I recently had the pleasure of interviewing flash fiction writer Angel Zapata. Not only did I get a glimpse into this author’s creative mind, but a look at what makes his site A Rage of Angel, the internet hotbed for emerging writers.

LT: You are able to do flash in every genre: horror, drama, comedy. And some moving poetry as well. One of my favorites of yours is Unscrambling Love, which appeared on Doorknobs & BodyPaint. What inspired that piece?
 
AZ: Wow, thanks for the compliment. Unscrambling Love was a complete surprise. It poured right out of me.
 
When I first started writing fiction, my goal was to create dark and gruesome horror stories, exclusively. In fact, that’s what I was calling myself on myspace, “A horror writer.” But as my characters came to life on the page, I discovered they had other intentions. All of sudden, Greta (my female serial killer) didn’t want to chop up little Billy with a hatchet. It seemed she was more interested in apologizing to Billy for walking out on him and his father. And I was like, “Nooooooooooooooooo! What are you doing? Cut ‘em up!” I was nervous, not knowing if I should listen. I’m glad I did.
 
BTW, Unscrambling Love was also selected for the Editors Unleashed, July 2009 Anthology.
 
LT: Despite the length, micro and short stories can be a very difficult form to write in. Why do you like it?
 
AZ: You’re right, they are extremely difficult, but some of my best work is born under the pressure to create great, memorable pieces. Throwing away an entire page to salvage one fantastic sentence is worth the sacrifice.
 
I wish my answer was more profound, but in truth it’s simple instant gratification. For the most part, I write for the lunchtime reader, the guy or gal with only five or ten minutes to spare. I want them to go back to their cubicles or assembly lines saying, “Damn, that was a cool story.” And then later that night, tell their friends and family about it at the dinner table or the neighborhood bar.
 
LT: What did you like to read as a kid?
 
AZ: My absolute favorite books were from the Alfred Hitchcock mystery series “The Three Investigators.” Jupiter Jones, Pete Crenshaw and Bob Andrews were these brilliant kid detectives always stumbling upon cases of supernatural occurrences. They were creepy and fun. And they gave the reader an opportunity to gather clues and solve the mystery. The Hardy Boys had nothing on these guys.
 
Oh, and any comics I could get my sticky little fingers on.
 
 
LT: What are your favorite books/comics/movies right now?
 
AZ:  Every Wednesday, you can find me at the local comic shop foaming at the mouth, picking up my weeklies: Amazing Spider-Man, Proof, Echo, House of Mystery, Buffy, Dynamo 5, and a dozen other titles. There are some great horror writers penning for the mainstream and independent titles. Steve Niles, Cullen Bunn, Robert Kirkman and Joe Hill easily come to mind. I’m also very excited because Dark Horse recently resurrected Creepy magazine.
 
Without a doubt, favorite horror books include: Robert McCammon’s “Swan Song,” Dan Simmon’s “Carrion Comfort,” R. Patrick Gates’s “Grimm Memorials,” and “Edward Lee’s “Creekers.”
 
Movies (I wish I wrote) include: Dagon, The Ring, The Grudge, Shutter (the Thai version), The Changeling, and Session 9.
 
 
LT: When did you start writing?
 
AZ: I started writing poetry when I was sixteen for a school assignment. I submitted three original Shakespearean sonnets to my English teacher. He said they were too good and just about accused me of plagiarizing them. He gave me an A- just in case. I now realize it was a compliment. In the early nineties, I started submitting some of my work, but not many acceptances to report. I spent the next twelve or so years writing poems and filing them away.
 
I began writing flash fiction last May. I always wanted to and was tired of just talking about it. It was like removing a cork from my mind. Now my fingers won’t shut up.
 
 
LT:  Tell us about your site, A Rage of Angel.
 
AZ: I started Rage as a way to generate traffic to my work and to showcase flash writers I hold in high regard. The internet world is incredibly small. I noticed I kept running into the same writers everywhere I went online. Through the exchange of quick comment responses and honest critique of their work, I’ve found many like-minded people. I’m also able to step outside the horror world and taste other exotic fruit. My “Writer Spotlight” feature, which runs at least once a month, gives me a chance to present writers I love and links to find their work. Past “Spotlight” authors include: Jodi MacArthur, Lorianne Zeller, Jay Holmes, and Erin Cole; all of them great writers who dabble in a myriad of genres.
 
My main objective is for A Rage of Angel to become a site of encouragement for writers. I’m not looking for it to become a sanctuary. I like to consider it a crazy house where the walls are padded with the ideas of all the nuts who stopped by before you.
 
 
LT: Do your wife or sons read your stories, and if so, do they have any favorites?
 
AZ: My wife and eldest son are in love my flash piece, “Detour.” It’s scheduled for publication in the Spring/Summer 2009 issue of Twisted Tongue (http://www.twistedtongue.co.uk/). Without giving away much detail, it’s about a young boy who’s accidentally transported to the wrong planet after his spacecraft’s computer malfunctions. My poems are often dubbed as “deep” or “interesting.” Fatal words to a writer…lol.
 
 
LT: What authors have you found through Rage that you like? Why do you like them?
 
AZ: To be honest, it’s the authors who have found me. My blog followers have more than doubled in the past six weeks. The talent is of the highest caliber and the support and words of encouragement they offer is immeasurable. I love them all.
 
 
LT: What has writing taught you about yourself and people in general?
 
AZ: It’s taught me to pay more attention when people are speaking to me and to become a much better eavesdropper. I’m constantly pulling direct quotes I overhear at the supermarket or at my day job and using them as the foundation of my stories. I’m grateful to every nut-case, bored housewife, and peculiar personality I’ve ever met. And that’s just in my own family.
 
In all seriousness, I’m the most honest with myself and the world when I’m writing. I hold back nothing. I’m in love with it and have never been happier with who I am as a person. For the first time in my life, when people ask me who I am or what I do, I can confidently answer, “I’m a writer.”
 
 
LT: What makes storytelling fun?
 
AZ: It’s definitely the process of creating something out of nothing. I’m the first to admit I don’t always know where my story is going as I write it. I let my characters lead and go wherever the story takes me. Often, I’m as surprised by the turn of events as the reader. It’s like closing your eyes behind the driver’s wheel. Yeah, it can be scary, but so satisfying when you live to tell about it.
 
 
LT: If you could change anything about the storyline of a current book or movie, what would it be? (Particularly in the horror genre.)
 
AZ: I would replace James Bond with Jason Voorhees and release him in Buckingham Palace with a toolbox full of goodies (and a couple of scones). God save the Queen.
 
 
LT: What’s your favorite story of your own?
 
AZ: It’s probably, “Yours and Mine” which appeared right here on Flashes in the Dark. Anytime you have children committing acts of torture or mutilation, the outcries from editors and readers are usually strong and not in your favor. I feel like I was able to deliver a hardcore story with a soft-core punch. The responses from writers and readers alike were very supportive and positive.
 
 
LT: What’s your favorite story from an author you met through Rage?
 
Actually, there are two. Rebecca Nazar’s (http://rebeccanazar.blogspot.com/), “Best Mommies” published on Micro 100 is only twenty-four words, but has managed to stay with me. Recently, I was delighted to read an amazing off-beat tale from Lucien E. G. Spelman (http://lucienegspelman.com/) called “Seven and Four” published in Boston Literary Magazine. I guarantee you won’t be disappointed with either writer.
 
 
LT: I hear that your sons love Ninjas. What kind of stories do they like?
 
AZ: Pirates are a hit too. Pretty much anything with butts, poop, farting or burping is acceptable. Needless to say, their library includes every book from the Captain Underpants and Super Diaper Baby series to The Haunted Underwear and Zombie Butts from Uranus. No, I’m not making this up.
 
 
LT: Is there anything you’d like to add?
 
AZ: Yep, prime numbers…heh, heh.
 
Thanks, Lori!
 

You can see Rage of Angel at: http://arageofangelblogspot.com/  .

Lydia literally felt the muscles in her chest relax during her walks through the hiking trails. She tried to time them for the beginning of the day before the sun’s rays were too hot. She found her walks therapeutic and helped to keep her stress level at bay.

 
Lydia paused for a moment at a bird feeding station and watched a female cardinal pecking at some seeds. It was worth fighting with her husband over, to feel this soothing calm that would begin to spread through her whole body. Her husband warned her that no good could come to a tiny woman like her being alone in the woods.

 
Lydia continued walking down the Greystone Trail and heard a rustle ahead in the bushes. She rattled the keys in her left pocket and smiled as two tiny chipmunks ran across her path. She headed onto the boardwalk over the marshes, and tried to get the fight with her husband last night out of her mind. This was her favourite part of her daily walk where she could sometimes see some orioles or red winged blackbirds when she sat down on the rustic bench and looked upward to feel the sun warm her face.

 
Lydia felt the full force of a man’s hand reach up from the marsh below and lock onto her ankle like a steel trap. As she fell hard from the bench onto the planks of the boardwalk Lydia could hear herself scream like a wounded animal.

 
She tried to kick her foot, but by now he had both of her ankles and was pulling her off of the boardwalk into the bulrushes below. Lydia saw the man whose face was covered by a black mask. She instinctively reached into her right pocket and pulled out her husband’s fishing knife she carried with her whenever she was alone on her walk. Lydia had always thought she was safe on the trails, but her husband’s fears had started to make her question if she was being naïve.

 
She plunged the knife into the man’s chest and was instantly covered in spurting blood. He moaned and his knees dropped down in deep mud. Lydia started to climb back up onto the boardwalk when she heard the man’s voice begging for help.

 
Lydia froze. She recognized the voice of her husband of seven years instantly. She stood towering over him now safely on the boardwalk. She watched while his body went still.

 
Lydia ran to the creek ahead and washed the blood off of her trembling body. She began to run back to the road and told herself she would be home soon.

 
Lydia felt a cold shiver go through her that made her slow her pace. She smiled when she thought of the feast all of her wildlife friends would find under the boardwalk tonight.

 
Lydia took a deep breath. This walk had completely taken away her stress.

© 2009 Elizabeth Crockett

Elizabeth writes short fiction, poetry and haiku. She has been published or has work forthcoming in Spotlight on Recovery magazine, Shamrock haiku journal, Ascent Aspirations, Roadrunner haiku journal, Flashshot, RKVRY online journal, Every Day Fiction, Midnight Times, Word Riot and more.