Nova Ren Suma is the author of Dani Noir, a classic tale of lies, deception, and betrayal, transformed into black and white through the eyes of thirteen-year-old protagonist Danielle Callanzano. Dani is always the hero of her own story, and the story she tells herself is that she has been wronged. In the movies, virtue is always clear cut, lies are always revealed, and retribution always carries the end of the picture, but Dani knows that real life is nothing like that. In real life, people, her father, for example, lie and get away with it. She knows the rules are different, and they don't make any sense:
It's complicated, people tell me, like I can't understand the huge messes grown-ups makes of relationships.
But I do understand.
I understand how--in the movie--you walk away at the end knowing who the bad guy is. It's not like in real life when you walk around all confused, wondering if you're the bad one for hating them.
Dani refuses to be party to deception. In fact, she is determined to expose all lies. No man will betray a woman again on her watch, especially not the fly-by-night film projectionist who's dating her former babysitter, so Dani sets foot upon her own path of intrigue. Armed with the knowledge of the greatest femmes fatales ever to grace the silver screen, and her own interpretation of right and wrong, how can she fail?
The difference between cinema and reality is vast, and yet, sometimes, the flickering lights on the screen have more of an effect on our decisions than we like to admit. It is the compelling heroines who are unafraid to expose their own faults in the end, rather than disappear into the night. Dani Noir is a thought-provoking journey into the mysteries of modern adolescent life. Suma skillfully navigates a course through the most turbulent waters--divorce, infidelity, abandonment, and hypocrisy--in a story that opens a window into the mind of a finally honest teen.
Nova Ren Suma allowed me to open a window into her mind, in this wonderful interview.
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