SmokeLong Quarterly

First of all, thank you for sharing this wonderful story with its beautiful language. In many ways, this feels like a story of grief, of calling for resurrection. Was this your intention? Can you talk about the genesis of this story? How did this idea come to you?

Absolutely. A story of grief and resurrection is pretty spot on. This is one of those stories that sort of spilled out. I wrote it earlier in the fall. It came out all at once, and then I played around with it, puzzling out the right repetition and order of paragraphs. It’s a response to the times as well as a response to some personal uncertainties I was going through.

How did you decide to structure the story as it is with physical space between paragraphs. Can you talk about this choice and what effect it creates?

I wanted to be able to show the passing of time in a flash fiction story and make sure each paragraph could stand on its own. I’m hoping it gives a little breathing room for the reader, especially since it’s an apocalyptic story.

The story uses wonderful repetitions of ideas and phrases throughout. Given that there is so much regeneration and birth here, can you talk about if that was an intentional echo and what it means to this piece?

You make me sound so much smarter than I am! But yeah, I really like having rhythm and repetition to my writing, especially when writing flash. I think utilizing repetition in flash can do multiple jobs in the effectiveness of a story. I also like to read my flash out loud, and when it feels right to read––when the repetition hits right and flows––I think/hope the piece is ready to go out into the world.

Was it challenging to write this in such a short space? How do you feel about writing flash generally?

It was surprisingly easier than a lot of other pieces I was/am working on. The first draft bled out on the page, and then I played with the rest of it. It was actually loads of fun to write, despite the heavy material. I wish more of my WIPs were like this one.

What is your favorite prehistoric animal besides woolly mammoths and why?

Ground sloth, hands down. A giant sloth, weighing thousands of pounds, that grazed and chilled out all day? Yes, please. That’s amazing.