12-10-03
PENN STATE BEHREND WRITER UNVEILS FIRST NOVEL
Nicole Louise Reid, lecturer in creative writing at Penn State Behrend, is celebrating the publication of her first novel, In the Breeze of Passing Things (MacAdam/Cage, November 2003). Reid's book is a heartbreaking, eloquently written book about a young girl named Iva Giles and an unstable, irresponsible, absentee father she can't help but love.
"In the book, there's a way in which Iva moves from being a passive creature to being active and making her own decisions," said Reid about her main character. "Iva's father becomes her vehicle for personal change and for moving from one world to another."
The lyrical prose of In the Breeze of Passing Things introduces us to the Giles family, Iva's mother, father, and younger sister, and brings them through a three-year struggle during which, according to one reviewer, "the children are set adrift by their parents' emotional inadequacies." Reid's novel grew from a short story titled "Moving," written while she pursued a master's degree in fine arts at George Mason University. The book took about a year to write, most chapters standing alone, then woven into the story of Iva Giles and her family.
Reid is originally from the Philadelphia, but accompanied her family in a succession of moves south until finally settling in the Washington, D.C. area. As a child she preferred being read to rather than reading herself, and attributes the prominence of voice and character in her fiction to that early experience. In fact, much of her work-written in the short story format with which she has been most comfortable-is narrated in the first person by children. In her last year of college a creative writing professor suggested that she submit a poem for publication, and the pleasure of having her work published led her to more writing and to the MFA.
At Penn State Behrend Reid teaches reading fiction, writing fiction, and composition, and she is currently at work on a new book, a novel that she says will again reach into domestic life and examine the heart of a family. She will be signing copies of her book in Newton, Massachusetts, and Philadelphia in January, and she is scheduled for a signing at Erie's Barnes and Noble on Thursday, February 12, 2004.
Editors: Ms. Reid can be reached at 814-898-6445 or by e-mail at Niloreid@aol.com.
Contact:
Loretta Brandon
814-898-6063 (O)
E-mail: lzb6@psu.edu