Writer Wednesday: Meet Foy Iver!

Foy Pic2-4-6-8, what do we appreciate? Wednesday! Wednesday! W-r-r-r-iter Wednesday!

And I doubly appreciate it today, because my good friend and deliciously fabulous writer Foy Iver is with me. Foy’s way with words steals my breath every time, folks – if you haven’t read her flash fiction in the places listed below, go seek it out. You won’t be sorry.

I recently enticed her to come share a little about herself, a quick bite, flash-esque interview, as it were, so I hope you read a little and comment a lot. Let’s show Foy some writerly love!


What inspires you to write?

Writing doesn’t come easily for me. Usually my best stories or poems are born out of painful experiences that I need to process: a miscarriage, the death of a friend, my own failings. Through writing, I pull out those emotions, flip them upside down and around, study them, understand them, and then imprison them on the page.

comfrey herbName one interesting thing you learned in researching/writing your last book.

Research is my enchanted fruit. I could spend years digging up useless gems of information while the meat of my story lies rotting in my brain. Semi-useless fact #19203742893: Comfrey (also known as Knitbone [is that not the coolest name ever]), was used to promote healing in broken bones in the early days of medicine.

Name two things people don’t know about you.

1) I recently left my job to be a full-time writer. This is the first in seven years that I haven’t been employed or seeking employment. Yes, it feels odd.

2) I struggled with reading until about the age of twelve when letters just fell into place. After that you couldn’t get my nose out of a book.

What one piece of advice do you wish you’d had when first starting out?
So your inner editor sees a rhinosaurus? Let others have a peek. They might spy a prize-winning unicorn in the making.


Fountain penBio:

Foy S. Iver is a flash fiction author and fantasy writer. Her stories have found homes at several online sites, including Flash! Friday, Micro Bookends, Three Line Thursday, Angry Hourglass, Paragraph Planet, & Visual Verse. She chases after the FlashDogs and has a few pieces in their solstice Light & Dark Anthologies.

Find her on Twitter @fs_iver or drop by her site, www.foyiver.com. In the non-virtual universe, she lives with her husband and Blue Heeler in the mountains of Northern Virgina.



Wahoo! Thanks so much, Foy – such an honor to host you here. 🙂

Writer Wednesday: Meet Grace Black

Grace BlackIt’s not only Wednesday, it’s Writer Wednesday! Just what you need to get you through the rest of the week, right?

I’m delighted to welcome fellow flash fiction writer (and host of her own flash fiction contest, Three Line Thursday) and poet, Grace Black. Grab that cup of coffee (or tea, or whatever you like to drink) and settle in for a delightful few minutes learning more about Grace and her work.


What inspires you to write?

Fueled by emotions and the unseen web of words that linger long after we’ve left, I am fascinated by the ordinary moments life offers. The ichor of the first summer cherry as it dribbles down a child’s chin and the broken skins that stain innocent fingers a sunset crimson this is the simple moment of awe and a poet’s manna. Everyday life is an inspiration, and to live is to bleed ink.

Which type of romance do you love, and why?

As a poet, I fall in love with the simplest of things and paradoxes abound. Isn’t life one complex romance in and of itself? I’ve always favored the unexpected romance, the unseen story that’s tucked neatly in the margins of a first draft, and the imprints the author leaves behind, beneath the bindings. Love is the question and the answer.

What’s the one piece of advice you wish you had when first starting out?

Find other writers and share your work, participate in online challenges, or find a local writer’s group where you share work with others. Rejections mean keep writing, they do not mean give up! 

When you find a comfy nook and begin to see small successes, leap; progress comes from taking chances and stepping out of our comfort zones, repeatedly.

(ML’s note: Great advice!)


Three Lines BookOn her collection of poetry, Three Lines:

Grace Black takes her love of poetic brevity and brings you a compilation for the soul. She weaves emotive verse and naked prose in a minimalist format and carries you on a journey through life, love, and loss of the heart. This is poetry that doesn’t know its poetry and is meant to be a visceral experience.

Find Three Lines here:
http://www.amazon.com/Three-Lines-All-Thats-Left/dp/1511560312/ 

Want to know more about Grace? Find her here:

Websitegraceblackwrites.com 

Twitterhttps://twitter.com/blackinkpinkdsk

Facebookhttps://www.facebook.com/GraceBlackInk 


Thanks so much for joining us, Grace.
Your words are beautiful, and I’m glad you could be here.