Interrobang Magazine: Interview & Giveaway

I came across Interrobang, a bi-monthly zine created by Sarah Marshall and Lou Horvath, about a month ago while browsing through Etsy. When I read that they were taking poetry and short story submissions, I decided to give a shot. After exchanging a few emails with Sarah, it was decided that one of my short stories, Porcelain Girl, would be featured in issue five!
To learn more about Interrobang's creators and the zine itself, read the interview below.

What is Interrobang Magazine?
Interrobang is a self-published, bi-monthly online and print magazine that features poetry, short stories, art, and music.

Lou: In the title page for each zine, it says that Interrobang is a magazine established by Lou and Sarah. Sarah's choice of "established" is apt. One of its meanings is: "to introduce and cause to grow and multiply." That seems like a way forward.

When did Interrobang Magazine begin?
We began to work on the first issue in the summer of 2009.

What is some background information of the zine's creators?
Sarah: I am currently a senior in high school and will be moving to New York City in the fall to attend Parsons the New School for Design. At the time that Interrobang was established, I was primarily interested in fine art photography, which I had been doing for about three years. The zine has since piqued my interest in experimenting with other forms of art, including collage, mixed media work, and drawing.

Lou: Bachelor's degree in History, Master's in Counseling Psychology, recently retired after 15 years evaluating the work potential of people with disabilities. Lived, wrote, did odd jobs in Pittsburgh, California, the New York North Country, DelMarVa peninsula, Manhattan (1971-1989). Currently residing in hometown with 14 year-old son, Dante.

Published poems, prose, some collages and criticism in magazines such as: The Paris Review (first poem, 1972), Sun and Moon (Sun and Moon also published a chapbook of poems, VU), Telephone, Benzene, Smegma, Nice, La Bas, Truce, Ararat, Arete, Konglomerati, The Pittsburgh Quarterly (Print, and On-line, which serialized my novel, The Vulture and the Mother).

Why did you choose the name "Interrobang?"
Many different names were considered, but "Interrobang" seemed to work best. An interrobang is a punctuation mark that combines an exclamation point with a question mark. This symbol is used on the first page and back cover of every issue.

What is the process of developing and publishing a zine?
Sarah: We work on our projects individually and then decide what we feel should be included in the issue. When our ideas are in place, I begin to design the page layouts. We e-mail the spreads back and forth, offering feedback to one another, until the pages are complete. The issue is printed in relatively small quantities, and then bound, using either a sewing machine or binding it by hand. The zine is then listed on etsy and copies are distributed to a local bookstore. Recently we have created an online edition of Interrobang, so the final process of publishing an issue is uploading it to issuu.com and posting it to our blog.

Lou: Sarah is the driving force of Interrobang. Since she is the visual artist, she is the eye of the zine and gives it its look. She came up with the current format and she even has sewn the pages of the zine together with thread provided by her grandmother. With the introduction of the music playlists in issue two, she has provided our readers with a unique and interesting feature.

Where or from what do you gather inspiration for each issue?
Sarah: I generally don't obtain direct inspiration from anything in particular. Usually the inspiration stems from the medium itself when I'm creating work for the zine. Most of the processes (collage and mixed media) are new to me, so I really just experimenting most of the time.

Do you have any long term goals for Interrobang Magazine?
Lou: We haven't talked at all, about a "philosophy" of the zine. It's always been about the mutual admiration of each other’s work. We use what each of us comes up with, if we agree on it (including poems by Betsy Sherrier in issues one and two). I have had the opportunity of contributing poems, prose, translations from the Russian language, a chronology of my novel, The Vulture and the Mother. Currently working on a short story, Peck Slip Blues, which will be serialized beginning in I5. In future issues I’d like to turn a critical eye toward literature for which I have a high regard. With issue five, we will welcome two new writers (new for us) to the zine. I look forward to reading many more submissions as we continue.

Sarah: Interrobang has been a very interesting, rewarding project that I truly enjoy. I hope to continue to publish the zine for quite some time. It would be really great to continue to feature contributions from talented writers and artists and increase our readership with every issue as well.

The two lovely creators of Interrobang magazine are giving a free copy of issue five to one lucky reader.

How can you win?
Simply leave a comment below. If you don't have a blog then please leave an email address so you can be contacted if you are the winner. This giveaway is open to international readers.
To gain an extra entry, blog/tweet about this giveaway. Leave a link in a comment.
The giveaway will run for two weeks and a winner will be chosen randomly March 13th.

And remember to visit Interrobang's blog and Etsy shop to show your support for independent artists.

P.S. I also encourage you to visit Sarah's photostream. Aside from being a huge driving force behind the zine, she is also a very talented photographer.

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Interview With Laura Brodie

A few days ago a very excited me blogged about my experience with reading The Widow's Season and my unexpected response from the author of the novel, Laura Brodie, when I emailed her on a whim of reading high. She agreed to be interviewed by me- a very kind and unexpected surprise considering I have no professional interviewing experience and only a little blog to showcase the results.

You can purchase The Widow's Season at many retailers such as Borders, Barnes & Noble and Amazon. Also, be on the lookout for her upcoming memoir, Love in a Time of Homeschooling, which tells the story of her experience with homeschooling her daughter. You can read the first three pages on her website and I recommend this article which makes the upcoming memoir sound very promising.

1. It is an honor to be given the opportunity to interview you. Could you please give a little bit of background as to who you are?

I’m a writer, teacher and mother living near the Blue Ridge Mountains in southwest Virginia, and I divide my time between raising three lovely daughters, teaching English at Washington and Lee University, and writing all kinds of books—nonfiction, fiction and memoir.

2. Upon reading the biography on your website, I discovered that the protagonist, as well as other characters, shared a lot of details unique to you. Is it safe to say that events in your life or personal characteristics were used as inspiration?

Yes, that’s a fair statement. My mother and grandmother were widows, so I knew something about their experience before writing this book. Also, my main character is a part-time English professor just like me, who lives in a town called Jackson, Virginia, which is a thinly-veiled version of Lexington, VA, where I have resided for the past twenty years. I named my “fictional” town Jackson because Stonewall Jackson is a major figure in Lexington’s history.

Also, the husband in my book disappears in a kayaking accident, which was based on an event in my husband’s life. He once went solo-kayaking on a flooded river and realized half-a-mile downstream that the water was too dangerous to paddle. Luckily he was able to get off the water before reaching a life-threatening rapid like the one I describe in my book.

3. What inspired you to write The Widow’s Season?

When I was a graduate student at the University of Virginia, many years ago, I wrote a dissertation on the representation of widows in English literature. My favorite chapter from that project was on husbands who fake their deaths in order to spy on their wives—something that comes up a lot in seventeenth-century drama. I loved the voyeurism in those plays, and that got me thinking about works where a husband’s ghost watches his wife, or conduct books where widows were taught to imagine that their husband was watching. The idea behind those books was to inspire widows to behave, and not take new lovers who would gain control of the old husband’s money.

I wanted to write a modern variation on that old theme, but one where you couldn’t quite decide whether the spying husband had faked his death, was a real ghost, or was just a figment in a grieving woman’s mind.

4. Did you learn anything while writing The Widow’s Season? Perhaps about yourself or the people you relate with?

I learned how hard it is to write a complete novel, and then find a publisher. The Widow’s Season took about six years of part-time work to complete, with constant revision. Once I had a polished manuscript and found my wonderful agent, Gail Hochman, she still wanted me to revise for several more months. Then it took a year to find an editor who would take a chance on an unknown author in this terrible publishing market. Jackie Cantor, at Penguin’s Berkley Books, told me that she had planned to read two pages of the manuscript and reject it. She had no intention of buying the book—but the opening pages made her want to read more and more, until she was hooked. She’s turned out to be a great supporter of my writing.

5. Your novel has a lot of allegorical situations. How is this significant to the storyline?

I’m not sure which situations you have in mind, but my use of the holiday seasons is somewhat symbolic. Because the novel is partly a ghost story, it opens at Halloween, and the plot follows holiday themes. Events related to babies occur at Christmas, a key love scene takes place on Valentine’s Day, and the book closes near Easter, which plays with the idea of the widow resurrecting her own spirit.

6. What would be your advice to a writer trying to get published?

If you love writing, make time for it every day and keep working on your craft, regardless of whether you are having any luck getting published. It can take years and years of work before you’ll have a book that is ready for the world, or find an audience that is ready for you. (And it’s often not a matter of talent so much as marketability.) In the meantime, keep sending stories, essays or poems to magazines, journals, and contests—agents are always scanning those places for new writers.

I’m a believer in contests because The Widow’s Season won the Pirate’s Alley/Faulkner Society’s 2005 Award for Best-Novel-In-Progress, which gave my project a big boost. That big contest supports new writers, (even high-school aged) in all genres, so it’s worth checking out on Google. Also Poets and Writers magazine is a valuable resource for all writers because it includes contests and conferences in every issue, along with great articles about the profession.

7. What do you see yourself doing in 10 years? Do you have any short-term or long-term goals?

I hope to be writing novels for many years to come. Writing The Widow’s Season was a great imaginative pleasure, and readers have been very enthusiastic, so now I’m working on a second novel for Berkley. It’s in the early phase, and won’t be available for a another few years.

8. Can readers expect any new work by you?

Yes, I have a new memoir coming out this April with HarperCollins, called Love in a Time of Homeschooling. It’s the story of one year when I gave my ten-year-old daughter, Julia, a break from her public school routine. She was burnt out on all the homework, worksheets and desktime at school, so for one year we wanted to try something different. But there are a lot of emotional ups and downs that come when a mother and daughter are bound together at home for long time. The book is filled with funny stories and ugly moments, and provides information about homeschooling for readers who might want to try it. I admire lifelong homeschoolers, but I’ve never wanted to homeschool all my kids full-time. Still, I think a lot of parents in America dream of crafting an ideal education for their kids, if only for a year or two.

9. And lastly, do you believe in ghosts?

I’ve never seen a ghost and I’m not sure that they exist, but I think the world is full of possibilities, and what really happens after death is a great mystery. I will say this—my husband, who is a very pragmatic guy with no clear belief in ghosts, once saw something in our house that he could not explain. We live in a hundred-year-old farmhouse in a hilly, rural setting and one night my husband saw a white figure pass through the main hallway. It wasn’t scary, and it might have been a trick of the light, but he viewed it very clearly. When he shared what he’d seen, my first response was: “Why’d you have to tell me?” I’d rather not know if our house is haunted—fortunately the experience has never been repeated.

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The Widow's Season

A couple months back while searching the many rows of fiction at Borders, I came across a paperback that robbed my attention at first glance: The Widow's Season. Do I judge book by their covers? You bet I do. I know it’s terrible but for this circumstance it proved to be a good thing (ahem, well it's proved to be a good thing more then once actually). I read the book’s summary and a content me purchased it and took it home and placed it on my bedside table. It’s blue tones on the newly fresh cover completely ironed of any damaged looked so pretty while illuminated by my nightstand table. After about a week I still had done very little but glance at the cover. When realizing that I was not going to read it with all the hustle and bustle going on in my life, I perched it atop one of my bookshelves, next to Collected Stories by Gabriel Garcia Marquez and The Mathematics of Love by Emma Darwin. And there it stood. For months.
The beginning of 2010 rolled around with much anticipation from my part and the book still stood untouched, gathering little particles of dust. I had gone without reading for such a long time and my mind craved a story of interweaved words and imagery. So I glanced up at my bookshelf and my eyes met the untouched paperback. I pulled it out, snuggled into my bed, broke into its sturdy binding and began reading.
I was spellbound.
I was not even three-fourths of the way through with it when my curiosity led me to Google Laura Brodie, the author of the book. I found her website, read her biography and was elated to connect many characteristics and facts about the characters in the novel to the biography of the woman who had created such beautiful prose. I then saw that her email address was provided and my mind surged at the possibilities.
So I emailed her with a rather unorganized account of how much I was in love with the book I was reading. I went on and on until I finally asked her if she would be willing to participate in an interview for my blog. I clicked the little send button and laughed at my naïveté. Why would a three-time published author take time to write back, let alone agree to be interviewed by an eighteen year old blogger with 100 plus followers?
So just imagine my surprise when the following morning she had replied stating that my email had made her morning. That alone was enough to make me wet my pants a little (which I came close to but I assure you I didn‘t actually wet my pants). Anxiously reading through her response I then came across these glorified words: “I'd be happy to answer your questions”.
Oh my goodness.
I spent the next two days trying not to rush and finish the novel. I wanted to slowly and surely absorb every detail, every beautiful connection and image that was written. And when I reached the end my heart was pumping like I just had a forty-five minute workout in the dead summer heat of July and my eyes were filled with tears to such an exxagerated level that I could barely even make out the last words of the novel. When I finally did reach the last sentence I was confused and then surprised and fulfilled. So yea, maybe I really get into the books I read but I assure you I had every excuse for this one.

If you get the opportunity I definitely recommend for you to pick up your own copy of The Widow's Season which you can do so here or here or here. And hopefully sooner then later the much awaited (by me, at least) interview will be posted!

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Interview & Giveaway: Jennifer Korff

Ever since I caught a glimpse of the work from the talented Jennifer Korff I knew she possessed something special. Her photography created stories in the most beautiful poetic voices. Being an amateur photographer myself, I dazzled at her work and her ability to capture a moment in the most serene way.
Thus I was honored when she accepted to be interviewed by me. Her answers are rich in inspiration, especially to those who aspire to live their life (partially or fully) behind the lens of a camera.
To learn more about Jennifer and to follow her work, visit her blog, her Flickr, and her website.

1. Hello Jennifer. First of all, thank you so much for participating in this interview. Tell us a little bit about yourself.
Well, hello! I am quite honored, thank you. A bit about myself, well, I am an artist living and working in Chicago, Illinois with my partner and our two monstrous kitties.

2. When did your love for photography begin?

I would say my love of photography began when I was quite young. My father has always had an affinity for the medium as well as an addiction to collecting and tinkering, so I would say it began when I was a little girl acting as model to my father's hobby and following him about with his equipment. My personal relationship with photography truly began when I entered college as an undergraduate. You can read a bit more about that here.

3. What subjects are your favorite to photograph. Why?
I love to capture people and am constantly chasing light. Though I suppose with a few more recent personal projects I have been engaged in lately, I have been drawn to capturing what is on my plate and soon to be in my belly.

4. Where do you find inspiration?
My partner is an incredible source of inspiration to me. Encouraging and challenging me all the same to think beyond the common aesthetic and conventional ways of thinking. I am also very drawn to books I am reading. The images they evoke in my mind... I try to make them a reality.

5. What camera(s) do you use?
I shoot with a mamiya c3, canon ae-1, yashica electro 35 gsn, polaroid sx-70, polaroid land camera and minolta xg-m.

6. The use of lighting in your photographs is magical. Is there a specific time of day you prefer to photograph in?
No specific time of day, really. I just prefer to photograph using what is naturally available to me.

7. You are soon releasing a book entitled We Never Really Knew What Time It Was. What does it include and what was your inspiration?
My book, We Never Really Knew What Time it Was, is a collection of images taken while camping on an island in Lake Michigan this past summer. I only shot two rolls of film while we were away, not quite two rolls in fact, and I was taken with how I was able to capture the island. I felt the images told a beautiful story and captured everything I personally love about a sojourn to the woods. I have been drawn to the idea of making books for quite some time and with the cohesiveness of these photographs, I thought it was an opportune time to give it a go.

8. Thank you so much for your time Jennifer. Do you have any advice for any aspiring photographers that might be reading this?
Persistence is the way to the heart of all aspirations and always come prepared. My favorite quote by Louis Pasteur, "Chance favors the prepared mind".

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The Giveaway:

The winner will have a choice of selecting any one of the beautiful prints featured here:

one | two | three

Plus, they will receive a set of beautiful postcards!

Now for your chance to win:

Simply leave a comment below telling me why you would like to win.
If you are a follower you will receive two entries, just leave a separate comment stating "I am a follower".

I will randomly select a winner October 31st, Halloween.
Good luck!

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Inspiration Blogger: Kira

Kira is a twenty-something Brazilian who not only exudes exterior beauty, but also has a heart of gold. Her blog, KIRAFASHION, exhibits her style that includes but is not limited to: sleek black outfits, edgy accessories and bursts of classic femininity (always displayed with the utmost confidence). She epitomizes the super-sleek, polished woman and is an inspiration to any woman who loves fashion and everything that tags along with it. Each one of her posts features translations in English, Spanish and Portuguese so the wonderful Kira not only has looks but brains as well. Did I mention she has a heart of gold? Seriously, this blogger is one of the friendliest I’ve met. Perhaps that why I am not surprised that she enthusiastically agreed to be interviewed.

In the spirit of her trilingual blogging and because the three are also my native languages, I am going to have a trilingual interview.

1. Hello Kira, first of all thank you so much for agreeing to do this interview. Tell us a little bit about yourself.

Hola Kira, primeramente me gustaría agradecerte por participar en esta entrevista. Cuéntanos un poco de ti.

Ola Kira, em primeiro lugar queria agradecer a sua participação nesta entrevista. Conta-nos um pouquinho sobre ti.

I am from Brazil and I am a journalist. My passion for clothes and style started too long ago. Since I was 16, I used to play guitar and sing in a rock band with my male friends. Every concert we did, I had to think about the outfit. Now, I don’t play in concerts anymore. However, I think my passion for clothes and fashion started from that time.

Soy de Brazil y soy una periodista. Mi pasión por la ropa y la moda empezó hace mucho tiempo. Desde que tenia 16 años, yo tocaba la guitarra y cantava en un grupo de rock con mis amigos. Creo que mi pasión por la ropa empezó en esa época.

Sou do Brasil e sou jornalista. Minha paixão por roupas e estilo começou há muito tempo. Quando tinha 16 anos, costumava tocar guitarra e cantar numa banda de rock com os amigos. Todo show que fazíamos, tinha que pensar na roupa que ia vestir. Hoje, não faço mais shows. No entanto, a minha paixão por roupas e moda começou nesta época.

2. When did you start blogging? What inspired you?

¿Cuando empesastes blogging? Que te inspiró?

Quando começou blogging? Que te inspirou?

I started blogging about two and a half years ago. At the time, the blog used to be just an inspiration file for myself with pictures basically from the Olsens and Kate Moss. After a while, I decided to do something more personal and the blog changed.

Empezé blogging ace dos años y medio. En ese tiempo, mi blog nomas era una pagina de inspiración para mi misma con fotos de las Olsens y tambien de Kate Moss. Después decidí hacer algo más personal y mi blog cambio.

Começei a blogger há mais ou menos dois anos e meio. Na época, o blog era apenas uma página de inspiração para mim mesma com fotos basicamente das Olsens e de Kate Moss. Depois de um tempo, decidi tornar a página mais pessoal e o blog mudou.

3. What are some of your fashion inspirations?

¿Cuáles son unos de tus inspiraciónes de moda?

O que são algum de suas inspirações de moda?

I am truly inspired about the street style blogs today, as Garancé Dore and Jak and Jill, and I am also inspired for some catwalks I see at the internet.

Estoy muy inspirada de los blogs de street style, como Garancé Dora y Jak and Jill. Tambien me inspira los pistos de aterrizaje que veo en el internet.

Eu me inspire totalmente nos blogs de street style, como Garancé Dore and Jak and Jill. Eu também amo seguir tendências através dos desfiles que vejo na internet.

4. Describe your perfect outfit.

Describe su trajer perfecto.

Descreve o seu traje perfeito.

Amazing high heels, black tights, a perfect black dress and a great faux coat or vest above it!

Lindos pares de tacones, medias negras, un vestido negro y una jaqueta de animal falsa arriba.

Lindos pares de sapatos altos, meias pretas, um vestido preto e um casaco ou jaqueta em pele falsa por cima!

5. Several of your posts mention that you have a passion for travel. What are some of your favorite places that you’ve traveled to?

Varias veces hás mencionado en tu blog que tienes una pasión por viajar. ¿Cuales son unos de tus lugares favoritos para viajar?

Varias vezes mencionas no teu blog que gostas de viajar. O que são algum de seus lugares favoritos que você a viajado?

I think I have the urgency for knowing the world. I am always planning where is going to be the next spot which I will spend my vacation at. I think that every new place I visit has something unique and special. Although visiting New York City was something that I won’t forget. The town is the best place I have ever been! Now, I am so excited to visit London and Paris for the first time!

Creo que tengo una urgencia para conecer el mundo. Siempre estoy planeando mi próximo viaje. Creo que cada lugar nuevo que visito tienie algo especial. La ciudad de Nueva York fue algo que nunca me voy a olvidar. La ciudad es el mejor lugar que yo a viajado! Ahora, yo estoy super emocionada para visitar London y Paris por primera vez!

Eu acho que tenho uma urgência por conhecer o mundo. Estou sempre planejando aonde será o próximo lugar que vou passar as férias. Acho que em todos os lugares que fui há algo único e especial. No entanto, conhecer a cidade de Nova York foi algo que jamais vou esquecer. A cidade é o melhor lugar que já fui! Agora, estou super empolgada por conhecer Londres e Paris pela primeira vez!

6. What fashions are popular in the area of Brazil you live in?

¿Cuáles modas son populares en la area de Brazil en donde vives?

Que modas são populares na area em que vives no Brasil?

Here, the people don’t like to take a lot of risks. I think that Brazilian girls love a pair of heels and a denim pants. Nothing more daring than this…at the other hand, also there are girls who love flats and a dress. I wish people here take more fashion risks.

Aquí, las personas no le gusta tomar muchos riesgos. Creo que las mujers Brazileñas aman un par de tacones y los pantalones de mezclilla. Nada más atrevido que eso...por otro lado, ay mujeres que aman zapatos sin tacón y un vestido. Deseo que las personas aquí tomaran más riesgos.

Aqui, as garotas não gostam de corer muitos riscos. Vejo que as meninas brasileiras amam um par de saltos altos e calças jeans. Nada mais ousado que isso...do outro lado, há ainda meninas que amam uma sandália rasteira com vestido. Desejaria que as pessoas aqui fossem mais ousadas.

7. In your opinion, what are some key pieces that every woman should own?

¿En tu opinión, que son unos articilos clave que toda mujer debe tener?

Em sua opinião, o que são alguns articulos que cada mulher deve possuir?

A great pair of black heels, a beautiful bag and a good red lipstick.

Un buen par de tacónes negros, una hermosa bolsa y un buen pintalabios rojo.

Um bom salto alto preto, uma bela bolsa e um bom batom vermelho.

8. What is your advice to any woman who lacks confidence?

¿Que le consejarias a una mujer que le falta confidencia?

O que é seu conselho a qualquer mulher que falta confiança? em si mesma?

Try to be true to yourself. Don’t follow every trend that comes up, just pick the right tendency for your body and personality. Make a list of your likes (for example music, culture etc) and stick to it. There is no wrong of being you. After that, the confidence will come naturally.

Trata ser verdadera con ti misma. No sigas todas las tendecias pero si escoge la tendecias que son buenas para tu cuerpo y personalidad. Haz una lista de tus gustos (por ejemplo la música, cultura, etc) y siga la lista. No hay nada malo en ser tu. Después de eso, la confidencia vendrá naturalmente.

Tente ser você mesma. Não siga todas as tendências que aparecem, apenas escolha as que melhor se encaixam ao seu corpo e personalidade. Faça uma lista das coisas que você gosta (como, por exemplo, música, cultura etc) e siga o estilo. Não há nada de errado em ser você. Depois disso, a confiança virá naturalmente.

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