36 Books Blog: Nate Granzow

Nate Granzow, author of Get Idiota

Genre Fiction category, sponsored by Macalester College

Each week leading up to the 33rd annual Minnesota Book Awards announcement, we are featuring exclusive interviews with our 36 finalists. You can also watch the authors in conversation with their fellow category finalists here.

In a year defined by a pandemic and its fallout, virtually everything about our lives has changed in some way. How has COVID-19 impacted your writing habits and preferences? Has the unique zeitgeist of the past year influenced your writing output in any ways that you can pinpoint?  

Like many other authors, this year has left me with little inspiration or energy to write, which seems peculiar given that I’ve had more opportunity to do so than I’ve had in years. I actually feel really guilty about it, as though I’m squandering an opportunity that I may never have again. The explanations for this are manifold: For those of us with young kids at home, it’s difficult to escape the constant noise or persistent neediness, and our concentration suffers. Even those without kids are stuck in the same stagnant surroundings with a lack of stimuli or opportunity to organically observe the human condition—key elements to the creative process. Our lives have taken on a repetitiveness that stifles any creative urges in a big way. It’s certainly impacted my productivity. 

Would you tell us one or two things about your finalist book that you are particularly proud of, and why? (Sure, it may feel a bit un-Minnesotan to say so, but it’s not boasting if we ask!) 

I’d like to think Get Idiota takes a very serious, solemn topic (the War on Drugs/cartel violence) and injects levity and dark humor without being disrespectful or insouciant. That was a priority for me as I wrote this: I didn’t want this to be a caricatured representation of Mexico, even if the theme of the story was absurd and comedic. 

What do you hope that your audience learns or takes away from your book?  

The prevailing message, if there is one in this book, is that dogged tenacity can overcome just about anything. If you’re motivated to accomplish something, and you’re unwilling to quit, nothing can stop you. The protagonist in Get Idiota, Nick Ripley, faces setback after setback (most of his own design) but continues to forge ahead in a desperate scramble to come out on top. Despite his other flaws, that trait redeems him and propels him to success…eventually. 

Minnesota enjoys a reputation as a place that values literature and reading. If this sentiment rings true for you, what about our home state makes it such a welcoming and conductive place for writers? 

I think our frigid temperatures during the long (seemingly endless) winters may contribute to this phenomenon. We’re trapped indoors for months at a time; reading and writing are natural ways to alleviate cabin fever by transporting us elsewhere, to different times and places, on adventures we could only dream about otherwise. And when spring rolls around, everyone in the literary community seems invigorated to go out and interact with each other. 

What advice would you give to an aspiring writer with an interest in your category? 

First, write honestly: Tell your story how you would want to read it and don’t waste precious time or energy second-guessing what critics might say. Second, don’t become discouraged when success doesn’t happen overnight. Like anything, the longer you work at it, the better you’ll get and the more refined your unique “voice” will become. If writing is an essential part of your being and instrumental to your happiness, don’t concern yourself with how others view it or with traditional metrics of success (sales, reviews, awards, etc.)—focus on the fact that it brings you joy and the rest will follow. 

Tell us something about yourself that is not widely known! (It doesn’t have to be about your writing.) 

I’ve got a thing for old books, old guitars, old whiskey, old watches, and old guns. I’m suspect I was born in the wrong era. 

Nate Granzow is a novelist and editor whose book Zimbabwe Hustle won the 2019 Best Independent Book Award in the action/adventure category.