John Elizabeth Stintzi, "Moving Parts"

It’s December 20. John Elizabeth Stintzi, author of My Volcano, makes hay while the sun shines.

How would you describe your story?

JOHN ELIZABETH STINTZI: “Moving Parts” is about the little things we lose when we move from place to place, especially away from home.

When did you write it, and how did the writing process compare to your other work?

JES: I sincerely have no clue when I wrote this story, probably a few years ago. I don't think it was a particularly strange writing process, though it was one of the stories that borrowed a lot of biographical details from me (to very different effect).

What kind of research went into this story?

JES: Not much, just living my whole life.

What, to you, makes the short story a special form? What can it do that other kinds of writing can’t?

JES: It is uniquely prepared to draw the reader into a strange place, or a caustic place, without holding them so long that they balk before they have experienced the whole of the story's arc.

Where should people go to learn more about you and your work?

JES: My novels are a good place to jump to from this story: My Volcano if you want something a little more immediately, texturally similar; Vanishing Monuments if you want something that feels a little bit different (but which has many of the same themes).

What's the best gift you've ever been given?

JES: My dad, like the dad in the story, used to always make us gifts for our birthdays, so probably some wooden toy gun based off of something from 007 Goldeneye or something of that nature. It is likely impossible to compare to the time and care he put into those gifts.

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