This month, we’re bringing you a story about an astrological forecaster whose television ratings are falling. Hannah Pass’s “Nova” is a world of glitz, glitter, fiber-optic star charts and unsavory old men, a place where networks air shows on adolescent bartending and on hypnotherapy for insomniacs. But at its heart, “Nova” is a story about a mother who wants to do right, set a good example for her thirteen-year-old daughter. We asked Hannah some questions about the story and her writing. (And you’ll also find an exclusive drink recipe that uses…well, we don’t want to spoil it!)
AR: In the first paragraph of “Nova,” the reader is launched into the strange world of astronomical forecasting, which is both foreign and entirely imaginable. Is that where the idea for the story started—with the concept of the television show? Or did it begin somewhere else?
HP: Thinking back, it did start with the idea for a television show, that first line actually, and from there the premise fell into place. Admittedly, I’m a very intuitive writer. Story ideas generally spring from one sentence and then develop through rhythm and music and voice.
AR: At its heart, “Nova” is about a mother who wants to do right by her daughter, a middle schooler who’s already wearing glittery makeup and metallic clothes. In that way, the world of the story mirrors the materialistic one we live in. But at other times, the story’s reality seems completely foreign—people are literally given pink slips when fired and the television station airs a show on adolescent bartending. Why make the familiar strange and the strange familiar? Do you do this often in your writing?
HP: Yeah, for sure. Tastes in writing are ever-changing, readers want new and more so, nowadays, writing that exceeds realism. At the same time, the world is packed full of wonderfully mundane things that if we look at in a slightly off-kilter way can appear odd and interesting again. We have a lot of freedom to write wacky things. I love wacky things! They can tap into some otherwise difficult-to-tap emotions. But on the flip side, since we have the liberty to make everything strange, it can often feel a bit superficial, restricting the reader from truly connecting. I’m a fan of the human heart. It’s really something. I want emotional resonance in my stories. And this strange-familiar and familiar-strange stuff gives us joy from seeing something we already know, in a different light. It’s a sneaky way of triggering those emotions alive within us.
AR: Stars, planets and moons are difficult things to write about. On one hand, they’re mystifying and existential—but on the other, writers sometimes use them as a stand-in for gravity and meaning. And they are also often overdone and sentimental—to reappropriate a line from Gatsby, we’re “simultaneously enchanted and repelled by the inexhaustible variety of [stars].” (Before I go on, I must say Larry Levis’s “Winter Stars” has always knocked the breath out of me in the best way.) One of the refreshing things about “Nova” is that all the stars are on a green screen, set in the studio, in the fabricated and controlled world of television and mass media. In that way, you’re able to hang on to their allure while demystifying them on the page. It’s a tension I enjoyed so much. What are your thoughts on the metaphorical use of astrology in literature? Are there stories or poems that come to mind that integrate astrology well? Can you speak to this and your writing of this story?
HP: It’s funny. Just the other week my friend Desiree Andrews, (who’s a genius of an editor), made a comment about a scene in a novel draft, and that is: “Everybody knows that the sun is there. We all know what the sun looks like. Just leave it alone!” And I thought, Oh totally. The sun, yuck!
So on a similar beat, “Nova” pokes fun of this idea—a failing television show about astronomical phenomena—because, well, nobody cares! The solar system, as you mentioned, is susceptible to sentimentality. However, I think the goal is to not push it. And in the case of any metaphor we shouldn’t push meaning. I think astrology/astronomy, anything really, can be used in literature. (Consider “The Stargazers Log to Summer Time Crime” by Karen Russell and Cosmicomics by Italo Calvino). But just like the peeps bored of realism, fed up with the sun, we want to see something fresh. A lovely way to do this is to destabilize your readers, and with the astronomical forecasting I tried to do just that. However, I never begin a story with a metaphor in mind. In “Nova,” I wanted a vivid setting with rich images that needed no explanation. The metaphors often happen on their own. There comes a point when I lurk near an ending and I’m like, Ah ha! You find a connection. I’m convinced you can do this with just about anything.
AR: Who are your all-time favorite authors and books? And also, what are you reading these days?
HP: Oh Leonard Michaels is a favorite for sure. Others include Diane Williams, Miranda July, Steven Millhauser. This month I fell in doe-eyed love with In Watermelon Sugar by Richard Brautigan. I also read How Should a Person Be? by Sheila Heti, and Tampa by Alissa Nutting. Both are incredibly good.
AR: You mentioned that you’re writing a novel. If you can share, I’d love to hear a little bit about what you are working on now.
HP: So far, the novel is about the friendship between a Moon intern and her earth-friend in Wisconsin who’s in dire search of her one true love. Think Michel Gondry meets Seinfeld.
AR: And just for fun: Can you give us a recipe for one of the beverages featured on Kandy’s Kolossal Kool-Aid?
HP: Continuing with the astronomy theme, I call this The Big Bang!
1 Juice box, cherry-flavored
1 cup ice cubes
½ cup of club soda
½ cup pina colada jelly beans
2 tablespoons of sugar
2 lemons, quartered
2 servings of Pop Rocks
1. Sugar the rims of the glasses. To do so, pour sugar onto a small plate, rub the rims of the glasses with lemon, and press them into the sugar.
2. In a blender, combine juice box juice, club soda, ice, pina colada jelly beans. Blend until smooth. Pour into glasses, sprinkle Pop Rocks into each glass, and serve with care.