Author Q&A with Ali McLafferty

Ali McLafferty earned her PhD in History at UC Berkeley. Her work combines the historical with the fantastical and has appeared in The Forge, Fractured Lit, Flash Frog, Gone Lawn, and The Belmont Story Review and is forthcoming in Flame Tree Press’s Helen of Troy anthology. Her work has also been shortlisted for prizes, including Fractured Lit, The Manuscript Wishlist, and Unleash Press. She is also a visual artist whose work has been featured in Flash Frog, Centaur Magazine, and Foofaraw Press. More of her publications and artwork can be found on her website, alimclafferty.com.

Her short fiction, Salt and Sand, appears in Issue #24.

Tell us a bit about yourself, something more than just what’s in your bio. Perhaps something not a lot of people know. 

I’m an avid gardener. And when I say “avid,” I mean Texas Gardener avid: wake-up-at-5:30am-in-the-summer-to-water-everything-by-hand-for-an-hour-because-of-water-restrictions avid. My backyard is tiny, but I’ve packed every inch of it with plants. My current harvest includes lemons, oranges, figs, bananas, tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, watermelons, honeyrock melons, pumpkins, onions, herbs, and even hops (yes—to make my own beer!). I have no idea how many plants I own at this point. Not enough. NEVER ENOUGH.

What was the inspiration behind “Salt and Sand”?

I was watching The Little Mermaid with my five-year-old daughter and–as I often do when watching Disney movies–entertaining myself by dissecting plot holes. How does Ariel instantly learn to walk? How does she know what things are food and what are not, how to breathe with lungs, or even how to lie in a bed? My own kids took months to figure those things out! The more I thought about it, the more bizarre being human seemed. I started wondering what life would really look like for a mermaid with no knowledge of the terrestrial world—and no voice—who chose to become human.

What unique or surprising detail can you tell us about the revision process and/or the final version of it?

I began the story with the intention of making Cordelia an actual mermaid. But as it progressed, I realized that I myself had no idea whether she was or not. I still don’t have an answer to that question. So I decided to lean into that ambiguity, even though that makes the ending potentially devastating, because that is how we experience every myth and legend: by balancing the fine line of truth versus fiction.

What did you learn (about yourself, craft, or life in general) through writing and revising it?

It was the first short story I ever wrote. I had no idea how to write them, and the attempt seemed daunting. But I realized that if I began with a general premise, emotional temperature, and characters who were clear in my mind, I didn’t have to have a strict notion of where it had to go. I could just enjoy letting it develop. That was a really wonderful experience, and how I go about writing all my short stories now.

What do you hope readers take from the piece?

That there is no clear, defining line between magic and reality. That the world is a place still full of mystery, and that resting in that space of ambiguity, wonder, and even discomfort can be rewarding.

At what point in your life did you begin writing and working on this story? 

I wrote it in June of 2025, six months after I lost my niece, who inexplicably died 6 hours after she was born. It was such a shocking, devastating occurrence that I spent months in a sort of daze trying to understand what had happened. We live in a world we feel should have answers, especially as our knowledge of science and technology progresses. And yet I kept thinking about the people of the past, who when they suffered the mysterious loss of a child chalked it up to witchcraft, or believed it had been stolen by fairies. So I began writing fiction that blended myth and reality in a way that felt true to my experience, and helped me process the grief.

Do you write in other genres, and if so, what?

My favorite genres are historical fiction and speculative fiction, and my favorite pieces to write are ones that blend the two together. I have a PhD in history, so I really love bringing to life historical time periods, settings, and beliefs. But I also love speculative fiction, so my pieces usually weave in subtle (and sometimes explicit) magical/fabulist/surreal elements.

What fuels your desire to write?

Wow…this is an interesting question, because I don’t really know the answer to it. I’ve always written—first academic, scholarly pieces and now fiction. I guess the most honest answer would be that a sort of compulsion fuels me–it just feels so GOOD to write, in the same way other people say it feels good to go on a run. I don’t understand running, because frankly I am pretty physically lazy. But I can appreciate the way people describe feeling both an intense joy and calm contentment, because that is what writing feels like to me. It’s also a blissful escape–an amazing way to just let time and worries and the outside world dissolve completely. Art and gardening give me the same feeling. If they made a candle that smelled of paint and dirt I would buy it.

What have been the biggest influences in your writing?

I have always been a voracious reader, and my favorite authors of all time are historical fiction writers: Maggie O’Farrell, Hilary Mantel, Geraldine Brooks, James Michener, Henry Wouk, and Isabel Allende. I love the way they bring the past to life, both with incredibly immersive descriptions of place but also by making the interior, emotional lives of their historical characters feel immediate. And Allende’s House of the Spirits revealed this whole new style of writing to me–historical magical realism.

How do you balance writing with everyday life?

I have a career, two kids, a dog, a cat, and an extremely demanding garden that take up a good deal of my time. But I also make sure to prioritize writing these days. This usually means waking up at the crack of dawn while everyone is asleep to hammer things out. I also tend to write piecemeal in time gaps: waiting in line at the grocery store, stirring a pot of dinner, walking the dog, sitting at the DMV….what would I do without iPhone Notes!!

Are there any special projects, other pieces, or books you’d like to promote?

Yes, thank you! My website, alimclafferty.com, has links to my published fiction, artwork, and upcoming projects. I’m also excited to have stories appearing in two forthcoming anthologies: Helen of Troy from Flame Tree Press this September and Missed Fits from Calendar of Fools in 2027.

What do you think when you hear, “the good life”?

I don’t necessarily think of a “joyful” life. I think a “meaningful” life. One that might have had grief, loss, and trauma but that ultimately finds richness and purpose.

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Thank you, Ali, for participating in this Q&A and for the direct and heartfelt answers. We are grateful to you for being a part of our growing literary community and wish you the best with writing, a bouuntiful harvest, and finding forgotten gems hidden among all the phone notes.