a little about... Erin Zulkoski

Erin Zulkoski wrote the story "Bloomingdale" which closes the collection.

What inspired your story?


The inspiration for Bloomingdale came from observing my neighbor's youngest son playing in his sand box. The rest came in a somewhat embarrassing way--I was watching the old Val Kilmer movie "Top Secret," during the part when his character is telling about the time he got lost in a department store. I just combined the two and out came Bloomingdale.


What makes this cause important to you?
The Lost Children cause is important because children are so vulnerable and trusting and often tragically the victims of terrible crimes. I don't have children of my own, but my heart breaks for the parents of children who are abducted. No parent should have to deal with that kind of situation, so once I heard that for each story written a donation would be made to two charities devoted to protecting kids, it was a no-brainer for me to write a piece. Anything I can do to help with such a noble cause is worth it.


Tell us a bit about yourself and where to find more of your writing.

I live in Lincoln, Nebraska: home of the Cornhuskers and am probably the only person in the state who isn't a raging fanatic about them. My day job has me working in Electrophysiology, a specialized practice of cardiology, and my night job, I write. Ive always loved writing and until the past year, just sort of tinkered around on my personal blog, http://polishsnausage.wordpress.com. A good friend of mine encouraged me to write more and invited me to join Fictionaut, and so glad he did. Since then, I've taken my casual hobby up a notch and have been featured in Pure Slush, Negative Suck and The Flash Fiction Offensive. I also started an all female blog with six other women and we can be found at http://HeartOnSleeve.wordpress.com. That's about it. Oh, I also have a weird obsession with Batman.