BackStory: Five Questions with Veronica Montes

BackStory: Five Questions with Veronica Montes
Author of Artifacts

What inspired you to write ‘Artifacts’?

Ticia Verveer, an archaeologist I follow on Twitter, once posted a photograph of the comb I describe in this piece. I saw it first thing in the morning, and was toying around with the idea of permanence/impermanence before I rolled out of bed.

Were there any interesting facts, details, or turns of phrase that didn’t quite make the final piece?

The actual comb has two rows of teeth separated by 40 cm of engraved decoration, but no matter what I did I couldn’t make that description come alive without using a decidedly un-flash-like number of words. I wish I could have, though.

What is your favourite part of the writing process? Your least favourite?

My favorite part of the writing process is editing. I love it because—theoretically, at least—I have all the raw material I need, and am free to tinker away at will.

What do you like most about writing flash?

It’s a fun challenge: like packing for two weeks using only a single carry-on bag.


Veronica Montes is the author of the chapbook The Conquered Sits at the Bus Stop, Waiting (Black Lawrence Press, 2020) and Benedicta Takes Wing & Other Stories (Philippine American Literary House, 2018). Her flash fiction appears or is forthcoming in WigleafSmokeLong QuarterlyCHEAP POPLost Balloon, and elsewhere.