BackStory: Four Questions with T. L. Ransome Author of The Last of El Dorado What inspired you to write ‘The Last of El Dorado’? A trip to Phoenix through the cactus-studded Sonoran Desert. The saguaro are arguably the most iconic…
BackStory: Six Questions with Mark Cassidy
BackStory: Six Questions with Mark Cassidy Author of Gibbet What inspired you to write ‘Gibbet’? I grew up in Guisborough, North Yorks. At the end of the street on which I lived was a narrow lane called Northgate, which was…
BackStory: Four Questions with Noa Covo
BackStory: Four Questions with Noa Covo Author of Tussaud What inspired you to write ‘Tussaud’? As a child, I read a book about famous inventions and works of art that included Marie Tussaud’s life story, which I found both gruesome…
BackStory: Five Questions with Mandira Pattnaik
BackStory: Five Questions with Mandira Pattnaik Author of Regarding Gray, Carmine, Pyrope What inspired you to write ‘Regarding Gray, Carmine, Pyrope’? I read a newspaper article about the sandstone forts of Jodhpur and Jaipur, India. The accompanying image of a…
BackStory: Six Questions with Bryan Harvey
BackStory: Six Questions with Bryan Harvey Author of She arrived at the mountain hideout on horseback What inspired you to write ‘She arrived at the mountain hideout on horseback’? I was reading Tony Perrottet’s Cuba Libre: Che, Fidel, and the…
BackStory: Four Questions with Jac Harmon
BackStory: Four Questions with Jac Harmon Author of 1916 What inspired you to write ‘1916’? The piece was inspired by some research I did for a presentation. I’d volunteered to be an archaeological guide on a dig and part of…
BackStory: Five Questions with Frankie McMillan
BackStory: Five Questions with Frankie McMillan Author of We, the School Dental Nurses, 1960 What inspired you to write ‘We, the School Dental Nurses, 1960’? A friend posted me a photo as a writing prompt. The photo, a woman with…
BackStory: Four Questions with Kristen Loesch
BackStory: Four Questions with Kristen Loesch Author of Tapeworm What inspired you to write ‘Tapeworm’? I’ve been writing and thinking a lot about Hong Kong recently, a city to which I have travelled often and where I lived for about…
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…
BackStory: Five Questions with Audra Kerr Brown
BackStory: Five Questions with Audra Kerr Brown Author of cottonmouth What inspired you to write ‘cottonmouth’? I took one of Meg Pokrass’s wonderfully fun photo-prompt workshops, and she presented a photo of a Depression era girl holding a baby. I…