Smoking With Alex Haber by Erin Fitzgerald SmOke Me! by Paula Iannuzzi via Creative Commons license One quality of "Aeroplane" that I particularly enjoy is how the objects work together to create a character out of the house itself. Does setting usually have this level of importance to you? I really like the interaction between character and surrounding. The physicality of a situation -- the way that someone sees or moves through a room, the way they touch an object -- can say a lot more than someone's first name or the color of their hair. There are so many moments in the story that are filled with warning and defeat, and yet the characters seem to feel there is free will involved in what transpires. How did "Aeroplane" evolve as a story? When I write, it is sentence by sentence. I had the opening image in my head, of the man and the girl in the woods, of the girl trying to look away and the man encouraging her to participate, but the rest of the story came along step by step, at the same pace the girl was moving. The pieces of the story were born in almost exactly the same place and order they appear in the final draft. At the same time, the way the main character feels that the decision to stay or leave is entirely her own, even though in reality the situation she is in is a difficult one to escape from, and is getting more so with each move she makes, was something I wanted to portray without ever explicitly putting that thought process on the page. In a genre where many writers rely on conciseness, "Aeroplane" has distinctly lyrical qualities. What leads you to the decisions you make about language in your work? The breath and muscle of each line is something that absorbs me when I'm trying to write a story. More than plot, if a sentence can't breathe on its own, it isn't worth keeping. In this story, words bled out fiercely. I wanted every line to possess the same dangerous physicality of the girl's situation. The last time I was in Michigan, I was four years old. Where should I go if I visit again? Northern Michigan's got that surrounded-by-pine-trees-and-wind-chimes escapism feel to it, which can be nice. I just got back from the Sleeping Bear Dunes this weekend, which was kind of a lot of work for a little pay off, but Mackinac Island is fun for horses and biking :) Read Aeroplane. Issue Twenty-Nine (September 29, 2010): Bearded by Patrick Allen Carberry «» Hip by Kim Chinquee «» Our Littlest Brother by Dan Crawley «» LAX by Michael Czyzniejewski «» Bathroom Jesus by Kelli Ford «» Boy With Cherries by Adam Golaski «» Dancer by Peter Grandbois «» Aeroplane by Alex Haber «» Feral by Joe Kapitan «» Gorillas by Ben Loory «» Model #3 by Annam Manthiram «» Working Halloween for Christmas Money by John Minichillo «» Claire by Nick Ripatrazone «» Guard by James Robison «» Sixteen by Laura Tanenbaum «» These Three Things That Noah Doesn't by J.A. Tyler «» Snake Walk by Ajay Vishwanathan «» Dive by Dawn West «» Bedtime in Thorpe Village, Leicestershire, England by Sue Williams «» Thank You, I'm Sorry by Caroline Zilk «» Interviews: Patrick Allen Carberry «» Kim Chinquee «» Dan Crawley «» Michael Czyzniejewski «» Kelli Ford «» Adam Golaski «» Peter Grandbois «» Alex Haber «» Joe Kapitan «» Ben Loory «» Annam Manthiram «» John Minichillo «» Nick Ripatrazone «» James Robison «» Laura Tanenbaum «» J.A. Tyler «» Ajay Vishwanathan «» Dawn West «» Sue Williams «» Caroline Zilk «» Cover Art "Sara Serengeti" by Marty D. Ison «» Letter From the Editor Interested in subscribing to SmokeLong's weekly newsletter? Click here. An email should be created. Send it as is, and you'll be subscribed. If the link does not work for you, send an email to imailsrv@smokelong.com with Subscribe slq-info in the body of the email (no subject is necessary). You'll receive updates detailing the release of new issues, new reading periods, contests, etc. We do not make our mail list available to anyone else.