Jac Jemc lives in Chicago. Her first novel, My Only Wife, is out now from Dzanc Books. Her chapbook of stories, These Strangers She'd Invited In, sold out from Greying Ghost Press in 2011 and she's the poetry editor for decomp. She blogs her rejections at jacjemc.com.
An excerpt from My Only Wife appears in Issue Thirty-Three of The Collagist.
Here, Jac Jemc answers questions "in the form of excerpts"--with further excerpts from My Only Wife. Enjoy!
1. What is writing like?
I liked the broad inflations of her chest on the inhale. I liked the collapse of her shoulders, heavy with all that weight, on the exhale.
2. What isn’t writing like?
My wife looked at me expectantly and I forgot everything I had planned to say. My wife had the power to make me forget: a bittersweet fact, for when I needed most to forget, she was gone.
3. When you do it, why?
“Did you want me to say something?” “I thought you were going to say something.”
4. When you don’t, why?
“You know better,” she said, locking it behind her and struggling to reattach the bracelet to her wrist, key dangling.