. After I read someone else’s stories, I have the impulse to tell my own.

Over fifteen years later when I sent my manuscript to Paraclete Press, I never imagined they would contact me. The day the acquisitions editor from Paraclete Press called, I had just put tortilla shells in the oven on broil. I was so stunned by the news that I completely forgot about them.

As I called my husband to tell him my novel would be published, I noticed smoke billowing from the oven. For a split second, I thought, “The fire can wait. I have to tell him.” But when I peeked in the oven and flames licked the door, I quickly hung up the phone and put out the fire before calling him. The oven has never been the same, but it’s a good story. I had worked on the novel for almost four years, so I was elated at the thought of sharing the novel with readers.

In addition to being a Christy Award finalist, your book was just named by Christianity Today as Fiction Book of the Year. It also received a starred review from Library Journal and was also named by Library Journal as one of the best books of 2005. Leif Enger, author of Peace Like a River, selected it as a finalist for the Paraclete Press Fiction Award of 2004. How did you find out about these awards?


Well, neither story is as dramatic as learning the novel would be published. I didn’t even realize my publisher had nominated my novel for the Christy Awards. I simply received an e-mail from them telling me I was a finalist. I missed the publisher’s call when they learned I had won the CT award, so I found out when strangers at the Calvin Faith and Writing conference congratulated me.

What new book or project would you like to tell us about?

I’ve started my second novel, but I have a quirk that I don’t talk about my writing too early in the process. One thinks of writers like Truman Capote and others who spent more time talking about their writing than writing. If I tell the story, I no longer have the urge to write it. I will say that I’ve moved on to a different location which intrigues me. I’m enjoying the research for this second novel and the characters who I’ve met thus far.

Do you still have self-doubts about your writing?

Of course. I obsessively revise. Even as I give readings, I want to tinker with sentences. I’m still a bit surprised to hear complements from readers. Anne Lamott’s Bird by Bird has been the greatest help with my self-doubts. She normalizes so much about the writing life and gives practical ways to work in spite of self-doubt.

Was there ever a time in your writing career you thought of quitting?

After I completed the first draft of This Heavy Silence, I stopped writing. I didn’t journal. I didn’t think about the novel. I stopped writing short stories. For about three months, I doubted that any one would ever want to read anything I had written. But then I had repeating dreams about my characters. I missed them the way you miss a habitual cup of coffee. That’s when I decided that even if no one ever cared about these characters, I had to finish the novel.

What’s the best writing advice you’ve heard?

Lousy First Drafts. That's from a book, Bird by Bird, that I read once a year, sometimes more. Before someone recommended this book, I would spend an afternoon staring at the blank screen. I would type, delete, repeat, and end the day with nothing. Allowing myself to write whatever comes to mind has allowed for characters who surprise me, dialogue that makes me laugh, and plot turns that shock me.

What’s the worst piece of writing advice you’ve ever received?

If you don’t write every day, you’re not a writer. Does a writer need to write when she doesn’t feel like it? Yes. Does a writer need to find a way to ignore other responsibilities to write? Yes. Does a writer need to write regularly? Yes. But I don’t believe you are no longer a writer if you don’t sit at your desk every day.

What are a few of your favorite novels?

I hate to even begin to name them. It’s an ever-changing list. As with all writers, I’m indebted to hundreds of writers. A few novels that instantly come to mind would be Middlemarch, Cat’s Eye, Poisonwood Bible, Bee Season, The Stone Diaries, A Thousand Acres, A River Beyond the World, Brother’s Karamazov, and a recent discovery, Dwelling Places; there are so many more.

What author do you especially admire and why?

Flannery O’Connor. Her essays and talks collected in Mystery and Manners made it possible for me to write. She says, “If the novelist is doing what as an artist he is bound to do, he will inevitably suggest that image of ultimate reality as it can be glimpsed in some aspect of the human situation.” This freed me to observe reality, not tidy it up. This allowed me to ask questions. This reminded me that careful observation of our world is similar to quieting oneself in prayer.

How much marketing do you do? What's your favorite part of marketing?

Quite a bit. I designed my website (http://www.nicolemazzarella.com/), postcards, and bookmarks when the novel was released. I set up readings and book signings. My favorite moments are casual conversations with book clubs and aspiring writers. Visiting classrooms is also a highlight. Elementary school students ask the best questions, such as why didn’t I illustrate my novel, how did I name my characters, and what is my favorite tree.

Do you have any parting words of advice?

Write because it makes you more present, more attentive, in life.