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Author Spotlight: Mary Novik

Posted by Merlin, 4 years ago

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Mary Novik was born to be a writer. Her debut novel, Conceit, is the story of Pegge Donne, the daughter of the poet John Donne, who was a contemporary of Shakespeare. The Globe and Mail has called it, "a magnificent novel of seventeenth-century London". Additionally, Conceit was long-listed for the Giller, winner of the Ethel Wilson Fiction Award, and was chosen as a Best Book of 2007 by both Quill & Quire and The Globe and Mail. It was released in paperback July 29, 2008.

“Reading and writing always went hand in hand for me. I was one of those little girls who made booklets in the shape of continents and filled them with pretend stories and badly-drawn flora and fauna, like coconut trees and kangaroos.”

Novik allows the characters to lead her through their own perception and in turn her writing transports the reader into a world full of whimsy and depth. This is a skill she has observed in those who inspire her, such as Robertson Davies and Mordecai Richler.

“For me, the best authors are those who transport the reader into a unique world. They show us that world through a character's eyes, so that we feel we are experiencing it for ourselves. But I am also fascinated by writers who are masters not of character, but of style, like Michael Ondaatje. I am also very interested in what contemporary novelists are doing, for instance Gail Anderson-Dargatz and Jen Sookfong Lee. And of course I'm very fond of John Donne's love poetry.”

Conceit, was a labor of love which took 7 years to complete. Novik was inspired after a visit to St. Paul's Cathedral in London. She discovered that John Donne's effigy was the only monument that had survived the Great Fire of 1666. That night, back in her hotel, she dreamt that his daughter Pegge braved the holocaust to rescue it. Novik was intrigued to explore Pegge's relationship with her father and her desire to find the kind of passion her parents had experienced.

To add Mary Novik as a friend please visit her profile: community.indigo.ca/profile/Mary_Novik/95825.html

In addition: www.marynovik.com is where she regularly updates her blog, bookclub materials, a bio, photos, and seventeenth-century backgrounds for Conceit. She also belongs to a writing group that has been together for six years. You can visit the website at www.spinwrites.com

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