Christine Sneed

Christine Sneed is the author of the short story collection Portraits of A Few of the People I’ve Made Cry.

From her Q & A with the Evanston Public Library:

EPL: Many of your stories in Portraits explore the perils of romantic love and do so in the context of May-December relationships. Was this a conscious decision or a coincidence? What intrigues you about romantic relationships between women and men much older or younger?

CS: It’s actually a coincidence that four or five of the stories feature May-December romances. I suppose I’m just curious about what draws people to each other, and when there’s such an age gap, it’s even more intriguing. I think I’m most interested in what it is that each character hopes to find in the other that he/she can’t find in someone closer to his/her age.

EPL: Throughout Portraits, many characters become physically or emotionally intimate with virtual strangers. What is it that makes these characters trust a stranger when often they seem to doubt or mistrust themselves?

CS: I think A LOT of people leap into bed and/or relationships with people they don’t really know and shouldn’t be trusting so soon. For one, it’s human nature to be foolishly hopeful. Sometimes a person’s loneliness is also so overpowering that s/he can’t be trusted to make good decisions about...[read on]

Rae Meadows on Portraits of A Few of the People I’ve Made Cry: "These are richly rewarding stories, and I marvel at Christine’s mastery of the story form."

--Marshal Zeringue