Tony Concannon–Interview

by Suzanna Anderson Creates

Describe your creative space. Do you work at home, in public spaces, etc.?

I write both at home and at a favorite Starbucks. I like having people around me even if I don’t know them very well.

What kind of materials do you use? Do you write by hand or type? What is your favorite writing utensil?

I have been using the same size mechanical pencil for many years. I usually write in pencil first, then type it up later.

What is your routine for writing?

I write early in the morning on Saturdays and Sundays and other days off and on one afternoon a week.

How long have you been writing? When did you start writing?

I started writing when I was 25, and I’ve been writing on and off for nearly 40 years.

Who is your intended, or ideal, audience? Who do you write for?

I don’t think I have an intended audience. I try to write the type of stories I like to read. 

What inspires you to write? If you are blocked, what do you do?

Enjoyment is what inspires me. Also, I think there are things we feel, or see, or understand, that we cannot articulate in speech, and writing can be a way to express them.

I keep plugging away at whatever I’m writing. I’m usually working on 5 or 6 stories at a time and I try to spend some time on each one. I constantly rewrite.

What other things do you do besides writing? Do you dance or play golf, etc.?

I exercise a lot, including running, playing basketball, lifting weights and walking.

What is your favorite part of the creative process?

Stories sometimes seem to take off and write themselves or go in a direction or dimension you didn’t foresee. Then the writing is easy.

What is your advice to aspiring writers?

Keep working at it. Writing takes a long time.

 

Check out Tony’s work in Volume 4, Issue 1.

Susan P. Blevins–Interview

by Suzanna Anderson Creates

Describe your creative space. Do you work at home, in public spaces, etc.?

I write at home the majority of the time, but since I always have a notebook with me (a Moleskine, of course!) in my purse at all times, if I find myself in a cafe with the urge to write something, I write!  And I have a large notebook by my bed, because irritatingly enough, it seems that one of my most creative times is that magical time between wakefulness and falling asleep.  How many times have I been dropping off to sleep and had to turn on the light to jot down an “important” writing thought that popped into my head!  I also have a notepad in my car and in the kitchen.  My work place is littered with bits of paper!  My cat is definitely part of my work space, either with her tail draped across the computer keys, on the chair next to me, or on my lap.

What kind of materials do you use? Do you write by hand or type? What is your favorite writing utensil?

I would have to say that I am very comfortable writing on my laptop.  I trained as a typist (oh horror!) so feel totally comfortable with a keyboard in front of me.  Before the computer I had a portable typewriter and was quite at home using it.  I write by hand when I am in a particularly quiet moment, late at night perhaps, when I want to write poetry.  Then I like the quietness of the pen and paper approach.

What is your routine for writing?

Well, I wish it were different!  Even when I have a whole day stretching out in front of me for writing, between one thing and another (like clearing my inbox and answering emails, and perhaps baking a pie), I usually end up writing seriously about 4 p.m.  I keep going as long as I need to to feel satisfied.  I am still struggling to understand why I procrastinate.  I love writing, it makes me happy, people seem to enjoy my writing, so why do I put off starting?  I don’t know if it’s fear of failure, fear of success, fear of commitment to the particular piece of writing I’m working on.  One day I hope to overcome this and just plod away steadily, disciplining myself to write about 500 words a day.  I always feel I never have enough alone time.

How long have you been writing? When did you start writing?

I have written ever since I was a child.  I still have my early diaries, more often than not expressing my anxiety about the meaning of life, and WHAT/WHO IS GOD?!  Then I progressed to journals to absorb my inner condition.  In the late ‘70s, early ‘80s, when I was living in Rome, Italy, I had a weekly column in an international newspaper.  I wrote mostly about food, travel, restaurant reviews, with lots of personal anecdotes.  I was teaching aerobics at the same time, so I was very busy indeed. A weekly publication schedule is very demanding, but I loved it more than I can say.

Who is your intended, or ideal, audience? Who do you write for?

I don’t think I write for an audience.  I write for me.  I always read out loud what I have written, because I want to sense the music of my words.  My thought is that if I like something, then perhaps others will also, but it’s not important to my creative process at all.  Writing for me is the best anti-neurosis tool. (Any creative activity is anti-neurosis!)  If I don’t write I can feel myself becoming more and more neurotic!  However, of late, I have been nurturing the hope that my writing can bring light, love, inspiration, comfort, meaning to some lives.  If my writing can touch just one heart, then I shall not have written and lived in vain.  We can create a ripple effect.

What inspires you to write? If you are blocked, what do you do?

Well mercifully, I rarely feel blocked.  I keep a file in my computer, called “Ideas,” and I have 45 pages so far of things I want to write about.  My notes could be single words that inspire me, or phrases, or a thought I heard someone express, or a conversation I overheard.  I write them ALL down, and then when I need inspiration, I go to my Ideas file.  Mostly though I am overwhelmed daily by things I want to write about!

What other things do you do besides writing? Do you dance or play golf, etc.?

I paint, I play piano, I definitely exercise at least three times a week, I garden, and I read.  I guess I could say that my three major passions are reading, gardening, and classical music.  My idea of utter bliss it to be home, in silence, and read for several hours during the day without feeling guilty!  There are not enough hours in the day for reading AND writing!  I’m not painting at this moment because all my energies are going into my writing.

What is your favorite part of the creative process?

I think I would have to say the completion of a piece of writing. When I have not written for just a few days, I begin to feel quite ill.  Something moves around in me and builds up tension until I sit down and write it out.  And then, OMG, it is like giving birth!  I feel light, I feel “justified,” I feel relieved, for a few days.  And then it starts up all over again.  Writing is definitely my means of fighting the neurosis that all creative people experience.  And when I am swept up on the wings of the creative impulse, then time ceases and the world recedes, and I go into what I would call kyros as opposed to chronos.

What is your advice to aspiring writers?

Probably the same that all writers give!  If you feel the urge to write, then JUST WRITE!  And above all, don’t worry about creating the perfect text with the first draft.  Get down those reeling thoughts in whatever order they come.  You can sort them out later and discipline them into some sort of sequence.  But you don’t want to lose the muscularity of expressing your thoughts spontaneously.  And never, NEVER listen to nay-sayers!  Share your writing with friends who are tried and true, AND NOT JEALOUS of your talent.  So hone your perception of people, and trust yourself.

Writing is a gift that we can share with others eventually, but that we share with ourselves first of all.

You should not take rejections personally, or be downcast or deterred.  Selection for publication is a very personal one, and truly, one editor’s meat could be another editor’s poison!  In order to achieve 53 acceptances last year I submitted 305 times.  As Winston Churchill said, “We shall never give up/surrender”!!

 

Check out Susan’s work in Volume 4, Issue 1 and Volume 4, Issue 2.

Winner of The Magnolia Review Ink Award for Volume 4, Issue 2

by Suzanna Anderson Creates

I would like to thank Suzanna for giving me this opportunity. She should be proud of this issue and all the strong voices that it captures. Some of my favorite pieces are “Turtle Bay” by Henry Hintz, “Punk 4 a Day” by Diane Hoffman, the poems of Holly Day, Chuck Thompson, GTimothy Gordon, and Sarah A. Etlinger. If it were not for my first choice, “Two Fools” by Sarah A. Etlinger would be my winner because to its tightness, sharpness, and grace of language.

 

However, I find the excerpt of Theresa Williams’ From The Diary of Lea Knight to be the undeniable centerpiece of this issue. In this excerpt, Williams balances a combined feeling of prose and poetry in her writing. Her line work is crisp when called for and chaotic when necessary. In the best way possible, the notebook presentation of Williams’ project brings to mind Lynda Barry’s Syllabus, while the dark, real philosophizing evokes Alison Bechdel’s Fun Home and Are You My Mother? The work also takes me to old folktales, like Cinderella, that showcase familial catastrophes by an unhinged parent onto an innocent child, and the ensuing existential crises people feel under the force of an oppressive thumb. I think this slice of From The Diary of Lea Knight is a fascinating piece of sequential art, and I cannot wait to see more of it once it is inevitably published.

 

 

 

Dom Fonce is an undergrad English major at Youngstown State University. He’s been published in fiction, poetry, comics, and journalism. Some of his work can be found at Calliope of the University of Mount Union, Penguin Review, the Jambar, and the forthcoming summer 2017 issue of 3Elements Review. Collaborated with Vincent Butka (penciller), Jared Burton (inker and colorist), and Kaleena Spackman (letterer).

Sandy Coomer–Interview

by Suzanna Anderson Creates

Describe your creative space. Do you work at home, in public spaces, etc.?

A few years ago, we expanded our kitchen to include a sitting area. We added lots of windows to two walls and the ceiling was elevated. I loved the light in that area, and the large free space above me. I decided to use one half of that sitting area for my “art studio.” I don’t use an easel, but work on a large bar-high art table instead. I put that table in the corner, added some storage cabinets, and voila, the perfect place to create! (And I’m very near the fridge and coffee maker – an added bonus!)

What kind of materials do you use? What mediums do you work in?

Recently I’ve started to work on cradled Gesso board and Clay board more than canvas. I love the harder surface, and the way I can better manipulate the paint. Plus, I’m finishing a lot of my work with epoxy resin, and I need the sturdier surface for that. I use acrylic paints, Golden heavy body. I also create mixed media art, using paint, pastels, ink, paper, and various embellishments to create an inspirational scene and message. I love hiding words in my art—leaving little secrets that require careful examination to find. Words like believe, blessing, dream, seek, love, dare, brave, and happiness. Also, I love birds. It’s not unusual for me to add a bird somewhere in the art.

What is your routine for art? Do you always sketch first?

I’m probably the most anti-routine person ever! I follow the muse, and most of the time I work backwards. I know in my head what I want to do and then I figure out how to make that happen. This means I have a lot of mess ups, but every mess up is a great chance to learn something. I’ve been working in the morning lately, immediately after waking, which is a switch for me. I used to work only in the afternoons. In many ways, I’m always thinking about art, and because I also write poetry, I’m always thinking about words. Any interesting color combination, design, texture, landscape, phrase, conversation, etc. is likely to become one of my many post-it-noted inspirational ideas for future use.

How long have you been making art? When did you start making art?

Selling art—about 3 years ago. Making art—forever. I used to draw as a child. When I had kids of my own, I was heavily into creating intricate pages for their scrapbooks. Then I started drawing birds with ink and using watercolor to paint them. Mixed media was my next addiction, and the basis for my first exhibit and art show. I love creating original covers for hard-back journals, and I sell a lot of those in art and craft shows. Lately, I’ve started exploring acrylic pour paintings and abstract landscape paintings. Obviously I find it hard to stick to one thing.

Who is your intended, or ideal, audience? Who do you make art for?

A lot of my mixed media art is geared toward children. The journals are for anyone who writes, draws, or keeps a diary. I make art for anyone who enjoys the creative nature of color and design.

What inspires you to create? If you are blocked, what do you do?

Nature inspires me. Language inspires me. Life inspires me. Sometimes I feel overwhelmed with all the many things I want to create that it makes me anxious to think I won’t have time to do them all. I am a detail-oriented person, and I notice everything, and so many things lead to new ideas. I rarely feel blocked, but if I do, I like to go to Pinterest on my computer and search for interesting color combinations or a new technique for some random thing. Usually 10 minutes is enough to get me going again.

What other things do you do besides art? Do you dance or play golf, etc.?

I write poetry. I’m the author of 3 poetry chapbooks and the founding editor of an online poetry journal called Rockvale Review. I’m a poetry mentor with the AWP Writer to Writer Mentorship Program. I’m also an endurance athlete and an Ironman. I just competed in the World Championship race for the 70.3 Half Ironman distance in Chattanooga, TN after qualifying for the race last year. My new goal is to complete a 50 mile trail race, hopefully in 2018.

What is your favorite part of the creative process?

Probably the idea phase. I love to think up a dozen things I want to create, jot down some notes and color ideas, and plan how I’m going to do them. Even right now, I’m looking at four rough sketches of landscapes complete with color notes that I want to create in the next couple of months. I also really like holding a finished piece of art in my hands, one I’m really proud of. That makes me indescribably happy!

What is your advice to aspiring artists?

Don’t follow the rules. I’ve never done anything the conventional way, and I like it that way. But I realize I might be a stubborn person for thinking like that, so let me say this instead: Don’t follow all the rules. Be free enough to take chances, to dare to color out of the lines. Believe in yourself enough to create the way you are made to create—from your own heart and the unique way you see and experience things. And put your art out in the world. You may be amazed at how many people respond positively to your creativity, and how your gifts might inspire, move, even heal someone else.

 

Check out Sandy’s work in Volume 4, Issue 1.

Ruben Rodriguez–Interview

by Suzanna Anderson Creates

Describe your creative space. Do you work at home, in public spaces, etc.?

Like any aspiring writer, I used to write a lot in bars. There is plenty of material in places that allows people’s guard down. Now, most of my writing takes place in my home. I like to stand while writing. Place my journal or computer on an elevated surface: a tote full of thrift finds, the turntable, kitchen counter. When I’m pressing ink to paper, I’m working. It’s a solo job done by steady hands. Silence is wonderful, music distracting. When I write, I’m there to scoop up enchiladas. I don’t like to fake it.

What is your routine for writing?

I wish I had a routine. Even now, I’m punching out the answers to these questions, an hour after they were expected. Writing is like offering flesh. It’s bloody and stings, but it kind of looks nice up there on the altar.

How long have you been writing? When did you start writing?

This evening, I was sitting with some friends over pints and slices, describing a collage of defeats, said, I spent a decade learning to write without having anything to say. In this last year and a half I’ve been offered no time to write, yet have read more now than the cumulative prior. I’m starting to get the hang of the writing. At worst, I got my hands on the pedals and my feet gripping the steering wheel.

Who is your intended, or ideal, audience? Who do you write for?

Laughter is a defense mechanism. If I am not laughing in composition, than I am torturing myself. No one has ever called me jolly, but I think it’s because they like me.

What inspires you to write? If you are blocked, what do you do?

Blocked is an excuse. Sometimes you can’t write what you want to write. That does not mean that you cannot write. I write, now, because one day the sun will rise, and my lungs will be empty. That sucks. The writing sucks too, but at least I can be a part of it.

What other things do you do besides writing? Do you dance or play golf, etc.?

I teach. I sell vintage clothing. I hike through the wonders of New Mexico every Sunday. I like the idea that is analog. I find its process tedious. My sister allows me to store art in her attic. I think she regrets that decision.

What is your favorite part of the creative process?

After the ever-many months between conception and publication, I read the work and say to myself, I can do better. I know I can do better. I strive to write that thing ever-after I will high-five.

What is your advice to aspiring writers?

If you want to write, attach consequence to your writing. Be-Have. Art is a process of realized action. Thinking is never enough. Sit your ass down and do it. Be what you want to be. Have the life you want to live.

 

Check out Ruben‘s work in Volume 4, Issue 1.

Volume 5, Issue 1 Theme

by Suzanna Anderson Creates

The issue will be available January 2019.

The optional theme is Lost and Found. See the Submit tab for details on how to submit. We accept photography, art, comics, creative nonfiction, fiction, flash fiction, experimental work, and poetry.

For poetry, I would love to see more Blackout and Cross out poems. For examples, check out these books: Newspaper Blackout by Austin Kleon, A Humument: A Treated Victorian Novel by Tom Phillips, The ms of m y kin by Janet Holmes, Bukowski Erasure Poetry Anthology: A Collection of Poems Based on the Writings of Charles Bukowski by Melanie Villines, A Little White Shadow by Mary Ruefle, Mornings Like This: Found Poems by Annie Dillard, Nets by Jen Bervin, and Of Lamb by Matthea Harvey. Please submit the original and the typed version. And for fiction, creative nonfiction, and art, photography, and comics, please interpret this theme how you will, or see if you can do something new and unique with this found poetry method.

Volume 4, Issue 2 is Here!

by Suzanna Anderson Creates

The issue is available as a PDF: TMR Volume 4 Issue 2.

The optional theme is comics, be it drawn in sequential images or just plain funny.

Contributors: Gershon Ben-Avraham, Susan P. Blevins, Mela Blust, Charles W. Brice, Aria Callaham, Joan Colby, Holly Day, Darren C. Demaree, Adam Durso, Kelcey Parker Ervick, Sarah A. Etlinger, GTimothy Gordon, John Grey, Jack D. Harvey, Aloura Hattendorf, Henry Hitz, Diane Hoffman, A.J. Huffman, Phil Huffy, James Croal Jackson, Lonnie James, Gloria DeVidas Kirchheimer, Matthew J. Kreglow, Claire Martin, Megan Miazgowicz, Jennifer Davis Michael, Paul Mills, TJ Neathery, Simon Perchik, Steven B. Rosenfeld, David Anthony Sam, William L. Spencer, David Spicer, Chuck Thompson, Dennis Trujillo, Bess Vanrenen, Maryfrances Wagner, Michael Whelan, Theresa Williams, and Kelsey Zimmerman.

Reviews: Hold Me Gorilla Monsoon by Colette Arrand, Auri by Auri, Internet Yearnings by Gary Beck, Mnemosyne’s Hand: Poems by Charles W. Brice, Her Secret Husband by Abbey Faith, The Future by From Ashes to New, Burn Site In Bloom by Jamie Houghton, Rookland by Jesse Minkert, Beach Dweller Manifesto by Leah Mueller, Ghost Matter by Jade Ramsey, Heavenly Whispers by Roger Sippl, Permanent Change of Station by Lisa Stice, and i’m fine: A Haiku Collection About Mental Illness by Jamie Winters.

Winner of The Magnolia Review Ink Award: Theresa Williams, for “From The Diary of Lea Knight,” chosen by Dom Fonce.

Kelsey Zimmerman

by Suzanna Anderson Creates

Kelsey Zimmerman lives in Ann Arbor, Michigan. She attended the University of Michigan and holds a B.A. in English. In her spare time, she enjoys writing poetry, taking photos of nature, and knitting.

Shots, Christmas Clementine, and Growing Pains, Volume 4, Issue 2
Interview