Ruben E. Smith is a current English major student at Northwestern State University in Natchitoches, Louisiana. He likes to write short fiction, nonfiction, and the occasional poem, while also finding time to argue about Faulkner, speak French, and read Fitzgerald. Some of his work has been published in Argus Art & Literary Magazine.
The Women on the Falling Elevator, Going Up, Volume 5, Issue 1
Interview
Ash Strange is a freshman from Bowling Green State University, majoring in creative writing. She was born in Las Vegas, Nevada, and grew up in Lima, Ohio, for most of her childhood years, going on to live in California, Oklahoma, and Florida. She lives with her aunt, uncle, her two cousins, and her two brothers. She often writes every day about almost everything she can think of, including her life experiences. Some of her hobbies include art, listening to music, and going out with friends.
Her, Volume 5, Issue 1
J.B. Santillan is a student at Central Washington University. Her interests include sketching, collecting art books, and driving through backroads.
In the Morning, They Disappear, Volume 5, Issue 1
Sydnee Smailes is currently an undergraduate student at Bowling Green State University studying Creative Writing. Outside of writing, she spends most of her time tending to her three cats, water dragon, and a boat load of fish. After school she plans on taking a year off and then going to back to school to pursue her Masters Degree in fiction.
Seams of Peppermint and Sherry, Volume 5, Issue 1
Penn Stewart lives and writes in Wichita Falls, Texas. He has a big brown lab named Yoda and a Les Paul guitar named Betsy. Neither of them come when called. His latest flash fiction will appear in the Iron Horse Review, his longer stuff is up at Pacifica Literary Review and Literary Orphans, and he’s got a chapbook of stories coming out called The Water in Our Veins.
An American Love Story, Volume 5, Issue 1
Lee Triplett is a poet, voracious reader, seeker, bipolar depressive, pianist, queer, and South Carolinian. A student of poetry, piano performance, and computer science in college, she immerses herself in poets to whom she is drawn. Her poetry has been published in Amethyst Review and is forthcoming in Mused: The BellaOnline Literary Review. She currently lives in Tega Cay, South Carolina.
Coming Home to a Racket, Sound Effects, and Changing Seasons, Volume 5, Issue 1
Mitchell Waldman’s fiction, poetry, and essays have appeared in numerous publications, including The Waterhouse Review, Crack the Spine, The Houston Literary Review, The Faircloth Review, Epiphany, Wilderness House Literary Magazine, The Battered Suitcase, and many other magazines and anthologies. He is also the author of the novel, A Face in the Moon, and the story collection, Petty Offenses and Crimes of the Heart (Wind Publications), and serves as Fiction Editor for Blue Lake Review. (For more info, see his website at http://mitchwaldman.homestead.com).
Stock Boy, Volume 5, Issue 1
Thomas Wattie studied philosophy at the University of Toronto. He answers the phone at a pizza place. His interests also include biking, cooking and trap music. He would prefer to answer the phone somewhere else.
Fork Juice in the Orange Section, Volume 5, Issue 1
Zachary A. Philips dreams of living a tiny home. He enjoys hiking and would like to write a poem or two at the top of a fourteener someday.
Legs, Grown Lily, and Blue Rose, Volume 5, Issue 1
Describe your creative space. Do you work at home, in public spaces, etc.?
I work at home mostly—I have a very tiny cramped office I write in during the winter (because it has a heater in it) and I recently turned my son’s former bedroom into another office, which has a window looking out into the back yard that’s turning out to be more distracting than I’d hoped.
What kind of materials do you use? Do you write by hand or type? What is your favorite writing utensil?
I sometimes write by hand, but I mostly just write on my computer.
What is your routine for writing?
Wake up, do an hour or so of market research and submitting material, get my daughter ready for school, then write for the next 4-5 hours (until my daughter comes home from school).
How long have you been writing? When did you start writing?
Unofficially, I’ve been writing poetry and fiction since I was 4. Officially, I’ve been writing for publication since I was 15 (going on 32 years now).
Who is your intended, or ideal, audience? Who do you write for?
Initially, I always write for myself, and then the question of audience comes later.
What inspires you to write? If you are blocked, what do you do?
I’ve been writing for so long now that just the act of sitting at my desk inspires me to write. I worked as a journalist and a technical writer for a long time, so I didn’t have the luxury of being blocked—I always had intense deadlines to meet, so every moment I wasn’t writing was a moment dragging me closer to poverty. I maintain those same sort of deadlines for myself with fiction and poetry now, so I don’t really think about writer’s block.
What other things do you do besides writing? Do you dance or play golf, etc.?
I do a lot of handicrafts, like needlepoint and beadwork. When it’s nice out, I love to play in my garden. My husband and I write hiking and history books together, and a lot of our research involves big, long, wonderful walks through parks and the city, which I also love.
What is your favorite part of the creative process?
I love all of it. I love stumbling into a story or poem and feeling it grow into something separate from me. I love the moment after finishing something when I wonder, “How did this come about?” I love watching pages and pages fill up while I’m working on a book or a longer piece. It’s all wonderful.
What is your advice to aspiring writers?
Be persistent. Approach writing with joy.
Check out Holly’s work in Volume 3, Issue 1, and Volume 4, Issue 2. Two of her poems have been nominated for the Pushcart, “Fred, Half Dead, Beethoven In His Head” in Volume 3, Issue 1, and “The Patch of Tulips I Never Planted” in Volume 4, Issue 2.
The Magnolia Review 