NUNUM — “Unknot” Fall 2021 Issue

Q&A

1 – What was the first book you remember picking and reading by yourself?

Little Women.

2 – What was the last book you read that made you say damn that was a good book?

Amitav Ghosh’s “Gun Island”

3 – Who are your go-to writers when you need something to read on holiday?

I read anything I fancy, preferring to pack in books on themes that I might be interested in at that moment/working on. I’ve read travelogues, History, thrillers, “Brilliant Bugs”, “Space”, really whatever that enthuses me.

4 – What writer(s) or which book(s) influenced your decision to become a writer.

James Joyce, R.K. Narayanan, Arundhati Roy

5 – Which contemporary writer do you most admire?

Since I predominantly write flash, I admire contemporary flash writers like Nuala O’Connor, Kathy Fish, and also Lydia Davis.

6 – Is there a writing craft book that you would recommend to new writers?

I am not very drawn to craft books of any nature and on any subject. But there are a lot available and new writers can certainly read them.

7 – Is there a writer who has influenced your current writing style?

No. I write essays, poems and hybrid too, and I do that precisely to be as varied as I can in both my style and approach, without any influences or set expectations of myself.

8 – Pen, pencil or phone, which one do you reach for when you need to write something down?

Pen and paper, always!

9 – Why write flash fiction?

The form is interesting. My first publication was a poem, many years ago! But when I started to write again, I was immediately attracted to the flash form and its possibilities.

10 – What advice would you give someone who is just starting to send their work out to journals?

Read the journal you’re sending work in, read what your contemporaries are writing, and finally, cultivate a unique way of looking at ordinary things.

11 – Tell us something about “Unknot”

It’s about a young girl called Nikki trapped in the circumstances of her life. She can see how she has a chance to escape her entrapment, but is repeatedly unsuccessful.

12 – What was the inspiration behind it?

How certain phases of our lives are sometimes like concentric circles from where we wish to escape but can’t. This idea, where one returns to where one started, influenced this piece.

13 – Looking forward, what are your goals?

I’d like to keep writing as I’m doing now. I think I’ve been massively fortunate in the way my work is being received right now, and want to keep doing it.