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Smoke & Mirrors: An Interview with Chloe Vaughan

Interview by Sharmini Aphrodite (Read the Story) June 17, 2019

Chloe Vaughan

Art by Paul Bilger

Going into “Milk Money,” I was struck by its opening line. So, I’m interested to know: What is it that strikes—that moves—you to write certain stories? Are you moved mostly be certain images? By memory?

This isn’t always the case, but once in a while I’ll have a sudden inkling to jot down something, a line or a scene, and from there, I’ll try to formulate a story around it. For “Milk Money,” it just so happened to be the opening line. Other times it’s an image, or a scene from a TV show, or something that I read in the news—anything that spurs a bit of inspiration.

On that note, do you find that your stories appear fully-formed, or do they develop over time—and even surprise you—in the course of the writing?

In that way, I don’t usually have a fully formed story in my mind when I start the process. Sometimes just a beginning, or an end, or even just a line of dialogue and go from there. Sometimes it goes nowhere. Sometimes it goes in a completely different direction and changes so drastically that I end up cutting the very part I started with. The process is always full of surprises—I think it’s important not to fight them.

What about “Milk Money” in particular? What was the genesis of that?

For “Milk Money,” I was thinking about the way children can get certain ideas “stuck” in their heads, which, on the surface, can be attributed to the ignorance of childhood, but may actually contain something much deeper.

You slipped into the skin of childhood so precisely in your story—into that almost animal violence. Are there other stories, other books, that have struck you with their portrayal of this primal side of childhood?

I love children’s books where the narrator has a bit of omniscience and brings a nuanced perspective, while still maintaining the innocent, poignant naivety and quirkiness of childhood—without “talking down” to the child characters. Tuck Everlasting and Harriet the Spy come to mind, anything by E.B. White or Roald Dahl.

And—I’m always interested in this—do you have any particular writing rituals?

No particular writing rituals to speak of, although I’ve always found it easier to write creatively at night—much less forced than the morning. Easier to get my thoughts together at nighttime, it seems.

About the Author

Chloe Vaughan received a B.A. in criminology from the University of Pennsylvania, and is in the process of obtaining her MFA from Bay Path University. She lives and writes out of Western Massachusetts, and is currently working on several projects. “Milk Money” is her first published piece.

About the Interviewer

Sharmini Aphrodite is a 20-year-old recent graduate with a diploma in performing arts management. Her piece “all we know of” will be published in the June 2015 issue of Cha: An Asian Literary Journal. She spent the first four months of 2015 working for a Swedish magician and has been the assistant stage manager for an acclaimed Chinese Opera troupe. She currently resides in Singapore.

About the Artist

Paul Bilger’s photography has appeared at Qarrtsiluni, Brevity, and Kompresja. His work has also been featured on music releases by Dead Voices on Air and Autistici. When not taking pictures, he is a lecturer in philosophy and film theory at Chatham University. He is the art director at SmokeLong Quarterly. 

This interview appeared in Issue Sixty-Four of SmokeLong Quarterly.
SmokeLong Quarterly Issue Sixty-Four
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