a sudden sadness I could not explain. I dropped the pen and threw away the list. Clearly, this wasn't the way to go.
With some authors or topics I know that, no matter what I read by or about them, it will appear in a certain section. All things Oscar Wilde are shaped like strings and run a length of about 50 metres across a parking lot. The garage that is home to Middlesex features a few dozen articles and documentaries on reproductive medicine, heart surgery and transgender issues. There's a scene in Ian McEwan's Saturday in which the heart surgeon protagonist is peeling onions. I don't remember the rest of the novel very clearly, but there he is, peeling away. He'd stick out of the bonnet of my mum's car but I'm uncertain if I should tell her that. Also, inexplicably, there's Rollerball with James Caan from 1975. The librarian certainly has a sense for the absurd.
I've been wondering what would happen if someone wrote about me. Would it make it into the library and, if yes, would I short-circuit if I saw it?
I've just noticed that this text covers a beach-towel sized patch of lawn in front of my granddad's aviaries. It's a stone's throw away from Ray Bradbury's A Graveyard for Lunatics. That's not too bad.
In general, I get my inspiration from all sorts of places. Even the tiniest things. I'm almost always working on a story/character idea in my brain. I know they're really good when they keep me up at night—when I almost feel kinda “crazy” because I can't stop thinking about them. JACKPOT!
How did the idea for WhiskeyPaper come about?
My husband and I just wanted to throw our cowboy hats into the lit mag ring! And I'd had the name WhiskeyPaper in my head for awhile...I'd write it down on a Post-It and tack it up different places...say it aloud when no one was around. I just loved the look and sound of it and figured we'd give it a shot. We have a definite feeling we're going for over there. We love minimalism and sweetness, real life stories from writers who know what they're doing.
What can you tell us about your new story collection, Every Kiss A War?
Every Kiss A War is being published by Mojave River Press. It is a collection of twenty-seven stories of mine. Some are longish, some are shorter, some are flash. They are stories about relationships and love and loss and light and there is a lot of kissing involved.
What do you love about the short story, as a reader and a writer?
I love short stories. I love how these little worlds can be packed with so much emotion and so many complex characters in such a small space. And even when I don't the time to commit to a longer piece of work, I can read a short story—and feel satisfied. A really well-written short story is just as satisfying to me as a novel. Sometimes, more so.