About “Qualms”

1. What was your motivation for writing “Qualms”?

I was trying to experiment with feelings and words at the same time. I was haunted by old memories while at the same time being excited about my life, and I allowed myself to throw all of that on the page.

2. What challenges—if any—did you have writing your short story?

Well, trying to put all the sensations in order, and give enough background about my character to start the story, I guess. I also wanted her to be close to me (I’m French, and my husband is also a writer), while at the same time giving her enough space to comment on her fictional world. 

3. What is your favourite line—if any—in “Qualms”?

I would feel a little arrogant if I came up with a precise sentence. I like that the end is a long sentence, though. It all falls on the character. 

4. What do you want people to walk away with after reading “Qualms”?

I want them to go create something strange and connected to them that they don’t entirely understand. 

5. Is there anything else you would like to talk about regarding “Qualms” that hasn’t been asked?

According to you, does it feel weird to run naked? 

Reading

1. What are you currently reading? 

I’m finishing Yiyun Li’s essay, Things in Nature Merely Grow. It’s a non-fiction book, and I’ve picked it hoping she’ll once again help me think about what it is to be an immigrant, to write, to question our world. Well, bingo! The subject is very heavy since it’s about the death of her two sons by suicide, but it’s incredibly beautiful, powerful, clever. It really brought me back to the essence of who we are and the choices we make. Everybody should read it. 

2. Do you have a favourite book? If so, what is it? 

My favorite book doesn’t exist. It’s a collection of stories from David Foster Wallace, Joyce Carol Oates, Chuck Palahniuk, Wallace Stegner, Bret Easton Ellis, Louis Ferdinand Céline, Boris Vian, Sylvia Plath, Stephen King, Emmanuel Carrèrewith, Charles Bukowski, Emile Zola illustrations from Daniel Clowes, Warren Ellis, Charles Burns, and Inio Asano (Maybe the manga Goodnight Punpun is the best book in the world….)

3. What is your favourite poet or author, if any?

See the list above! More seriously, I recently fell in love with Anna Journey, who has the best titles in the world: “My Grandparents’ Siamese Cat, Sheba, Brain Damaged from a Crochet Hook”, or “Middle School Sleepover: Jessica Accidentally Steps on My Right Eye.”

4. Do you gravitate towards reading genres outside the ones you write? 

In fact, I rarely read pure SF or horror novels, and this is what I write. 

Writing

1. Why do you write?

To stay alive. (I’m not dramatic at all.) 

2. What do you love about being a writer? 

Being able to create characters and think about them as if they were real. 

3. What time of the day do you write, and do you have a writing routine? 

I write when I’m not teaching. 

4. Where do you get your ideas from?

My noggin. Watching my pet rats. 

5. How long does it take you to write your projects?

Let’s not talk about that… Yeaaaars. 

6. What advice would you give to other authors/writers/poets?

Make it impossible for you to quit. Make writing a matter of life or death. Find a way to make it worth it. 

7. What project(s) are you currently working on? 

I’m finishing a sci-fi novel. Once I’m done, I’ll revise a few non-fiction drafts and write new poems.