NUNUM Flash Fiction & Art Interview with David Galef What was the first book you remember picking and reading by yourself? ​ Maurice Sendak, Where the Wild Things Are. What writer(s) or which book(s) influenced your decision to become a writer? Robert Heinlein, Ray Bradbury, Vladimir Nabokov, et al. Is there a writing craft book that you would recommend to new writers? Janet Burroway, Writing Fiction: A Guide to Narrative Craft. Is there a writer who has influenced your current writing style? ​ P. G. Wodehouse. Why write flash fiction? I love the cha ..read more

NUNUM Blending Flash Fiction & Art Interview with Donald L Patten What was the first book you remember picking and reading yourself? I remember reading The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle because  I was drawn to its colorful illustrations.  What was the last book you read that made you say damn, that was a good book? I have just finished Goya and the Spirit of Enlightenment by Alfonso E. Perez Sanchez and Eleanor A. Sayre. I was interested to read it to understand Goya's artistic development throughout his life.I have just finished G ..read more

NUNUM Blending Flash Fiction & Art Interview with Donna Shanley What was the first book you remember picking and reading by yourself?  A collection of fairy tales from the local public library.   What writer(s) or which book(s) influenced your decision to become a writer?  ​ A Writing for Children workshop with wonderful Canadian author, Sheree Fitch. I started writing that day and have never stopped. I’ve found that picture book texts and flash fiction have a lot in common: the compressed form, the importance of an arresting opening, the absence of ex ..read more

NUNUM Blending Flash Fiction & Art Interview with Nan Wigington What was the first book you remember picking and reading by yourself? My parents tried to read me to sleep. Their plot failed because they picked some very engaging books -- Bambi, Wind in the Willows, and Winnie the Pooh. Sometimes, they would nod off. I would open their eyes, repeat the last word they spoke, and urge them toward the end of the chapter, the story, the book. Repeating the last word required some reading skills.  When I picked books independently, they leaned toward the fantastic and ..read more

NUNUM Blending Flash Fiction & Art Interview with ​Benoît Tremblay What was the first book you remember picking and reading yourself? Le grand livre des trains, when I was around 7 or 8 years old. What was the last book you read that made you say damn, that was a good book? Rien n’est fini, tout commence by Raoul Vaneigem. Which artists have influenced your current artistic direction? Too many… Willem de Kooning, Gil Joseph Wolman, Lee Krasner, Anders Österlin, Jean-Paul Riopelle, Asger Jorn and Charlotte Park. Is there an artist in your local community that you ..read more

NUNUM Blending Flash Fiction & Art Interview with ​Dawn Huddlestone What was the first book you remember picking and reading by yourself? ​ The Secret World of Og by Pierre Burton. I didn’t pick it (it was a gift), but it’s the first book I remember devouring on my own, over and over. My now-ragged copy still sits on my bookshelf. What writer(s) or which book(s) influenced your decision to become a writer?​ All of them. I may have been born with my nose in a book and lived in my head a lot as a child, telling myself stories. While it wasn’t until many years later t ..read more

NUNUM Blending Flash Fiction & Art Interview with ​Roopa Raveendran-Menon What was the first book you remember picking and reading by yourself? Book of Fairies by Enid Blyton. It was a hardbound copy with a photo of fairies on the cover. I was 5 and I still remember the excitement I felt after finishing the book. And I also remember leaving cups of cream for elves and pixies under my bed, waiting for hours to catch a glimpse of these creatures.  What writer(s) or which book(s) influenced your decision to become a writer? I started as a reader, and it was my l ..read more

NUNUM Blending Flash Fiction & Art Interview with Christine Arroyo Christine, what was the first book you remember reading all by yourself? Little House on the Prairie. What writer(s) or which book(s) influenced your decision to become a writer? I loved Ann of Green Gables so much so I'd probably credit Lucy Maud Montgomery as the writer who really enveloped me in a world and made me love storytelling. Is there a writing craft book that you would recommend to new writers? Craft in the Real World by Michael Salesses. Is there a writer who has influenced your current ..read more

NUNUM Blending Flash Fiction & Art Interview with L. Ralph Pennel Ralph, what was the first book you remember reading all by yourself? The first book I picked up and read by myself was One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish. But there were many series of books which I picked out from the local library for myself to read—I'm a bit of a serial reader. I decided to read the entire Frank L. Baum Oz series, which really resonated with me as a young reader. Have you been influenced by any other writers, I mean someone who got you interested in becoming a writer?  ..read more

NUNUM Blending Flash Fiction & Art Interview with ​Jill Alexander Essbaum What was the first book you remember picking and reading by yourself? I don't have a memory of the first book I read by myself, but the first “books” that charmed me were the Archie Comics Digests my parents bought me at the grocery store. I still love them. I still buy them. What writer(s) or which book(s) influenced your decision to become a writer?​ I wrote Beverly Cleary two fan letters when I was in elementary school.  She wrote back—twice!   Is there a writing cra ..read more