ED- We are very pleased today to introduce author Jeremy Shipp who is the embodiment of the genre our readers enjoy. His work will absolutely blow the minds of the established genre of today’s horror/fiction writers. Jeremy, tell us a little about your self and how you chose this particular genre.
JS- Thank you kindly! I’m a weird writer of weird fiction, and my tales are often classified as Bizarro, horror, and dark fantasy. I write strange tales, because I think strange thoughts, and I always have. Even as a kid, my brothers and I would play pretend, and our usual cast of characters included the grim reaper, an exceptionally lucky wrestler, three Neanderthal sidekicks, and a floating mouth that could swallow people and transport them into other dimensions. As a writer, I’m still playing pretend every day.
ED- We have learned that you live in a moderately haunted farmhouse in Southern California with a yard full of garden gnomes. Are they part of your writing too?
JS- The yard gnomes often appear in my tales. For instance, they show up in my novel, Cursed, and there’s a whole story about them in my upcoming story collection, Fungus of the Heart. Also, the yard gnome shamans use their magic sporks to bless my writing career.
ED- Tell us about the supernatural features of your home.
JS– Our farmhouse was built in the 1890s, and at least one documented murder took place here. The ghosts are frightening, though quite lazy. They refuse to help out with the housework, and they rarely make any attempts to scare us. The last time they scared me, I was up in the attic. I was taking apart the old chimney, and I came across a mound of ash, and something started rising out of the mound. At first, I was sure it was an animal of some sort. But it turned out to be an old doll. After that incident, a murder of clowns moved in to the attic. The attic clowns are evil beings who scream in harmony and tickle people to death. That’s why I stay out of the attic these days.
ED- Have the stories of your house also been reflected in your stories?
JS– The incident with the doll inspired my short story, Watching. I don’t write about the clowns though. They won’t let me.
ED- We understand that you have written work in over fifty publications. How are you able to keep up with such a work load?
JS– I write every day, and I don’t get much sleep. Also, the gnomic blessings help.
ED- We have a lot of students that aspire to become well known writers such as yourself. What encouraging words can you give to them?
JS– Write from your heart, your mind, your soul, your gut, your spleen. Read every day. Write every day. Keep submitting your work to agents and editors, and don’t pay any attention to rejection letters. Never give up. And remember that your art is inherently worthy.
ED- You have three books I know that our readers will enjoy : Vacation, Sheep & Wolves, and Cursed. Tell us a little about each of them.
JS– Vacation is the book of my mind. Sheep and Wolves is the book of my fear. Cursed is the book of my heart. Vacation is a novel about a man who takes a vacation. The Vacation. And he ends up journeying into civilization’s festering wound. Sheep and Wolves is my story collection, and these tales eat souls for breakfast. Cursed is a novel about a group of characters who create an informal support group for people who are cursed. Together, they try to figure out who cursed them, why, and what the heck they can do about it.
ED- Who are the publishers and where can our readers locate them ?
JS– The publisher of my books is Raw Dog Screaming Press. Here’s their website: http://rawdogscreaming.com/cursed.html
You can also get a hold of my books at amazon.com, barnesandnoble.com, and pretty much everywhere else books are sold.
And if you’re interested in my short stories, you can read a bunch of them here for free: http://jeremycshipp.com/onlinestories.htm
ED- Do you have anything new for future publication?
JS– I have short stories forthcoming in publications such as Cemetery Dance and Apex Magazine. Also, my new story collection, Fungus of the Heart, will be published by Raw Dog Screaming Press. Other than that, I’m working on some short stories, a couple novels, a short film, a comic series, and a few other projects.
ED- All writers would like to see their work on film. Which would you say would be your strongest entry for this application?
JS– I would loved to see Cursed made into a feature length film, starring Sam Rockwell, Mo’Nique, Adam Sandler, Anna Paquin and Elijah Wood.
Oh, and one of my stories was made into short film recently. The film is called EGG. Here’s the trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aHvPMM_pc9s
ED- Jeremy, it has been fascinating to learn about you. I know that our readers will definitely look for your work and will enjoy it immensely. We wish you the best and ask you to keep us posted on your future endeavors so that we can share them with our readers. Thank you so much for your time and we hope to talk with you again.
Thank you kindly! I truly appreciate the support.
If anyone would like to connect with me online, here are my online homes:
http://www.twitter.com/jeremycshipp
http://www.facebook.com/jeremycshipp
Please share the story on Facebook, or donate to support our efforts!
.jpg)
