Tell us a bit more about you and where you’re from.
Nate: I hail from a small town in Central Maine called Waterville. It lives up to its name, being a river town that’s surrounded by glorious lakes and ponds as well. Disused paper mills dot the banks of the Kennebec, and 200-year-old railroads crisscross the land. Like a lot of small towns, maybe all small towns, there’s a cozy side, but there’s also a festering darkness that mutates into pathos, violence and addiction. One thing that’s unique about Waterville is its large Lebanese American population, and I’m proudly connected to that heritage on my dad’s side. In the regional vernacular, It was a right fackin’ awesome place to grow up, fackin’-A right bub, yessah goddammah!
What inspired your winning story? Why did that particular theme resonate with you?
Nate: What inspired All the River Keeps was, well . . . Waterville. My childhood. My friends. My family. My family’s history. It’s a deeply personal story, and while I don’t claim it’s autobiographical, it’s all versions of versions of things that actually happened . . . if that makes sense.
What do you enjoy most about writing flash fiction, as opposed to longer stories?
Nate: Flash fiction is thrilling because it kind of hits in a “flash” when I figure out what the story will be. I have a hunch, or the seed of an idea, then dive in to execute, and beginning, middle and end can all flood in at once. With longer formats, I’ll have the seed, but it has to grow into something else, then something else, then something else to become a full and cohesive piece. My ideas metastasize in unexpected ways from start to finish. But with flash, it’s just the straight shot. And that’s fun.
To read the rest of the interview, go HERE!