How did “And All the Fields Below” originate? What inspirations did you draw on?

I love dogs! No, seriously, dogs are the absolute best. I wish I could have one (or five) but I don’t have the space they need, nor the time to give them the attention they deserve.

I grew up with dogs—usually golden retrievers, always several in the household at a time—and I miss their silly slobbery faces.

I’ve had to settle for cats, for the time being; they’re terrific in their own way, but the loyalty of a cat is a totally different thing.

Where are you in this story?

I am the woman who saves all the dogs. And cats. And reptiles. And assorted insects who get themselves trapped indoors. Helping someone else is sometimes the best way to heal.

On the other hand, I might be Parker.

Do you have any advice for other writers?

Know yourself. Be loyal to your own process and interests.

There’s so much conversation out there about the right way to write that it’s easy to bloody yourself trying to force your own work, even the arc of your own career, into a predetermined mold.

That way lies misery.

There’s no getting rich off short fiction in any genre; you’d be hard-pressed to even pay for groceries with a year’s worth of generous short fiction income. So just write the stories that appeal to you, at the pace your life allows. Read the stories and novels that call to you, not what anyone else says you should read.

And if your interests wander away from writing for a while, follow them. They might eventually lead to new stories, or they might not, but you’ll be happier for having pursued them wherever they lead, and you’ll learn a lot about yourself and the world on the way.

Other than writing, do you have any other creative pursuits? What do you do to relax?

When I want to relax, I travel solo. My household is absolute chaos—I work from home full-time, and I live in a small apartment with my partner, plus our two teenagers, four cats, and one aquatic turtle in a very large tank. Because of that, I seldom get time alone, so when I have the vacation days and budget for it, I catch a last-minute flight to somewhere new and interesting. The pandemic interrupted that for a long while, but now that we’re all vaccinated and better at disease control, I’ve managed trips to Greece and Ireland. In the years just before the pandemic, I went to Italy, Belize, Costa Rica, and Guatemala, and later this year I hope to visit Spain and Portugal, to walk the Camino de Santiago out of Porto.

I’ve been toying with sketching while I travel, but only for my own benefit. I find it relaxing, and I don’t want the pressure of ever needing to publish or sell or improve.

Some things are private, and better held close.

What are you working on lately? Where else can fans look for your work?

In the past several years, I’ve turned more toward speculative poetry than short fiction. That was not a planned shift! Even now, poetry feels like magic to me; I only know a poem’s ready when it feels right. Sometimes I’ll fiddle with fifty different variations on the same line, or phrase, or even the same word, and it’s never quite right so I’ll set it aside in a fit of irritation.

And then, three months later, I open it again and find the right word instantly and after that, the poem just sings.