Withersin’s Damned Interview with:
I
live in Southern California in a semi-haunted Victorian farmhouse called Rose
Cottage. I live with my wife, a crazy cat, and a legion of yard gnomes. The
gnomes like me, but the clowns in the attic--not so much. I am family man,
through and through. I like animals, sporks, and
monsters. I don't like mold, heights, and heirarchies.
List some of your works (stories,
books, poems, songs, albums, movies, etc):
I
wrote the Bram Stoker-nominated novel Cursed. My books also include Vacation,
Sheep and Wolves, and Fungus of the Heart. I wrote a short film called Egg, which
you can watch here: http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=105265155.
My short tales have appeared or are forthcoming in over 50 publications, the
likes of Cemetery Dance, ChiZine, Apex Magazine, Pseudopod, and The Magazine of Bizarro
Fiction. You can read quite a few of my short stories here: http://jeremycshipp.com/onlinestories.htm.
Your website: http://www.jeremycshipp.com and http://jeremycshipp.wordpress.com/
How can you be contacted? chrismatrix@yahoo.com
In your own words,
define Withersin.
Withersin is the force that exists in people who
aren't happy unless they're making themselves miserable.
If you were a sideshow
act, what would you be?
I would be a half-man, half-man-eating-catfish. My act
wouldn't last very long.
What is your greatest
non-literary influence?
Civilization. And in second place, films. I am deeply
inspired by filmmakers such as Hayao Miyazaki, Terry Gilliam, Takashi Miike, Park
Chan-wook.
Describe your most
irrational fear.
Some say that my fear of clowns is irrational, but I
disagree. Clowns are the manifestation of evil, the way that yard gnomes are
the manifestation of goodness.
How about your most guilty pleasure?
Peanut butter. I eat peanut butter on my cereal, on my
ice cream.
Name the most
disturbing nursery rhyme/fairy tale you can recall.
Cinderella. The step-sisters cut pieces off of their feet in
order to fit into the gold slipper. Also, at the end, some pigeons peck out
their eyes. Quite a disturbing story.
Do you eat meat?
I'm
vegan, so I only eat Smurf meat. Smurfs are plant-based lifeforms,
you see.
What were the skies
like when you were young?
Crowded with thunderbirds and wild spirits.
Name your favorite
garden tool.
Name your least
favorite color, first job and worst job.
I don't particularly like diarrhea brown. My first
job: painting houses. My worse job: painting the outside of a house when it was
107 outside.
Favorite:
Author, Movie, Music Group, Song, and Quote.
Arundhati Roy, The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra,
The Flaming Lips, Wind by Akeboshi, "There's no
place like home."
If you were a loaf of
bread what kind would you be?
Brown rice bread. If I were made of wheat, I'd be allergic to myself.
Weirdest news you have
read in your local newspaper:
I once read about a wild boar that attacked the
nativity scene in my backyard.
If you have a message
to the people of Earth, tell us what it is:
Don't look down on anybody unless you're reaching down
to help them up.
And finally, a
question you can take anyway you like: But Why?
Why
do I like Apple Jacks if they don't taste like
apples? I just do!
Here’s
a photo titled, “INEDIBLE NOT INTENDED FOR HUMAN
You have 112 words.
Go.
The suit who thought up this sign seems to have
forgotten that giant man-eating babies can’t read.