All Lit Up: Tell us about your new book. What can readers expect?
NADIA BOZAK: Fret, my new novel, is a story about family and forgiveness, making mistakes and finding grace for yourself and others. It is also about learning to survive in a warming climate, and how social connection and fostering community are essential for healthy, sustainable living. Readers can expect to feel the heat: sweaty, humid, urban heat. They should also expect to keep turning the pages, as the story’s action moves forward with some propulsion.
ALU: What inspired the idea for your latest book?
NADIA: Part of the inspiration for Fret was living in a house not unlike the one depicted in the novel. Hot summer, boiling little house, hemmed in by traffic, and just feeling pretty stuck. Capturing those feelings and putting them down on the page in a visceral way gave me a sense of relief from the heat, making it all feel abstract and analyzable instead of just oppressive.
ALU: How has your perspective on writing changed over time?
NADIA: My perspective on writing has changed significantly over time. I see now how transient books are. They come and go, though at the time they feel so significant and concrete. I have also learned how difficult it can be when one’s identity or sense of self becomes entangled with the reception of one’s publications. It’s important to have a separate life and sense of purpose outside of writing.
ALU: How do you overcome creative blocks when they arise?
NADIA: Getting out for a walk, a run, a swim, or doing something, anything, physical is my solution for overcoming dead ends in something I am writing. Engaging the body and sending all that warm, juicy blood rushing through your system often generates the solution you otherwise never would have imagined.
ALU: Do you have any rituals that you abide by when you’re writing?
NADIA: I don’t have any specific rituals associated with my writing routine, but I do swear by using a timer and writing for blocks of twenty minutes before taking a short break to stand up and stretch or make a hot drink. Sometimes, when things are flowing, I don’t hear the timer, and that’s a good thing. The timer forces me to sit down, turn off any access to the internet, and dive in. I also prefer to be by a window. A bit of natural light nourishes me with energy, and a view provides the option to look away for a moment and check back in with the world beyond the page.
ALU: Do you have any rituals that you abide by when you’re writing?
NADIA: A rewarding moment as a writer happened recently. An emerging writer read a book I wrote a long time ago and I now have mixed feelings about. When she told me she had read that book I cringed a bit. Of course, she was polite and praised the book, but she also described an image in the book that she said she would always remember for the way it captured so accurately how a young child regards their mother. I had forgotten about this moment in that old book, and I had to agree it was well done and resonate. It was very satisfying to hear that something I wrote, even one line out of a long book, reached out and grabbed this young writer’s attention and connected with her, and I had done accomplishes this, just using carefully chosen words.
Since I’m currently on the road for a family holiday/ research trip in Drumheller, Alberta, my workspace takes the form of a generic laminate desk in a chain motel. The window is not near the desk, but I have a little heart-shaped rock for inspiration, and I am enjoying writing in my notebook instead of on a computer. I also like having the motel phone nearby, as this one is not going to distract me.
Nadia’s temporary workspace.
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Nadia Bozak lives in Ottawa with her family and is a faculty member in the Department of English at Carleton University. Fret is her fifth book.
Order Fret here on All Lit Up, or from your local bookseller.
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