Mitzi McMahon lives in Wisconsin, near the shores of Lake Michigan. Her writing has appeared, or is forthcoming, in JMWW, Houston Literary Review, Insolent Rudder, PanGaia, The Rockford Review, NOÖ Journal, Salome, edificeWrecked, The Citizen, and other journals. Her story “He Answers,” was included in Better Non Sequitur’s See You Next Tuesday Anthology.

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There seems to be two camps of fiction writers—those who write novels, or aspire to write novels, and those who wish to focus solely on the short form. You fall into the latter group. What are the advantages and disadvantages of being a short story writer instead of a novelist? Why is this the form for you?

The obvious advantage in creating short stories over novels is the time involved. I tend to be a little impatient, so the idea of it taking years to see a finished product (i.e., a novel) is too daunting and frustrating to me. What’s ironic, though, is the fact that I’ve got several stories that have been “in progress” for one and two and three years now.

A disadvantage is that nobody really cares about the short story. And when I say “nobody,” what I mean are publishers. Time and again I read that short story collections don’t sell. Well, I buy them - my bookshelves are loaded with collections! But, sadly, what I’ve read seems to be true. A woman writer I got to know and came to admire (through an online writing class) sold her short story collection with the caveat that she first must produce a novel.

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We’ve talked previously about the difficulties of targeting appropriate markets for our short fiction. Do you think the gluttony of literary journals is a large part of the problem? And/or the overabundance of talented writers? What methods of market research do you employ?

I do think there are a lot of very talented writers out there. And, an overabundance of literary journals should, theoretically, make it easier to place one’s stories. More journals, more opportunities, right?

One of the best ways to do market research, I think, is to read the journals. This is a time consuming process for me, though. Sometimes I can quickly discern the style (the stories in the issue I read of The Bitter Oleander, for example, were all similar in that they were a little quirky; they weren’t about conventional subjects). Other times a journal might publish, all in the same issue, one story with a traditional subject and plot line, one where the language seems more important than plot, and yet another where the form is experimental. And, just when I think I’ve got it all figured out, a new editor takes over!

Every time I travel, I check out the local bookstores, picking up journals that my hometown B&N doesn’t carry. I also recently discovered a web site (magsampler.com) where you can order single copies of journals for a very reasonable price. I’ve now got 15 journals stacked on the living room table waiting to be read. I use Duotrope, too; it’s a great resource. They provide links to a journal’s web site and all kinds of stats on the publication.

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Many of your stories are about children and the darkness that sometimes surrounds their childhood. In “Taking Turns,” two young sisters are faced with caring for their sick mother. The boy in “Throw Away Baby” was unwanted by his father, and has been challenged with developmental disorders. The girl narrator in “Hide and Seek” suffers from parental abuse. What draws you to this theme?

I have no idea! The easy answer would be that I was abused as a child. But I wasn’t. My childhood was difficult because we moved around a lot. My dad did well in his job so they kept offering him promotions; the catch was that his new job was in a different state. We left my hometown of Memphis when I was nine, and over the next seven years, we changed states three more times. It was very painful for me. I was shy and introverted and being forced into new schools, new neighborhoods, every 18 - 24 months was traumatic. Maybe that’s why the dark childhood theme appeals to me, why it comes natural. I’ve heard that we, as writers, write to learn, to explore things we don’t understand. Maybe this is my way of making peace with my past.

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For the past several years, you’ve focused almost exclusively on writing flash fiction. Now you are venturing into the short story—work over 1,000 words. Has this been challenging for you? Is there any one aspect that’s been more difficult than the others?

Challenging? Yes! My first couple of attempts to create stories over 1200 words felt like torture. It was like trying to wring one more drop out of an already-dry towel. I had to force myself to do it. I’d sit in my chair, feet curled beneath me, paper and pencil in hand and spend the next 45 minutes on three sentences. Pretty soon I was watching the birds at the feeder in the backyard, or getting up to give my dog a treat, or throwing a load of darks into the washing machine. This went on for weeks. Flash is all about succinctness, preciseness. It took some doing to let go, to let what would’ve been a 250-word scene blossom into an 800-word scene. After a couple of months I finally got to where I could produce 1000 words in one sitting. It was a huge accomplishment. One of my “in progress” stories is one I was working on during this period. And, believe it or not, it’s actually too long. At present it’s about 7000 words. I think it needs to be closer to 5000.

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What are your tastes in fiction? Do you go for classics or contemporaries? Onerous literary novels or fast and furious mysteries? What are you currently reading?

My tastes in fiction depend upon my mood. My first love is literary — short stories and novels. I love being swept away by a story, being engrossed in a world that feels so real that I hate coming out of it. The last author to affect me this way was Jennifer Weiner. I recently discovered her and simply loved, loved her novels.

Reading literary fiction, for me, requires a commitment. There’s more meat in a literary story, more hidden meanings, more layers to the characters. There are times, though, when I just want to be entertained, and/or distracted, where I want something quick and easy. For this I turn to what I call commercial fiction. Authors like Grisham, King. Do other people call it this? For me, these are somewhat predictable and, thus, less engaging; they require less involvement. I have, however, recently discovered two authors in this category that I really enjoyed: Kay Hooper and David Baldacci.

As for what I’m reading: Jim Tomlinson’s Things Kept, Things Left Behind; Benjamin Percy’s The Language of Elk; Lorrie Moore’s Birds of America.

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Though you live in Wisconsin, your dream is to one day live near the Rocky Mountains of Colorado. You are, as you say, “completely enamored” by this area. Have you traveled there before? What do you love about it?

The Colorado Rockies are magnificent. I’ve been there three times, three different places: Breckenridge, Estes Park, and Steamboat Springs. When I tell people how much I love Colorado, they assume it’s because of the snow. But each of my visits was during the summer. There’s something about the mountains and the bluest of blue skies that I find magical. You’re going to think this is weird, but many years ago (long before my first visit to Colorado), when I got into bed each night, I would visualize a cabin on a mountainside as a way to clear my mind so I could drift off to sleep. It was always a serious mountain, a mountain of substance, like those I later discovered in Colorado.

A few years back I made a semi-serious inquiry as to the possibility of moving our family to Colorado. You know what my husband said? “Go ahead honey; the kids and I’ll come visit.” I’m still in Wisconsin.

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In 2005, you visited Ireland. Where did you go? What did you see? Are you Irish?

Oh, Ireland was fabulous! I’m part Irish on my own but also married into Irish — McMahon is about as Irish as it gets. It was my first trip overseas. I went with my sister-in-law and mother-in-law. We toured the whole country, which isn’t really all that big — about the size of Maine. But talk about beautiful! It was stunning, breathtaking. I was most moved by the walled city of Derry (also known as Londonderry). U2’s song, “Sunday, Bloody Sunday” is about the massacre that occurred in the city in 1972 where unarmed civil rights protestors were gunned down by the British government. Down the hill from the city’s stone walls are several 3- and 4- story buildings that bear murals painted by local artists commemorating the day: men wearing gas masks; a school girl caught in the crossfire; wounded people running from men with rifles.

I discovered Irish beer while over there (not to mention some pretty interesting facts…like the Guinness folks have a 9000 year lease on their property!). I’ve never cared for American beer, but my husband was happy when I came home with a liking for Smithwick’s (pronounced Smittick’s). And the timing was good as the U.S. had just begun importing Smithwick’s a few months earlier.

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So you live in Wisconsin, dream of the Colorado Rockies, and travel to fascinating places like Ireland, but you were born in the south, in the same hospital that Elvis Presley died in. Is there any part of you that still feels deeply connected to your southern roots? Do you in any way consider yourself a Southern writer?

Yeah, that business of being born in the same hospital as Elvis died in is my 5 minute claim to fame! I’ve been “up north” (as my relatives say) far too long to be considered southern, but my southern roots have definitely influenced me. I love sweet tea and cornbread and fried okra and any kind of cobbler. Southern accents make me melt. And sometimes I wish we “yankees” could adopt a little more of the slower pace that the south enjoys. Southern sayings find their way into my stories. My folks have moved back to the South and every once in awhile my mom will forward on to me an email with the southern way of looking at things. I save them; they feed something deep inside.

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What have you done in your life that you’re most proud of?

Earning my Bachelor’s degree. I went to school full time while working full time while raising three kids. In that mix there was also my husband, a dog, and a cat. It was the toughest thing I’ve ever done. It took six years, but I’m not sure, if given the choice, that I’d do it any differently.

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Contact Mitzi

Read:

“Flying Really Fast”
published by Houston Literary Review

“Taking Turns”
published by Insolent Rudder

“Hide and Seek”
published by NOÖ Journal

“Throw Away Baby”
published by Salome Magazine

“Library Books”
published by Gator Springs Gazette

“Small Stains of Fire”
published by edificeWRECKED

“Pike River Bridge”
published by Doorknobs & BodyPaint
Issue 31 (10th Anniversary Issue)



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