SmokeLong Quarterly

What inspired this story? How was the process of writing it?

I was in CVS and a woman a little like Charles was at the counter with the cashier, who was getting impatient with her. I was next in line, and the cashier called me to the counter. I asked the woman if she knew what kind of charger she needed. She said yes, her brand-new charger had just been stolen. I’d worked in homeless services for many years, so I asked if she was staying at the local shelter. She said, No, she was staying at a shelter fifteen miles away. In the time it took to have the conversation, the cashier was ringing me up. I looked to see if a line had grown, half expecting folks to be irritated at me. Instead, I saw only sympathetic smiles. I took my purchases and cash, palmed the twenty to the woman who needed a charger, and left. Then I went home and wrote notes about what had happened. Part of the energy that spurred me was the feeling that I’d given a few bucks to someone in desperate straits, then got to go home and live my life. My contrition over my unearned pride propelled the draft.

How did you get started with writing? Is your preferred style of writing short stories, if so, why?

I do love short stories. My guiding lights—Alice Munro and my thesis advisor, Elizabeth Tallent—write LONG short stories. It has been said that short stories are like an arrow to the target. If so, flash is like … what? A blow dart to the neck, I guess! I am pretty old and have been writing forever. Being accepted to UC Davis’s graduate writing program in the early nineties was an amazing gift. Then the turns and twists and obligations of family life led me mainly away from writing for twenty years. I began writing very small narratives, never calling them anything in particular. When our kids left for college, I was able to think about what could be next. I learned there is a name for the style of my fledgling efforts: flash fiction. I found a highly recommended teacher and began. That was Meg Pokrass, in 2017. I work full time and also run a freelance business, writing for nonprofits, so I have all too little time to write fiction. Flash makes every minute count!

I’ve read other stories of yours where you mention siblings and family. Do you often write about family? What interests you about this?

Sometimes it is siblings and family. Other times it is old friends, workmates, or even strangers. A topic that is constantly on my mind is the responsibility we have for others who are struggling. I grapple with this every day. It is one of the reasons I have worked in human services for so long, for certain. But I struggle with this in every single relationship, including online connections! I worry so much people will count on me and I will let them down. Let’s say boundaries are of great interest to me.

There are so many beautifully crafted sentences in this story. What is your revision process like?

Um, never ending. I’m not awesome at taking my own advice of letting things simmer. I’ll be super excited about a new story and send it out. Then with each round of rejections, I revise and polish and deepen more, and send it again.

What are some of your favorite flash fiction writers?

Gee, I read so much outside of flash, plus discover new flash writers every day through the magic of Twitter. Recent works by Marcela Fuentes, Tara Lemma, and Maddy Raskulinecz come to mind. Two books I’ve recently devoured and felt ignited by are Dan Crawley’s recent flash chapbook, Straight Down the Road (Ad Hoc Fiction) and This. This. This. Is. Love. Love. Love. by Jennifer Wortman (Split Lip Press).