Patricia Quintana Bidar’s collection, Pardon Me for Moonwalking (2025 Unsolicited Press), is filled with quirky characters who, nevertheless, feel absolutely real. These are people living on the edge, managing broken relationships, untrustworthy friends, loneliness, and betrayal. There’s a thread of longing throughout the book, but also moments of delight. I never knew where the stories would take me—I was surprised at every turn, eager to discover the next bittersweet bite.
Huge thanks to Patricia for answering my questions!
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Myna: When a reader finishes the last story in the collection, what emotion will they be feeling?
Patricia: The main character in Pardon Me for Moonwalking’s final story has been fired from his job, dyed his hair, performed cunnilingus on his wife’s twin, lost the family cat, ducked out on a medical experiment he committed to, and lied to his wife. He looks forward to making a batch of chili at home, with the feeling he’s emerged whole and healthy, given a fresh start. That is how I want the reader to feel after finishing my book.
Cover design by Kathryn Gerhardt * Editor: Summer Stewart
Myna: How did this collection come about?
Patricia: With the exception of the long last story, these are works of flash fiction, written between 2018 and 2022. After a very long hiatus from writing, I learned that the short form I’d been scribbling away at had a name. I set out to learn all I could about flash fiction and discovered this marvelous community. I learned over time by writing badly, taking classes, and submitting to the wrong journals. Trial and error defined my first four years!
Myna: I always ask authors: If your book had a theme song, what would it be? The answer might be obvious for this collection, so I’m also curious if you have a personal theme song?
Patricia: For many years, my husband Trinidad has had a radio show on the area college station, KALX Berkeley. I listen to the various DJs’ opening songs with great interest. So for myself, perhaps something by Herb Alpert or Al Hirt, Exotica by Yma Sumac or Martin Denny. Something Countrypolitan or Psychobilly. I love Latin Jazz, but sometimes only jazz organ hits the spot, or even a style I just learned the name for: Spy Jazz! Lucinda Williams, Kristin Hersh, Sinead O’Connor, Joanna Newsom, and Patsy Cline are mammoth favorites and inspirations. Anything from Perrey & Kingsley, masters of the Moog Synthesizer. If I were forced to choose, my theme song would be Perez Prado’s “Patricia.”
Myna: How would you describe your writing style, in general? Does that hold true for this book?
Patricia: I often write about dislocation and loneliness. Awkward and sometimes humorous attempts to connect. Characters who can’t see what is in front of them, don’t know what the reader knows. The way they march into the unknown reminds me of the Fool card in the Rider Waite tarot deck. It depicts the character carrying a small knapsack, a white rose; he travels with a white dog. There is a purity there.
Myna: What’s your favorite thing about writing?
Patricia: Creating a work that means something to a reader, moves them in unexpected ways—forged completely out of black marks on a white background. Imagine! It’s astounding to me.
I love being lost in the creation of stories; lost in the refining of them over time.
Myna: Tell us about a recent accomplishment or share some happy news with us!
Patricia: A full-page article on submitting to journals, in Poets & Writers magazine! (It’s the December/January issue; you can read it by setting up a free account.) You could have knocked me over with a feather when they contacted me.
In personal news, I recently became a grandmother for the first time. Looking into her dark eyes, with her hand clutching my finger. THAT’s being in the moment. Her warm tiny head in my palm gave me a feeling of plugging in to the human race.
Myna: Do you have other books or stories you’d like to mention?
Patricia: Wild Plums (2024 ELJ Editions)
Three of my favorite published stories are here:
Gone Baby Gone X-R-A-Y Lit, December 2021
Hot Dogs Wigleaf: (very) short fiction, November 2018
So You Think You Can Tell Pithead Chapel, September 2021
Myna: Tell us about your awards, nominations, etc. Don’t be shy!
Patricia: My work has been celebrated in Wigleaf’s Top 50 and widely anthologized including in Flash Fiction America (W.W. Norton, 2023), Best Microfiction (Pelekinesis Press, 2023), and Best Small Fictions (Alternating Current, 2023 and 2024).
Myna: You’re on staff at several prestigious publications. What do you do for them? Is it fun?
Patricia: It is fun! I’ve learned as much or more over the years reading for Smokelong Quarterly, Quarterly West, Barren Lit, STORY, and the Wigleaf 50 as I have in classes.
Myna: Do you have any advice for new writers?
Patricia: Read. Pursue earthy experiences. Let yourself be inspired by other art forms. Try to do something new with your writing, transcending conventions of genre or topic. If you do not feel something real emotionally while you draft your work, reconsider. And revise, revise, revise.
Myna: Do you have a pet, or other non-writing hobbies/activities? Show us a picture!
Patricia: Ruby! We visited the nearby SPCA the day before the COVID lockdown. My daughter and husband said I HAD to meet this dog. She has meant the world to us.
Myna: What do you wish I’d asked?
Patricia: Where the newest member of my family lives. Answer: South Carolina!
Where my grandparents are from. Answer: Santa Fe, Southern Arizona, Holden, Utah, and San Francisco.
Myna: What’s next for you?
Patricia: I have been sending my second flash collection to publishers. I am absolutely in love with it. That said, my new stories are inching longer in recent months; talking 1200-3000 words, nothing too crazy. I’m struggling these days to write microfiction or something in the 500-600 word range. I’ll always write flash fiction!
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Patricia Quintana Bidar is a western writer from the Port of Los Angeles area. She is an alum of the U.C. Davis Graduate Writing Program, where she taught creative writing and earned a Master’s Degree in English. Patricia also holds a degree in filmmaking. Her debut collection of short works, Pardon Me for Moonwalking (Unsolicited Press, 2025) is available now. Patricia is also the author of a novelette, Wild Plums (ELJ Editions, 2024). Patricia serves on staff at STORY Magazine, Smokelong Quarterly, and the Wigleaf 50. She lives with her partner and unusual dog outside of Oakland, California.
Find Patricia at her website or on Bluesky
Myna Chang 