We chat with author Misha Lazzara about her new new novel Manmade Constellations, which is a smart, magnetic, and emotional novel dedicated to the American landscape, exploring how taking to the open road teaches lessons that can’t be learned at home.
Hi, Misha! Can you tell our readers a bit about yourself?
Hi! I’m Misha! I grew up in a very small town in MN. I read a lot back then because we didn’t get dial up until after middle school and my parents didn’t ‘believe’ in cable TV. Books were my outlet to the wider world! Seems hard to believe nowadays. I went to undergrad in TX where I met my husband. Then we moved to North Carolina where I got an MA and MFA in creative writing. I’ve always known I wanted to be a writer, but for me, it was because I was a reader first. I connect to writing that way, as a reader who used books as a lifeline.
When did you first discover your love for writing?
Probably, if I’m honest, it was reading Charlotte’s Web. It was my first ‘tragedy,’ and it hit me hard. The biography of Murasaki Shikibu in a children’s book about writers (Lives of the Writers by Kathleen Krull) spoke to me in deep and mysterious ways. Contended or not, I consider her the world’s first novelist, and The Tale of Genji is so incredibly subversive and genius. Also, I named my pet turtle after her.
Your new novel, Manmade Constellations, is out now! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?
Small-town, open-road, troubled-romances, growing-up, apologize.
Sorry had to toss those hyphens in!
What can readers expect?
It’s one of those books where you will love and hate each character in turn. People aren’t perfect, and these characters have a lot to own up to for various reasons, a lot of growing into themselves and learning more about the world through discovering their own pasts. The biggest takeaway for me was the idea that what we believe so strongly about ourselves and the world can potentially sabotage or hold us back from being a better version of ourselves or actually creating a better world for ourselves, loved ones and communities.
Where did the inspiration for Manmade Constellations come from?
The very first spark of inspiration was the character John Blank, a serious Southern man with a mysterious past and his relationship with his love interest, Lo. I don’t want to give too much away, but when I started writing the book it was much later ‘in the game.’ The book ended up being their origin story. I also wanted to tell a true story about Minnesota, good, bad and ugly.
Can you tell us a bit about the challenges you faced while writing and how you were able to overcome them?
I shelved this book for ten years because I had no idea how to write a novel. I know that a lot of people say you don’t need higher education to be an artist/writer, but I really had a lot to learn. I had always read books as a reader, never as a writer, so I really did not know how to put one together. I picked the manuscript back up at the start of the pandemic, locked myself on the tiny patio in the mornings, used the knowledge I’d gained in school and pulled it together in a way that felt like a real book.
Were there any moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring?
I don’t want to spoil anything! But for both Lo and Jason–when the truth of how they might face their futures ‘hits’ them–those were good moments for me.
What’s the best and the worst writing advice you have received?
This is a great question. There’s a lot of bad writing advice floating around (no thanks to Hemingway’s ‘write drunk, edit sober’), but the worst is probably to ‘wait for the muse’ or only write when you’re inspired. It may work for some people, okay, but to me it sounds like self-sabotage. Also, I truly believe inspiration shows up when you do. Just sit down and write.
The best writing advice, for me, is the mucky, emotional, sort-of-spiritual stuff from the likes of Julia Cameron in The Artist’s Way or Writing Past Dark by Bonnie Friedman. I underestimated the inner-critic, the ways we avoid or self-sabotage our writing aspirations, the courage it takes to share creations and the necessity to let go of the ego and let the story take over.
What’s next for you?
Book two deadline is a month-and-a-half away! It’s a multigenerational story about music, hard choices and fighting for the life you want. Plus I teach fiction at UNCC so the fall semester is upon us.
Lastly, do you have any book recommendations for our readers? Any late 2022 or 2023 releases you’re looking forward to?
I just started Sea of Tranquility by Emily St John Mandel and I’m anxiously awaiting the second book in Cadwell Turnbull’s No Gods, No Monsters trilogy. For romance fans, pick up Luck and Last Resorts by Sarah Grunder Ruiz.
