Ann Pino’s story “Salvation” is published today at Every Day Fiction as part of her first place prize in the String-of-10 TWO Microfiction Contest sponsored by Flash Fiction Chronicles and Every Day Fiction.

First, Ann, let me congratulate you on your short piece “Salvation” which won FIRST PLACE  in Flash Fiction Chronicles’ String-of-10 Two Microfiction contest.  Guest judge Joel Willans’ wrote about this story when announcing his choice:

A great story needs great characters and “Salvation”  has two. I loved the build up to the confrontation, and the implied sexual tension between the gun wielding Vince and his bible bashing beauty. The resolution is fantastic. When religious fervor comes up against animal magnetism, there’s only ever going to be one winner.

Flash Fiction Chronicles: Tell us a little about your experience in the contest?   What prompted you to enter (no pun intended)?  Was it the idea of a contest, the words that were listed?  How long did it take you to write it?  

Ann:  I’ve been doing prompted writings for about a year now, so the contest sounded like a fun challenge.  I was particularly intrigued by the tight word limit.  I knew that would be tough.  The draft only took about half an hour, but I returned to it several times over the next few days, making changes and reading it over to make sure the story worked like I wanted it to.

FFC: Joel was drawn to your story because of your characters.  How do you create your characters?

ANN: I spent ten years working in restaurants and nightclubs.  I’ve met all kinds of people, and when your ability to pay the rent depends on reading them quickly, you get good at it.  I’m sure I subconsciously draw on a lot of real-life experience when I write, but I never feel like I’m creating my characters.  I just put them out there and then sit back and watch. 

FFC: Is “Salvation” typical of your short stories?  If so, what does it have in common with your other work?  If not, how does it different?

ANN:  The style is a little more poetic than how I usually write.  I’m really more of a dialogue person.  With such a narrow word limit, though, I couldn’t let the characters get too chatty.  I needed words that could conjure multiple meanings and images, and that meant using a denser style than usual.

FFC: When reading your short stories, what do you want your readers to take from your writing?

ANN: I want people to feel like they know my characters, like they would recognize them if they met them on the street or overheard them talking in a crowded room.

FFC: Any advice you want to give writers who want to give flash fiction a try?

ANN: Flash fiction requires that you make every word count.  In school, we’re taught that more is better, but if you’re just writing filler to hit a certain word count, you’re diminishing the impact of your story.  Take out as many superfluous words as you can, and when you think you can’t possibly go any shorter, take out another word.  You’ll be surprised at how little you need to say. 

FFC: You write long pieces as well as short.  Which do you prefer if either and why?

ANN: I like being caught up in writing a novel – it takes over your life and can be a very intense ride.  But flash is fun and challenging in a different way.  It’s unforgiving because a single wrong word can ruin  everything, so you have to think harder about how to bring a scene or character to life.

FFC: Can you tell what writers have influenced you and why?

Ann:  I like writers who make me think.  I read One Hundred Years of Solitude and The Sound and the Fury over and over because it was impossible to pick up on everything the first time around.  Cormack McCarthy, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, William Faulkner, and Homero Ardijis are all very good at writing dense, layered stories that work at more than one level.  I’m also a big fan of satire, especially Voltaire and Douglas Adams. 

FFC: “Googling” you produced three websites for your writing.  What are you working on now and what do you have planned for the future?

Ann:  I want to combine all of my web fiction projects into one site, for starters.  I have several different sets of characters I’ve been working with and it’s starting to be cumbersome to not have everything in one place.  My novel Maelstrom will be released soon, so I’ll be writing more flash fiction to promote the book.  I’m also working on a sequel.  Generally, though, I’m trying not to pressure myself too much.  Getting published can kill your creativity by making you feel like you have to be brilliant all the time.  I don’t want to lose sight of why I write in the first place, which is for the joy of it.  Recognition is nice, but I’m here for the journey.

 

BIO:

Ann Pino had a creative childhood of art, dance, and music lessons, so naturally she wanted to be a writer. After ten years in the hospitality business, meeting the famous and not-so-famous from all walks of life, she returned to college where she double-majored in History and Spanish and then earned a Master’s in Higher Education Administration.  

She puts the latter to good use in her job at the University of Houston . Ann lives with her husband Dan Olivarez and her rabbit, Cadbury.  When she isn’t writing novels and short stories, she can be found running the streets of Houston in preparation for her next marathon, in the kitchen trying new vegetarian recipes, or curled up somewhere with a good book.  Her comic urban fantasy, Maelstrom, is scheduled for release this year from L&L Dreamspell.