Cliff Aliperti — An interview with the author of Deer Xing
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Do you live near any deer?
There are deer all over Long Island, but I’m in a residential neighborhood without any woods in the development—there is a sump across the street though. A couple years ago, a neighbor told me there were deer grazing the sump, and I kind of shrugged it off like Alex at the beginning of “Deer Xing.” The first time I saw any with my own eyes was close to what I describe when Alex peeked out the window and locked eyes with the buck. In fact, I consider that paragraph the heart of the story as those were the feelings that stuck with me that I needed to get down, and I grew the rest of the story out of that before eventually sitting down for my first draft.
One of the main themes/lessons that comes through in this story that I think about a lot is how easily humans get used to things and how quickly the magical and majestic turn into the ordinary. Is this an idea you think about often?
Definitely, and vice versa. It doesn’t take much beyond personal novelty to get me excited about something … like stray deer, for instance. Or a crazy news story or one-of-a-kind sporting event. A strange coincidence, whatever it may be, anything new will light up the little kid in me. Sit on it for a while though, said object or event will continue to be recognized as outstanding, sure, but there’s a bit of been-there done-that to it afterwards too.
Related to another story we ran recently, mindfulness is often something that comes up around this topic, being more present in the moment, soaking things up, and the art of noticing. Do you work on this in your own life at all?
I wouldn’t say I work on it, no, it just sort of hits me. Um, I may just be easily distracted.
Continuing the same thread a bit, Web almost goes the opposite direction and gets so attached to what Alex quickly turned from obsession to the ordinary. Do you think one direction is more healthy than the other or does it just follow the old adage of moderation and finding the middle ground?
Moderation and that middle ground are a big part of what I was shooting for. Alex is more awestruck than ever truly obsessed, before more or less getting on with his life, but at the same time, Web takes it a bit too far into the realm of actual obsession. The experience of the local deer just grows and grows for Web. You could probably graph their levels of interest in the situation, and I’m not sure the two lines ever meet: Alex’s peak may just about meet Web’s starting point, but then quickly declines, while Web takes it to the total extreme.
How many times has this story been rejected by other markets?
I’d be embarrassed to admit this if I hadn’t come to discover it was somewhat typical, so hopefully this number helps newer writers who are blindsided by unexpected rejections. I started sending this story out in January 2025, and before Foofaraw accepted it in May 2026, “Deer Xing” was rejected 62 times. Along the way, it was longlisted once, and another time I was told it had made the final round of selections but was edged out by another piece. As always, when I finished this, I considered it the best thing I ever wrote. Keep at it, keep reading interesting literary journals, and often you’ll eventually find that perfect fit.
What book are you reading right now?
The TBR piles teeter around the house, but I’ve been trying to catch up on some Kindle bargain buys lately. I’m currently reading “Martian Time-Slip” by Philip K. Dick, but I’m not deep enough into it yet to form an opinion. Prior to that I finished my first Hermann Hesse, “Steppenwolf,” and enjoyed it more than I expected—just when I thought it might drag, the final act kicked in and really caught my attention. Now I want to read more Hesse. Prior to that I finally got around to my paperback copy of Tim O’Brien’s “The Things They Carried,” and I was blown away, which doesn’t surprise me, because it seems like most people are. It had been sitting awhile, and I eventually found myself in the right mood for it. Another fun recent read was Frederick Exley’s “Fan’s Notes” trilogy—I enjoyed all three books, but was surprised that I liked the last one best, and the first one, which is the best known of the books, least (though still quite a bit!).
Do you have anything else you’d like to share?
Many thanks to Foofaraw for being lucky #63, and thank you to anybody who has read “Deer Xing” and made it this far.