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In October, Connotation Press published three of my Flash Fictions along with this interview with their Fiction Editor, Meg Tuite:

Paul Beckman interview with Meg Tuite

What was your inspiration for �Touchy-Feely?�

People often say that they are "people watchers" which covers a lot of territory from being nosey, interested, transfixed or even repelled by someone they see and using the "people watcher" phrase gives them license to stare or point out or point out and talk about another person or persons.

I feel more like a "body language" watcher or connoisseur of the same. I like to try and match the expressions of people talking to how they move their hands, what their legs and feet are doing under the table or even if they are eating and not talking; and if that's the case I look for a wedding or engagement ring and conjure up a story of what they are thinking and not saying to each other. I pretend that I have the ability to see peoples cartoon-like "thought balloons" over their heads. For me this works and I've come up with many a plot line from my "body language" scenarios.

This method of body language watching became the basis for my story, but please don't tell anyone or others will start doing it and then I'll have to come up with something new.

What is your preferred writing schedule, if you have one?

My writing schedule is simple: I write early every morning-- 5 or 6--whenever I first wake, I'm at my most creative. I write to music and the music depends on what I'm writing. It's always instrumental and almost always classical or jazz. It's never loud. During the day I write notes in my pocket notebook or at times I've called my house and left a story line on my answering machine. Evenings and nights are my time to rewrite and read my story aloud to myself, which is something I always do. I never tell anyone what I'm writing about unless it's my son (who's also a writer) and we happen onto a discussion of something when we're together that brings a story to mind.

What book or books are you reading at the moment?

At this time I am reading The Collected Stories of Lydia Davis, (just to make me feel inadequate).

Who would you say are some of your biggest influences in writing?

This is the toughest question because I love so many writers, that narrowing it down to just two or three is unfair to the others I've taken something from, so like most rules, which I perceive as suggestions, here is a brief list in no particular order: Raymond Carver, Isaac Bashevis Singer, Leonard Michaels, Andre Dubus, Grace Paley and I will stop here.

I love their power with words--Carver, Michaels waste none; Singer spins one perfect Yiddish story after another, Paley never left her Jewish Brooklyn roots when writing and Dubus tells stories that haunt and stay with me for long periods of time. I would like to have a monthly poker game with these writers or go off to "our" bar on a regular basis and just schmooze. I want to give and get noogies from them.

I love their power with words--the power they write with and the power they give me.

Under the online heading of stories there will be photos and the magazines that opted for them--no stories because I never had planned to send photos to litmags but things change.

Thursday--the last one in June, Poet Joshua Beckman (son) and Paul Beckman (father) will be reading at the Best Video Performance coffee bar in Hamden at 7:30 pm.

Silkworms Ink has published a 10 story chapbook, \\\"Maybe I Should Sit Quietly In A Dark Room For A While.\\\" Paul added to this online collection and came out with a print chapbook of 18 stories--all flash and micro fiction; which he read from when invited to read at New Haven\\\'s Ordinary Evening Reading Series.

He also used this and his first collection when teaching a creative write class at Morgan High School in Clinton CT.

Some stories published in 2010 were in LONG STORY SHORT, BURST & (short) FICTION COLLECTIVE. THE VIEW FROM HERE, CLEAN SHEETS & ABE\\\'S PENNY: a micro-magazine, Post Card Stories and several score more.

In 2011 he has stories scheduled for publication in Flash Magazine (UK) The International Short Story Magazine, ken*again, Greensilk Journal, The Raleigh Review and The Other Herald.

He coined the term \\\"Briefs\\\" to describe his short fictions under 50 words.

Paul was recently mentioned in a feature article in the New Haven Advocate which spoke about the plethora of good writers in Connecticut.

Paul and his poet son, Joshua are planning a joint reading sometime in 2011--time and place to be determined.

2010

In January Paul was one of the winners of the 6 word memoir stories about New York City, sponsored by the creator of the 6 word memoir site SMITH(Smith Magazine). The highlight of being one of the winners was reading his work at the 92nd St. Y. The judges chose 3 stories of his, the most of anyone, to be read and after they readtheirr work the audience participation part of the program came on. It was a well planned fun evening; reading at the 92nd St. Y was a long held desire of Pauls.

His six word stories can be found under SMITH in the \\\"Other Stories Categories\\\" and besides the ones included in their wesite are some others I submitted that I\\\'m not ready to let go of.

They have other catagories: Momoirs, six-word on the Food life, Love and Heartbreak, and new ones and contests ongoing.

Also in January Paul was one of the winners of the Schott Vocab contest in the New York Times. The contest was to see who could give the best erroneous advice to tourists.

He received a Pushcart Prize nomination for his story in The New Haven Review, \\\"Another One of His Punishments\\\".