jeremy c. shipp
what is your name?
My name is Jeremy C. Shipp. Some call me Jer-Bear. The clowns in my attic call me Dinner. But they’re only kidding. I think. I hope.
how would you describe what you do?
I write weird stories from my heart, my mind, my soul, my gut, my spleen. I also spend quite a bit of time living my life in a semi-haunted farmhouse with my wife, my kittens, the aforementioned clowns, and an army of yard gnomes.
what are you currently working on?
I’m living and breathing a new story collection called Fungus of the Heart. Also, I’m creating a few new novels, a comic script, a short film, and other projects.
what has had the greatest influence on your work?
Playing pretend with my brothers as a kid. We would come up with complicated plots and complex characters and we would have fun living in a strange world for a while. And I’m still having a blast doing this. Only now people call me a weird little writer instead of a weird little kid.
what is the greatest misconception about you or your work?
Most people who read my tales understand the meaning of my work. But there are those who hear that I write dark fiction, and assume that I’m an evil person with evil intentions. Some people seem to believe that those who write about disrespectful behaviors are somehow condoning those behaviors. But when I write a dark tale, I’m showing people the horrifying consequences of sexism or racism or hierarchical thought, etc. I’m doing what I can do shine a light on the darkness. I’m trying to do my small part to make our world a better place.
what do you see as the main strengths and weaknesses of the medium you work in?
primarily, I write weird tales, and utilizing such a medium, I can take my readers to strange, unbelievable worlds. And when my characters react to the unbelievable in believable ways, then my characters help to suspend the disbelief of my readers. I don’t really think about art in terms of weakness. Every medium is different, with different powers.
how has technology impacted upon the work you do?
I tend to write about the horrors spawned by civilization and technology, at times, plays a part in those horrors. And so, technology affects the subject matter of my work. In addition, technology is constantly changing the way people read my stories.
what’s the greatest piece of advice you would like to pass on?
Advice for aspiring writers: Never give up.
Advice for everyone in the world: Never tickle an attic clown.
where can we find you online?
http://www.jeremycshipp.com
http://www.twitter.com/JeremyCShipp
http://www.facebook.com/JeremyCShipp
And you can read a bunch of free stories of mine here:
http://jeremycshipp.com/onlinestories.htm
what are you reading at the moment?
A bunch of Bizarro books, as well as Breathers by S.G. Browne, Holes by Louis Sachar, The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman, Catch-22 by Joseph Heller, Callahan’s Crosstime Saloon by Spider Robinson, and a couple others.
what are you listening to at the moment?
A Fine Frenzy, Anathallo, The Innocence Mission, Regina Spektor, Yusuf Islam, the theme song from Mr. Belvedere and Charles in Charge.
anything else we should know?
You should know:
1. I have stories forthcoming in Cemetery Dance, Apex Magazine, and other wonderful publications.
2. Boo Berry is more dangerous than he looks.
3. Vicki, from Small Wonder, is secretly plotting to destroy all of humankind.
4. Hedgehogs love to eat carrots.
5. The sound of one hand clapping is: PLINK PLINK PLINK.
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