A Look at Pomegranate

10Flash – What was the genesis of Pomegranate?

Gay – Thanks, K. C. for asking about this collection of stories. I’m more excited about it than I thought I’d be.

I’ve always leaned on the side of NOT self-publishing, but as the world of publication changes, we need to rethink traditional assumptions. Conventional thought dictates a writer should create a few short stories and get them publish in well-respected journals as a lead up to producing “The Novel”.

Then if an author’s novel is successful, perhaps then a collection might find a readership and be worth the effort of a book publisher. But I’m not sure this is true anymore.

The forest is thick with terrific authors, so an emerging writer’s chances of some agent or ambitious editor stumbling over her, pointing a finger, and saying, “You there! I want you!” are slim.

10Flash – What made you decide to do this now?

Gay – I prepared a manuscript of stories for a chapbook competition in the early fall. It seemed a good way for me to bring more attention to my writing and I really liked the magazine and its editors.

Although my submission wasn’t one of the finalists, I believed my stories still worked together well and that they just need to find the right market for them.

I looked around at competitions online and decided there really wasn’t a place for the kinds of stories I write. Traditional, somewhat literary, but with an identifiable plot. At least that’s what I was thinking. I had to do more research, write letters, send queries. It made me very tired just thinking about it.

At the same time, a friend of mine, Angela Carlton (Between the Clouds) pushed a group of her own stories using Lulu.Com and something just clicked. I didn’t want to wait. Six of my stories had been published online, so I knew that someone out there liked them and cost if I did all the work myself would be negligible, so why not?

10Flash – Is there a theme to the collection?

Gay – When I decided to enter the chapbook competition, I realized that my writing — content and style-wise — is all over. Fantasy, science-fiction, literary and romance. I needed a way to choose what I would include.

It didn’t take me long to figure out “mother-daughter” stories were the most prevalent. I wrote the story Pomegranate for the collection using the myth of Demeter and Persephone, the classic mother-daughter story, as my inspiration.

10Flash – Tell us about your approach to writing?

Gay – I’m not sure how to answer this because I use different approaches at different times.

But the one thing I hold onto is that “writers write” and if I want to consider myself a writer, then the activity of writing must happen every day in some form or another. I also believe that it’s not easy for most of us to stay focused today on this quiet activity with so much frenetic activity goes on all around us.

I do all kinds of things to keep me in the game.

Routine, as to when, helps and I’m usually at my desk as soon as my husband leaves for work. Reading good, well-written books helps. I want to do that. Surrounding myself with writer friends helps, too. Nothing keeps me focused better than telling someone I’m going to write something and send it to him. Naps help me, too.

Everyone needs to come up with their own ways to keep the dream alive.

10Flash – What’s your favorite story in the collection?

Gay – This is also hard.

Most people tell me Rim Shot is the story that has the most impact; Spring Melt was nominated by Every Day Fiction for a Pushcart Prize last year; Hawaii Hairdo was my first print publication; Monsoon was a Glimmer Train Fiction Open Finalist; and it’s a toss-up between Dani-Girl’s Guide and Listing Lisa as to which is the readers’ favorite. Chair Girl is wickedly true and Pomegranate was a ride to write.

I don’t know. To tell you the absolute truth, I love them all.

10Flash – What else are you working on right now?

Gay – What am I working on now? [LOL] The holidays!

Actually, this has been a wonderful last few weeks for me. I had She Can’t Say No come out in Paradigm Journal at the end of November, Doing Mr. Velvet in The Battered Suitcase last week, Flash Flood in Every Day Fiction on the 14^th of this month, and Spotted and Sought will be published right here at 10Flash January 1^st.

The first of next year, I intend to get back to that novel I mentioned above.

10Flash – How can we buy a copy of the book?

Gay – Pomegranate is available at Lulu.com now and hopefully at Amazon soon.

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