Amy Smith Linton - Runner Up

WOW! chatted with a very excited Amy Smith Linton about being a runner up in our Flash Fiction Contest. Here's what she had to say.

Congratulations Amy. What inspired your story for the contest?

Amy: The prompt was excellent! I love flash fiction, but when I think about romance, I don't imagine I can do justice to true love in so few words, without compressing it into one unconvincing stereotype or another. Instead, it seemed as though there were two ways to go with the story prompt: with a fable or with humor to invert the stereotypes. (Like what Marci Mangham did really well in The Wedding Zinger "It was, honey. It was!"). Then I thought about what sort of person could be coming home (from where? why?), and how s/he might be surprised by the groom, and poof! There was my narrator, telling me about the Peace Corps.

WOW: What was your reaction to the news you had placed as runner up?

Amy: I did a little happy dance around my computer. Kind of unfortunate that I was checking e-mail in public at the time, but heck, people gave me plenty of personal space afterwards.

WOW: How funny...and exciting. What about your family, are they supportive of your writing?

Amy: My family has been great about supporting my writing. They don't always get why so much of my time and attention goes into a glowing screen and made-up characters, but they cheer me on. I can say, "Hey, great day, 6 pages!" but when I say, "Hey, great day, WOW is going to publish a story!"? Measurable results!

WOW: Where do you get your ideas? What influences your writing?

Amy: I don't know what DOESN'T influence my writing, either positively or negatively. I have a great writing group (Hey gang!) and I read a great deal, and I often find myself thinking, "I wish I wrote that paragraph!" or "Note to self: never do THAT!"

WOW: What one bit of advice would you give to other aspiring writers?

Amy: Go ahead and do stuff; write about it afterwards.

WOW: That's great advice. (Amy told me she was going to Greece for a sailboat race. Can't wait to see a story about that!) What other projects are you working on?

Amy: I am hoping to find an enthusiastic, talented, and wonderful agent for my novel! It's a story about two sisters, and the secrets they keep from one another until something dreadful happens. It's kind of a love story without a romantic lead, a mystery without a crime, and it has not one but THREE enormous English mastiffs. Naturally, I have several short stories out, I'm playing with two longer stories that might turn out to be novels, and in the next few months, my website might be up and running (amysmithlinton.com).

WOW: Congratulations again Amy. And...how'd that sailboat race go?:-)

Remember the deadline for our Summer Flash Fiction Contest is Aug. 31st. You still have time to enter. Check out the details on our website.