Each day leading up to the 32nd annual Minnesota Book Awards announcement, we’ll be featuring an exclusive interview with one of our 36 finalists.
Interview with Nancy J. Hedin, author of Stray, part of the Novel & Short Story category, sponsored by College of Saint Benedict/Saint John’s University
How does it feel to be a Minnesota Book Award finalist?
I am thrilled. I love
writing and I’d like to think that I would continue writing if I were never
published again. However, there are intermittent reinforcements that make the
writing process easier. Being published certainly helps me get to the page as
do thoughtful comments from readers, readings, and visits to book clubs. This
nomination is a big boost. It makes me feel like I’m a real writer and that my
work has merit. I say that with embarrassment because it isn’t that I believe
anyone else’s writing is unreal or lacks merit if it is not published, praised,
or honored with awards. I guess I apply a different standard to the insecure
skin in which I live. Being a finalist feels good.
Tell us something about
your finalist book that you want readers to know?
Stray is a sequel to my first novel, Bend. Stray stands alone, but I think the experience of reading Stray is greatly enhanced by reading Bend also. That said, there will be another and final book in this trilogy, Rise. It is not completed yet or sold to a publisher, but the characters are telling me the story every day. I hope to have listened well and have the book out in 2020.
Share something about your writing process and preferences. For instance, where is your favorite place to write?
I joke that all my
stories begin with me hearing voices. I actually do hear my character’s talking
in my head. They don’t address me. They talk to each other, narrate or play out
a scene for me to understand what the story is about. I can write anywhere
these days because I have to take advantage of the opportunities as they arise.
I’m a full-time social worker, wife, mother of teenagers, and I’m addicted to
watching British crime shows. I always have a notebook with me to write down
ideas or edits that come to mind.
If I am having difficulty writing a particular scene or deciding a plot point,
I ask myself questions about it before sleeping or mowing the lawn. The next
step is often revealed to me during sleep or walking the yard behind the lawn
mower. My snow blower isn’t nearly as inspirational as the lawn mower.
Minnesota has a reputation as a state that values literature and reading. In
your experience, what is it about our state that makes it such a welcoming
place for writers and book creators?
We are a people who can handle disappointment and laugh at ourselves. Our teams are the Charlie Browns of professional sports and we cheer anyway and hold hope for the next season. Minnesotans know that life is complex. There will be bad times, but just as surely as a beautiful spring and stunning summer follow that God-awful winter, good times will come again. We are people who feel deeply the whole continuum of personal emotions and we need art and literature to express what is happening in our hearts.
What is something you are good at that few people know about?
It’s hard to think of something I am good at that few people know. I tend to boast about anything I think I am good at. I suppose that only my wife and daughters know that I can paint and draw – not well in comparison the genius of my friend, Susan Solomon, but there are drawings and paintings I’ve made of or for our kids that were good in their own right. They shall remain secreted in our home for our own amusement.
What do you love about libraries?
To me, libraries are the most important community resource in our democracy. Information, new ideas, and history are freely available to any person. The sacred nor the profane are locked away from anyone. Libraries make materials and the internet available to whole communities. Music, film, books, magazines, and reference material organized and displayed for our viewing pleasure. Additionally, here in the Twin Cities, our libraries have become community centers, meeting grounds, and sanctuary for many people who need a place to be. I think there’s a lot to be learned from the gracious, welcoming, curious attitudes of those people who choose to work in the service of libraries.
Nancy J. Hedin has been a pastor and a bartender (at the same time). She is also the author of Bend, named Debut Novel of the Year by Golden Crown Literary Society.