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Nuclear angst shaped writer's generation

For Cold War kids, the prospect of nuclear missiles ending the world in apocalyptic fashion was a stark reality, and the basis of a new novel by Steveston's Nancy Lee.

For Cold War kids, the prospect of nuclear missiles ending the world in apocalyptic fashion was a stark reality, and the basis of a new novel by Steveston's Nancy Lee.

New Age, Lee's second book, is set in Vancouver, 1984, while Soviet warships swarm the North Atlantic, bringing the world to the brink of nuclear annihilation, while telling the tale of Gerry, a 15-year-old girl who finds herself in the dual roles of a militant peace activist, and a survivor of a dystopian fantasy world destroyed by war.

Lee remembers being 13, in social studies class and kids having the attitude of "it doesn't matter, we aren't even going to be here" having the only context for war being a nuclear one that would bring the world to an end.

For Lee, and other children of the 80s, the idea of war being absolute and final was a unique experience and one from which she drew inspiration for New Age.

"People older than us don't think that way, since they have lived through various

wars, and the generation younger than us don't think that way either," said Lee.

"So what I wanted to explore was the idea of nuclear anxiety and how it shaped a generation, and that is what Gerry is going through in the book."

Lee, who also teaches creative writing at UBC, has much praise for the local writing

community, and credits local writing groups for helping with her success.

"There is such a vibrant literarily community going on, especially in Vancouver right now, a lot of great young writers are coming up locally."

She reminds aspiring writers that getting published isn't an easy process and it takes a lot of paying your dues.

"My first book was rejected by pretty much everyone," added Lee, referring to Dead Girls, which went on to be named Book of the Year by NOW Magazine, and was a finalist for the Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize and the Danuta Gleed Literary Award.

Offering advice for up and coming writers, she said "publishers are looking for a finished product, they're not looking for a diamond in the rough - they're looking for a diamond."

She said the reward for her hard work was worth it, and seeing her first book on store shelves was a surreal experience.

"I'm already on another project, so your imagination and psyche are already in a different place, but I will go down and take a look."