30 Comments
Oct 16Liked by Kathy Fish

I immediately went to find “Three Hour Tour” after reading, and it is perfection!!

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author

Agreed! Thanks for reading, Tamara!

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Oct 15Liked by Kathy Fish

I love that sound and rhythm shape the story. Such an engaging work of art.

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Thanks so much for reading, Steve!

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Oct 15Liked by Kathy Fish

Thank you for adding this new feature to your newsletter, Kathy. It's incredibly helpful to read a story and then delve into the inner workings with the author. Great interview!

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author

I’m so pleased you all are enjoying this as much as I am! I already have the next story/author lined up for November!

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I love this new feature to your already wonderful newsletter!

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author

I’m so happy to hear it! Thanks for reading, Jessica!

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Oct 14Liked by Kathy Fish

Thankyou. For the link to the story, and for the interview 👌🏼 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼

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author

Absolutely my pleasure, Sarah! Glad you enjoyed!

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Oct 14Liked by Kathy Fish

This interview was so fun to read! I love hearing writers describe their behind-the-scenes processes! I’m thankful that Didi chose to be so transparent with us/you. It’s a relief to hear her speak so casually and constructively (low stress) about the editing/revision process too. Looking forward to more interviews. Thanks Kathy. :)

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author

I'm so glad you enjoyed it, Bridget! I'm excited to do more interviews like this!

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Thank you both for this helpful 'craft' interview. I relished hearing and then visualizing the drafts as they changed and the complexity grew. It was instructive and enlightening. Such a pleasure to hear the author describing her craft.

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author

Oh I'm so glad you enjoyed it, Leslie! Didi is a dream to interview and I loved how insightful her answers on her own craft and craft in general were!

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Loved this discussion, shedding light with the author about her superb Flash piece. Great addition to your publication, Kathy.

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author

Thanks so much, Cindy! I loved chatting with Didi about her remarkable story and look forward to doing more of these!

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I look forward to reading more!

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The ring tone reference to Gillian's Island is choice. Not only as the setup for the flashback that established the two girls' childhood relationship, but as a mood cast over every word in the story -- the isolation of being marooned on an island for an interval time that might stretch on forever. Somehow that sense of place and its grounding importance had to be at play when the Didi landed on the ringtone detail. Her willingness to accept it, put it on the page and let it whisper elevated this flash piece to a stellar level.

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Ah, what a terrific response! Thank you, Kitty. That’s perfectly stated. This is the VERY thing all flash writers can do to enhance and elevate their stories, adding layers of context and complexity in a very tight space. It’s such a brilliant example of a great flash fiction move on Didi’s part. Thanks for reading!

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One of my recent favorites!

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author

So good, right? Thanks for reading, Kathryn!

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Oct 14Liked by Kathy Fish

I love this teaching format. Thanks to the writer too for sharing how she crafted this amazing flash.

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author

Oh I'm so glad, Margo! Didi is so articulate about her process. It was a joy to interview her.

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Oct 14Liked by Kathy Fish

Thank you for sharing this flash fiction. Loved the story and the author interview!

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author

So happy to hear you enjoyed it, Sharon! I will be doing more of these. It's very instructive and inspiring for me, too!

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I love this idea!

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Yay, I'm so glad, Zoe. Thanks for reading!

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Where can we read this Flash?

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author

There's a link in the newsletter, but I'll share it again here: https://www.smokelong.com/stories/a-three-hour-tour/

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Thank you

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