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Q & A with JP Relph

Off the back The Wild Umbrella's publication of the fiction piece "Trash Kitten", we were delighted to learn more about JP Relph's insight into her writing process. Our newly-crowned Managing Editor, Katie Moats, goes behind the scenes of how the titular short story was created, and the inspiration behind Relph's ideas.


Can you give me a rundown on what your writing process looks like? Are you the kind of writer where the idea sort of just pops into your head, or do you sit and brainstorm? How do you know when a piece is finished?


Ideas very much pop into my head. Usually when I’ve got into bed and am trying to fall asleep! My brain whirrs then. I keep a notebook beside the bed so I can jot things down while they are fresh (although the writing is not entirely legible the next day).


I also get ideas watching TV; I’ll hear a strange fact or piece or lore and think, there’s a story in that. I might not work on an idea for a while though - I have issues with fatigue and motivation due to a chronic health condition – but I know they’re there, scribbled in a notebook, or an opening paragraph in a Word doc, for when I get some writing energy back.


I’ll brainstorm the bigger pieces, the ones that need some research, fill notebook pages with notes. The best kind of procrastination. I once wrote two pages of notes about British telephone boxes in an effort to name the exact colour accurately in a short story.


The flash pieces generally just unfold once I start typing. My brain organises the story as I go.

I guess I know something is finished when I believe I’ve told the full story I had in mind. A point where, as a reader, I’d be satisfied even if I had questions. I often know the ending before I’ve written the story.


I thought you did a great job of weaving in and out of time. It felt like each scene was another piece in the puzzle to figuring out who these characters were. Do you find it difficult writing something that's not in chronological order? How did you approach that?


I actually write in a non-linear way more often than not. I think this is because I’m very influenced by visual media – as I write, I picture how the scene would look on screen. This helps me write action, tension, physical movement (I write a lot of post-apocalyptic horror/thrillers). I like shows and movies that keep the reader engaged by messing with time. One of my favourite books ever (The Wolf’s Hour, Robert McCammon) did this to perfection. I first read that in my teens; it influenced me a lot, I think. I try to take the reader on a journey, breaking up scenes and dropping hints as I go. Start where they aren’t sure why things are the way they are, then feed that in.


The title refers, of course, to the raccoon that Moth drags into the house, but the main themes throughout the piece are rooted in grief and family. What made you want to write this particular story, and what made you choose to include a raccoon specifically?


I started out wanting to write a story about cats (for a competition) and I knew I didn’t want anything twee or humorous. For me, in life and in writing, animals are often attuned to our emotional state. So, I had this idea of a cat finding a way to help the human characters through the trauma of grief. Only, I’ve done something similar before, so I decided the cat – who senses the tragedy, understands the daughter is being lost – figures something drastic is needed.

As for raccoons, I’m a little obsessed. I watched one video of raccoons being fed hotdogs in someone’s back yard and suddenly I was bombarded with videos, and very happy to be. I find them to be as manipulative and wise as cats, playful and cute as puppies, as dexterous as monkeys. I launched my own lit mag in May 2024 and called it Trash Cat Lit. As I say, obsessed. So, it had to be a baby raccoon. Those big eyes, those grasping hands. A baby who needs attention and care. The distraction and connection the family needs. Moth knew it would work.


What, or who, influences your writing? What made you want to be a writer?


I’ve always written in one form or another. As a teen and young adult, it was teen romance stories, then angst-ridden poetry. Much later, academic writing for my degree. I loved the research, the reading and information collating. More recently, friends used to comment on my long, humorous social media posts, say “you should write a novel”.


I joined an online writing community at the start of 2021, determined to give it a go. There, I discovered flash fiction for the first time, fell in love. I realised I had so many stories in my head, and more ideas coming every day, I couldn’t wait to share them. First on the community forums, later when submitting. I have written a chunk of the novel, but the instant buzz of short fiction remains my favourite place to be.


As for influences, I imagine all the authors I read obsessively since I was a teenager. The aforementioned Robert McCammon, Dean Koontz, Stephen King, Patricia Cornwell (birthed my love for forensic science) and many more. TV shows influence me too, in providing ideas and style. Supernatural, Fringe, X-Files, The Strain, The Walking Dead. Strong stories, absorbing characters, peril and hope. That sums up a lot of my writing! As well as the larger writing community through which I’ve discovered amazing short fiction, I am greatly inspired by my smaller writing group. Four terrific, diverse, accomplished writers. I’ve collaborated with them and am supported and encouraged by them every day.




 



JP Relph

Cumbrian writer JP Relph is mostly hindered by four cats, aided by tea. She volunteers in a charity shop where she sources haunted objects. A forensic science degree and passion for microbes, insects and botany often motivate her words. Her debut short fiction collection was published in June 2023.




Katie Moats

Katie Moats likes to write about relationships that just don’t work. She has a BA in English from Penn State and an M.Phil. in Creative Writing from Trinity College Dublin (2024), and when she’s not writing, she likes to travel and cheer on her favorite sports teams. Originally from the suburbs of Chicago, Katie is currently trying to figure out where she’ll put down roots next.

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