Author Interview * Lisa Fox!

I’ve been reading Lisa Fox’s short stories for years. Her imaginative scope is impressive, and I’m often charmed by unexpected wit and humor in her stories. Thanks to Lisa for answering my questions!

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Myna: Tell us about your collection! What’s it about? What themes do you explore?

Lisa: Passageways is my second short story collection, launching on July 1st! It includes 27 speculative short stories–Sci Fi, Fantasy, and Horror–and focuses on journeys, whether physical, spiritual, or emotional. I think so many times in life we think about where we are now and where we aspire to go… sometimes hoping we can fast-forward through the hard parts to reach that destination. All the stories in Passageways focus on those difficult parts. The beauty and the pain and the transformational nature of “getting there.” The stories focus on love, loss, grief, self-sacrifice, fear, friendship, loyalty… all those things that make us human, all presented under a speculative lens.

Cover design by Lisa Fox, 2024

Myna: Do you have a favorite character in the book?

Lisa: I love all my children equally.

Myna: What’s unique about this book?

Lisa: It presents genre writing in a different way than most people think when they hear “sci fi” or “speculative fiction.” Yes, the otherworldly nature of spec fic is all there–aliens and AI and planets and dragons and the like–but I approach my writing with more of a literary/lyrical style. Story, and the language used to tell it, have equal billing in the creation process. Back when I first started writing in high school and in college, I was a poet, and that definitely comes through in just about all my work.

Also, this is also a rather large collection of short stories–there are 27 of them!

Myna: When a reader finishes the last word in the book, what emotion will they be feeling?

Lisa: It’s hard to say because there are so many different feelings embedded in each character’s journey. It is my *hope* that, if someone reads it cover to cover, they will feel like they have also been on a journey with me, and that somehow the pieces within the collection will change them just a little bit. I think that’s what good art does. Also, I’m trying to accomplish the same end in this collection of shorts as I would in a novel… that when someone turns that last page and closes the book, maybe they close their eyes and sit quietly for a few moments, savoring the experience and what it means to them.

Myna: How did this collection come about?

Lisa: This is actually my second collection of speculative short stories. My first book, Core Truths, is celebrating its first book birthday! I’ve been writing short fiction for the last eight years and it had always been my dream to “write a book.” What I realized over time is that you don’t have to be a novelist, per se, to make an impact with your work. Write the book in whatever form it takes.

Cover design by Lisa Fox, 2023

Myna: Were there any surprises or problems along the route to publishing?

Lisa: I’m hoping I ironed out any big hiccups when Core Truths came out last year! There’s so much to learn… and even when you’ve learned it, so much you didn’t realize you needed to know! I think the most important thing, honestly, is just getting the work out there. Letting the inevitable rejections roll off your back. Being Teflon and all that.

Myna: How would you describe your writing style, in general? Does that hold true for this book?

Lisa: Lyrical, filled with color and metaphor. And real. Relatable even when talking about different worlds. You can use beautiful language to say absolutely nothing… but when story and language come together to dance, it feels like magic.

Myna: What’s your favorite thing about writing?

Lisa: Having written! 🙂 First drafts are often word vomit… once the editing and revision begin, that’s when I feel like it comes alive. I feel like my best writing infuses something of me inside it. So many stories in both collections bring me back to what I was feeling, thinking, reading, at the time I created them. At the risk of sounding cheesy, creative writing is a passageway from the writer’s brain/soul to keyboard to the hearts and minds of readers. It’s actually pretty cool when you think about it.

Myna: How do you stay motivated?

Lisa: Good friends who won’t let me quit, even when I’m in the middle of rejection fest! Being part of amazing writing communities! And remembering it’s a marathon, not a sprint.

Myna: What’s next for you?

Lisa: Hoping for a successful launch of Passageways. After that, I’m working on pulling my next two collections together. One is humor and satire based, the other is essentially a love story–tales of family and friendship.

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Lisa Fox is a pharmaceutical market researcher by day and fiction writer by night. She survives—and sometimes even thrives—in the chaos of suburban New Jersey life with her husband, two teenage sons, and quirky Double-Doodle dog. Her debut short story collection, Core Truths, was published in April 2023. Lisa’s work has been featured in Amazing Stories, Uncharted Magazine, Dark Matter, Bards and Sages Quarterly, Metaphorosis, New Myths, and Brilliant Flash Fiction among others. Lisa has had work nominated for the Pushcart Prize and for Best Small Fictions and is a previous winner of the NYC Midnight Short Screenplay competition.