Paul Jessup writes weird stuff in an oddly poetic and hypnotic way. Perhaps it’s no accident then that one of the driving plots of Open Your Eyes involves a form of spoken word virus (a type of science fiction armageddon that seems to be growing in popularity these days). But Open Your Eyes is about much more than the potential demise of the human race by a brain melting virus. It’s about being impregnated by a supernova, it’s about robot puppets that serve a centuries old woman living inside the womb of a ship, and it’s about the brain of a ship with a secret agenda.

Yep, it’s a wild book.

Jason Sizemore: It’s been a good twelve months for you thus far. You landed an agent, you sold books to PS and Apex…care to share which elder gods you’re worshiping so that the rest of us can land some of this good luck?

Paul Jessup: Well, I find sacrificing a bull to Zeus and then bathing myself in the blood to help quite a bit. It keeps my skin baby soft AND puts me in the good favors of Mt. Olympus. Other than that? Work your ass off. That’s pretty much what I did.

JS: What’s your elevator pitch for your Apex book, Open Your Eyes?

PJ: Sex. Explosions. Brain eating diseases. And the coupe de tat- space ships.

JS: Some folks might not know that prior to Apex buying your book, you were a submissions editor for Apex Magazine. In what ways did reading slush help you progress as a writer?

PJ: Well, in some ways it helped greatly. I could easily discern why stories weren’t working for me and apply that to my own craft. As a slush reader you also learn rejection isn’t personal, and it helps put your ego in check when submitting to other markets. On the flip side, it also was somewhat detrimental to my craft, which is something you don’t hear too often. It took time away from writing, and after you read 100 stories with bad prose, you start to notice that the bad prose is rubbing off on your own writing and taking it down a notch.

But I do suggest every serious writer should take up a stint as a slush reader. It does more good than bad.

JS: One name I keep hearing when describing the style of Open Your Eyes is Samuel Delaney. Pretty heady stuff, wouldn’t you say?

PJ: Yeah, and all I have to say is I’m Not Worthy! That man was a genius. We share some thoughts on writing, but in the end I’m amazed and astonished any time someone puts my name and his together. It boggles the brain pan. I did read a ton of his Space Opera when writing this (Nova and Empire Star were huge influences) so it probably rubbed off on me somehow. But still, the guy is like a genre god. It makes me blush to hear such compliments.

JS:You’ve been published in a number of the major short fiction markets: Clarkesworld, Apex, PostScripts, and Fantasy Magazine. Who’s next on your hit list?

PJ: I’m not sure. I’m trying like mad to get into Weird Tales and Fantasy & Science Fiction magazine. But on the whole my short story output has dropped drastically in the last year or so as I’m experimenting more and more with novels. I’m liking the long form much better than the short form, and am finding it hella hard to get my brain to shrink down to short story size again. When I see writers like Jay Lake pumping out a gazillion short stories while still writing a novel, I’m flabbergasted and a bit in awe of his awesome writing skillz.

JS: Tell us about your upcoming PS Short Story Collection?

PJ: Glass Coffin Girls is a collection of several connected short stories. They are connected by a few themes, recurring images and intertwining plot lines. The theme that I chose for it was Fairy Tale Princesses, and it goes into the construction of this cultural myth and tears it a new one from the inside out. These stories are surreal gems, little bits of fantasy that deconstruct our thought processes.

And it’s some really scary shit. No, I mean it. I gave some first readers nightmares. Others got chills. If you like the short fiction of mine you’d seen elsewhere, you guys will love this. It’s all my skills as a writer turned up to 11.

JS: Who are some of your genre influences?

PJ: Well, it depends on what I’m writing. For my surreal/dark short stories I’m madly influenced by Robert Aickman, Kelly Link and a ton of other things. For my space opera stuff it’s usually an oddly weirdly mix of Delaney, Alfred Bester, Heinlein and MJ Harrison. Really, it all depends on what I’m writing and what I’m reading at the time. I’m a voracious reader, I follow a reading lead to the end, devouring works by an author. These get put into whatever I’m writing, whether its in the form of a character, a theme, or even just a symbolic influence.

JS: I’m going to ask a self-serving question…how would you describe your experience publishing with Apex Publications?

PJ: Awesome, awesome, awesome. Except that word Jason fellow they have hanging out in the shed. He’s creepy.

JS: If I got into a slap fight with Senior Editor Deb Taber, who would win?

PJ: Your mom?

JS: Okay, enough with self-serving and slap fighting. Readers should buy your book because…?

PJ: It’s considered one of the most unique and strangest tale of Space Opera by a lot of readers and reviewers. There’s a bit inside the pages for everyone: action, adventure, sex, love, crazy AI’s, philosophical ramblings, and really really weird ending.

Order Open Your Eyes by Paul Jessup
Order Glass Coffin Girls by Paul Jessup