There’s an idea in psychoanalytic theory that stories are assimilation and transference of grief. What’s your opinion?

I completely agree. I believe that the best stories come from a place of pain, the pain that we’ve experienced, internalized, and “transferred” into text. This transformation is like the spice of a story, it gives its bittersweet taste, so to speak, and that’s what makes a story impactful when it provokes an emotional response or appeal to a universal feeling like grief.

How do you build a cadence between autobiographical elements embedded in your flash fiction and an imaginary setting?

Almost every story—with the exception of ekphrastic writing—is inspired by a phrase someone said, a feeling, or a moment I’ve experienced, and I build the story from that kernel of truth, a little like snapping Lego pieces together around it. I don’t necessarily make a conscious effort to balance the autobiographical elements and the imaginary setting. I go where the seed of the story leads me, building a context or setting that feels right around it, kind of decorating the interior of a home.

Many of your pieces are structured as blocks of text. Is that an intentional choice for you in flash fiction?

Thank you for noticing that! Yes, it’s very intentional. I didn’t realize until late in life that writing could be so therapeutic. I had all these feelings from my childhood that I had pushed away that needed to be processed, and they came rushing out of me in the form of the written word (thus reaffirming the psychoanalytic theory you asked me about earlier). There were stories that needed to be told urgently and desperately like a big exhale, as if to overwhelm the readers, to shake them up, listen to this, this is important, this is how it feels, this is what it was like.

What is the effectiveness of using/not using cultural markers in your flash?

Using cultural markers can be effective in conveying a world that a reader might not be familiar with. I feel like I cannot not use cultural markers, because that is part of the voice of my writing.

As we wrap up, I’d like to give readers a peek into your work life-creative life balance: How does your work as a research chemist inform your writing?

My background as a scientist taught me to pay attention to details, to make sure there are enough ingredients to make a compelling story, to question the characters’ behaviors, to ensure that the story makes sense. It’s almost like a checklist. Do I have enough sensory details, what’s missing, am I specific enough in my descriptions? Being trained to be logical and systematic is why I have a hard time writing or understanding surrealist stories or magical realism, though it might come in handy when writing science fiction or mysteries.