In the November issue, Matt Mendez writes the story of A Girl More Still and in today’s interview with J. Bradley, he is a man of few but mighty words.
Handwriting is thoughtful and personal, not quickly done and forgettable like most email and texting, updated Facebook statuses.  There is a special  privacy, immediacy, a writer can get to writing longhand.
Like Lena I hid writing, not going to the lengths Lena did but never sharing it, either. Â I still have trouble handing over work to those closest to me.
Lena is a character who popped up in another story and was in real danger, Â someone getting attention and being ignored at the same time. Â The tension needed its own narrative.
I can’t resist hip-hop and tunes that are unapologeticly badass. “Don’t Sweat the Technique,” Erik B. and Rakim; “The Choice is Yours,” Black Sheep; “I’m Bad,” LL Cool J. Â I listen to Gnarls Barkley’s “The Odd Couple” and the soundtrack to “Where the Wild Things Are” non-stop. Â I’m currently a little nuts for Jay-Z’s “DOA.”
It’s a way for me to figure things out. Â The same goes for why I read.