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SmokeLong Quarterly

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Smoking With Margaret A. Frey

(Read the Story) December 15, 2003

Margaret A. Frey

Art by Marty D. Ison

What inspired this piece?

This piece was generated from a suggested prompt: Games. My first thought was jump rope. Though athletically challenged as a kid, I mastered the fine art of double-Dutch. It was a grand day!

Do you write on a regular schedule? If so, what is it?

I’m a daily writer, mornings mostly. I’ve been keeping a schedule for about three years. I’m convinced daily writing churns up more writing.

We are always told to write about what you know. Do you?

Hmmm. I think it’s more—write about what you yearn to know, what you’re trying to find. Facts, figures and significant details can always be researched. But I think writers write about the things they’re trying to figure out.

If you were paid by the word, what would be an appropriate sum?

What an impossible question! The sun, the moon and nothing at all.

Have you laughed yet at one of your answers? Tell us what would make you laugh?

Yeah, my husband would be all over me with that last answer: “no payment at all.” What would make me laugh? My dog, Ruffian, sitting at the keyboard (I suspect she sneaks into my office at night).

About the Author

Margaret A. Frey started her career as a copy/production editor in Philadelphia, Pa. Her early fiction appeared in the Asphodel, a literary quarterly. More recently, Margaret’s work appeared in Literary Potpourri, Bovine Free Wyoming, and Flashquake, and a non-fiction piece took 2nd place in the 2003 Erma Bombeck competition, human-interest category. Margaret writes from the foothills of the Smoky Mountains where she lives with her husband and book-eating Bernese pup, Ruffian.

About the Artist

A native of Ohio, Marty D. Ison lives with his wife transplanted in the sands of the Gulf of Mexico. He studied fine arts at Saint Petersburg College. In addition to the visual arts, he writes poetry, short stories, and novels. See more of Ison’s work here.

This interview appeared in Issue Two of SmokeLong Quarterly.
SmokeLong Quarterly Issue Two
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