The first image in this piece, of a woman with her own gravity, was very unique. What was the source of inspiration for it?
I have a grandmother who thinks she is a secret agent who works for the government. She was pretty awful to be around as a child and I remember being warned to stay away from her whenever she was at the house. She threw donuts at me once and another time she told me that both my parents were dying (they weren’t). I guess this story romanticizes my perception of her.
On a deeper level, I see this story as being about different views of the world. The narrator’s grandmother creates her own rules, her own physics. She does it so persuasively that her granddaughter can’t help but be caught up in it. Is this a metaphor for real life?
Sure.
You have a chapbook coming out through Paper Hero Press. Can you tell us about that?
It’s a chapbook collective that also features Elizabeth Ellen, Andrea Kneeland, Suzanne Burns, and Lydia Copeland. I’m excited to be featured among such impressive writers. My section is actually just one long story that’s a bit fragmented.
And, what about your blog?
My blog’s just a place to keep up with things. Forthcoming publications and the like. I try to mention stories I like by other writers, but there’s so much wonderful stuff out there that I miss a lot. You should go look at my blog. I look every day to see how many people look at it. Because that sort of thing matters.
Regarding your blog, you recently, and temporarily posted a SmokeLong form rejection letter that actually got us editors discussing whether or not we should reevaluate our selection process. When I contacted you about it, you mentioned that it wasn’t your intention at all to criticize the process. Do you mind talking about that again? What were you trying to say when you posted that letter?
I didn’t post the letter to my regular blog. I posted it to the “Brandi Wells Review,” which is a blog where I publish 100% of what I receive. The email address I accept submissions at is my regular email account, so when I got the rejection email, I posted it at the Brandi Wells Review, as though it had been a submission. It was there for humor’s sake.
My assumption is that you didn’t understand that particular blog’s content and you thought that I had posted the form rejection letter to my regular blog. I get a ton of form rejections and honestly can’t fathom any reason someone would have a problem with one. I took the letter down because I felt bad that it might have made anyone feel bad. If there’s someone that has a problem with form rejections they should probably just quit. They can make me hamburgers though. I like hamburgers.
