TheJesseClark AMA

@poppymoonray
Question from poppymoonray: Which of your characters do you empathize with most strongly?
+TheJesseClark
Hmm... I think Victor from "Valley of Death" and Brian from "Stars Go Out." Just because they were more fleshed out
@poppymoonray
Question from cmd102: What was the first story you remember reading on nosleep?
+TheJesseClark
I think I looked up 'best of nosleep' on Google a few years back and read a spooky story about a gas station attendant with a supernaturally creepy coworker
I liked that one a lot and can't for the life of me remember the title
@poppymoonray
Question from Hayong: If you woke up with a 15 inch penis. Would you finally make love to me?
+TheJesseClark
that's a strange question because I am ALWAYS willing to make love to you, Hayong
@poppymoonray
Question from DemonGodDumplinPopo: what's the creepiest experience you've had, paranormal or otherwise?
+TheJesseClark
hmm... I'd have to think. Off the top of my head I remember my roommate and I watching a scary movie at one in the morning. I turn around, and across the little alley I can see my neighbors house's upstairs floor and saw the silhouette of a figure just watching us. Wasn't the scariest thing but I'm pretty sure my heartbeat has been irregular ever since
@poppymoonray
Question from cmd102: If you had to choose two nosleepers to be stranded with you on a deserted island, who would you choose and why?
+TheJesseClark
hmm... very possibly Hayong and BigSp00k, but my  favorite authors here are always changing
also, like I said above, Hayong and I would at least have each other for love making
@poppymoonray
Question from poppymoonray: A lot of your stories have a SciFi feel. Do you prefer writing that type of horror more than traditional horror?
+TheJesseClark
not particularly MORE than other types, but I do enjoy it a lot. In Box Game I got to explore one of my favorite topics: AI. I think sci fi and horror let's us base alien/otherworldly terrors in reality, and that can amplify the fear a lot
+TheJesseClark
you never know what aliens are lurking out there, or what mankind will produce just a few years down the road
@poppymoonray
Question from Blindfate: who's your favorite non horror author?
+TheJesseClark
non horror author? Hmmm... I've been reading some Hemingway a lot and he's wonderful
@poppymoonray
Question from imaginarygown: How do you take your coffee?
+TheJesseClark
you know I'm not the biggest coffee guy in the world. I don't know why I never acquired the taste
@poppymoonray
Question from KBPrinceO: Really great science fiction is used to explore humanity writ large.  Do you feel that horror allows us to explore ourselves in a much more granular fashion?
+TheJesseClark
I think so! When you're experiencing a GOOD horror story you always wonder 'what would I do in this situation? How would I escape?' And so you get to explore not only humanity but yourself as well. I guess that's not really UNIQUE to horror, but it is very prevalent in it
@poppymoonray
Question from Blindfate: hayongs wife seems like a scrapper, are you really about that life?
+TheJesseClark
i am TOTALLY about that life
@poppymoonray
Question from cmd102: If you could have dinner with any actor/actress, living or dead, who would you have dinner with? Where would you go?
+TheJesseClark
oo that's a great one. I'm a huge Breaking Bad fan, so Bryan Cranston is definitely up there for me.
@poppymoonray
Question from imaginarygown: If you could ask your future self one question what would it be?
+TheJesseClark
Do... do I lose my hair?
@poppymoonray
Question from KBPrinceO: What was the most personal story you ever wrote, in that all authors draw from themselves.  What has the most of YOU in it?
+TheJesseClark
Hmm... what happens with the Stars Go Out, I think. And to a slightly lesser extent, 'Valley of death' because WW2 is a very big deal in my family
@poppymoonray
Question from poppymoonray: If you could collaborate with any of your NoSleep peers, who would you choose?
+TheJesseClark
I think Elias Witherow and I could write something very diabolical.
@poppymoonray
Question from cmd102: Satan gives you an iPod full of Britney Spears songs and tells you that whoever you give it to will forever have those songs stuck in their head. Who do you punish?
+TheJesseClark
Oh man. I'm gonna try and avoid politics here (ahem)
but it rhymes with Dump
@poppymoonray
Poor Forrest Gump :(
Question from imaginarygown: What quirks do you have?
+TheJesseClark
Quirks... quirks... hmm. I crack my knuckles a lot.
+TheJesseClark
Wow was that a lame answer
@poppymoonray
Question from KBPrinceO: First book you ever threw away? Most recent book you threw away?
+TheJesseClark
You know it wasn't me, but I used to love reading rock n roll biographies (they're pretty much all the same), and every. Single. One. Went mysteriously missing. I have books from my childhood, but my Slash book? Gone. My mom denies responsibility. (But I have my suspicions)
@poppymoonray
Question from poppymoonray: Oatmeal: Friend or foe?
+TheJesseClark
I like KINDS of oatmeal. Maple brown sugar is great.
@poppymoonray
Question from cmd102: What is your least favorite Nosleep trend?
+TheJesseClark
hmm... deep web stories are all the same, from what I've noticed. "Found a super gory site, but in the latest video the killer posted a video of my door!" KNOCK KNOCK.
Yawn
he just wants a hug
@poppymoonray
Question from KBPrinceO: Vincent Price challenges you to a game of lawn darts and proceeds to crush you in under ten minutes. How many days of weeping will it take for you to get out of bed?
+TheJesseClark
quite a few. If writing doesn't go well for me I always thought I could have lawn darts as a fall back. But that... that would just crush me
@poppymoonray
Question from imaginarygown: What did you think you would grow out of but haven’t?
+TheJesseClark
hmm... honestly, horror. I don't know why I ever associated it with immaturity but to hell with it. I still love it
@poppymoonray
Question from poppymoonray: Which one of your stories was your favorite to write? Which was the most challenging?
+TheJesseClark
favorite to write? What happens when the Stars Go Out was great because i knew I was on to something and it kind of just came together. I'm not sure what my least favorite is.
Maybe the Jupiter one since the ending is meh
but I still like that one regardless
@poppymoonray
Question from cmd102: You're trapped in a dungeon with a sadistic killer. He informs you that he plans to torture you for 1 hour before killing you, and that you can choose the method of torture and how you will die. What do you choose?
+TheJesseClark
I would lie and say "I'm allergic to tacos! Please, have mercy!" And then enjoy a platter of tacos before he shoots me in the head (nice and quick)
@poppymoonray
Question from poppymoonray: Favorite dinosaur?
+TheJesseClark
Velociraptor, baby. All day long
@poppymoonray
Question from imaginarygown: What do you want your tombstone to say?
+TheJesseClark
"here lies Alexander the Great. Nah, not really. Just some guy named Dave."
@poppymoonray
Question from KBPrinceO: Favorite tabletop rpg system?
+TheJesseClark
Never really got into tabletop RPGs. I guess DND by default
@poppymoonray
Question from cmd102: You can pick any location in the world to live for 6 months while writing a novel, where do you go?
+TheJesseClark
oh man. Somewhere in Europe, I think. I've never been. So probably southern Italy. Or, barring that, somewhere in the Rockies.
@poppymoonray
Follow-up from KBPrinceO: WHAT KIND OF NERD DO YOU THINK YOU ARE
+TheJesseClark
a bad one :(
@poppymoonray
Question from BigSpook: if you had to be trapped in a room for 2 weeks with 4 nosleepers, who would it be?
+TheJesseClark
you would be there. Hayong. Tobias wade. Annnnnnd... sergeant Darwin
but we'd have to draw straws to see who gets eaten
@poppymoonray
Addendum to the follow-up from KBPrinceO: How do you feel knowing that you now made KBPrinceO feel bad for making you feel bad for not being a nerd?
+TheJesseClark
I feel bad enough to say that if they are ever in Richmond, VA, they can visit me and show me how to play tabletop RPGs!
@poppymoonray
Question from dodle4: What is your favorite sandwich?
+TheJesseClark
i love sandwiches. Do burgers count as sandwiches? If so, those. If not, Philly cheesesteak
@poppymoonray
Question from BigSpook: which nosleep author do you think has the most versatile writing style when it comes to horror?
+TheJesseClark
I like to think I have a pretty decent range of subjects. I know Cymoril and Tobias wade do as well
@poppymoonray
Question from imaginarygown: If you could trade bodies with anyone for 24 hours who would it be?
+TheJesseClark
uh, Brad Pitt, circa 1999. Duh.
@poppymoonray
Question from cmd102: If you could change one thing about Nosleep, what would it be?
+TheJesseClark
I would... maybe have us test the waters without the believability rule for a bit, to see how it goes. Or at least allow writers to kill their characters
@poppymoonray
Question from poppymoonray: What fruit do you relate to most strongly? What fruit fills with you with an unbridled rage?
+TheJesseClark
I like most fruits, especially pineapple and kiwis. Not a huge blueberry fan. Fuck you, blueberries.
+TheJesseClark
(They're not that bad)
@poppymoonray
Question from KBPrinceO: How influential will your nosleep peers, yourself included, be seen as in a hundred years?
hopefully very! I know a lot of us have what it takes to make it (I hope), so I hope some of us do
whatever 'making it' may look like
@poppymoonray
Question from Blindfate: Current favorite videogame?
+TheJesseClark
so I don't usually buy new games. Instead I play the same 10 or 12 over and over. I just finished Skyrim again and that's always a classic (as is oblivion and the fallout games). I also used to play Age of Empires religiously. Super excited for #4!
@poppymoonray
Question from BigSpook: who did you look up to most when you first entered the nosleep realm?
+TheJesseClark
So i didn't really know anyone by names for the first few months. I'd say U/iia was a big one once I started catching on
@poppymoonray
Question from cmd102: If you had a chance to write a book in any genre (other than horror), which would you choose?
+TheJesseClark
a lot of my stories are hardly 'horror' as it is (thanks mods for always working with me to get those qualified!). I've dabbled in sci fi, historical fiction and action thrillers, as well as dramas and standard horror. I'd say if those I enjoyed historical fiction and sci fi the most
@poppymoonray
Question from cmd102: How do you think horror media affects your writing, if at all?
+TheJesseClark
Its weird because I don't get most of my ideas from horror. I just find horror in other places.
+TheJesseClark
Except lovecraft if that counts as media. He was a huge influence on my Dreads.
@poppymoonray
Question from poppymoonray: Do you have a favorite movie to watch for Halloween? If so, what is it?
+TheJesseClark
I just love horror movies in general. And I get cravings for random ones.
right now I want to watch 28 days later
@poppymoonray
Question from Ivy95: Why did you kill Robin? Did you have to or did you want to? Also what kind of car accident was it?
+TheJesseClark
So I wanted the ending to be Robin teaching a heartbroken Brian the answer to the central question of the story: what is love (baby don't hurt me)? And that was the event that anchored it together and got the story moving.
and I'm not sure what kind. I guess she got rear ended and pushed into a rail, or something. I left it intentionally vague
@poppymoonray
Question from cmd102: If you could reboot any horror movie, which would you choose? What would you change?
+TheJesseClark
oo great question. I think we're due for a great, modern Dracula movie.
@poppymoonray
Question from KBPrinceO: If nosleep had to abandon the reddit platform, would you still prefer a voting mechanism?
+TheJesseClark
sure! I don't really have anything to compare Nosleep to so I'm not sure what it would look like without voting
@poppymoonray
Question from imaginarygown: What are you most afraid of?
+TheJesseClark
antibiotic resistance. Sounds like a lame answer but that shit is for real
@poppymoonray
Question from poppymoonray: Favorite song lyric?
+TheJesseClark
I don't know my favorite, but my LEAST favorite is "so I woke up with a new tattoo, not sure how I got it not a dollar in my pocket, but it kinda looks just like you, mixed with zack galifinakis."
I HATE hot Chelle Rae
that song was ordered up by the military for torture and siege warfare
@poppymoonray
Question from cmd102: Do you believe in fairies? If not, who do you think keeps stealing my socks?
+TheJesseClark
That's me, I'm sorry. And it's only because someone is taking MY socks, and someone is taking theirs, and someone is taking theirs, and you're taking that person's. It's a vicious cycle.
@poppymoonray
Question from poppymoonray: Do you listen to any podcasts? If so, which ones?
+TheJesseClark
I keep meaning to check some new ones out. I like the Nosleep podcast of course. And there's a few really great history ones my roommate has pointed me to, but I can't remember what they're called
and I like Star Talk
+TheJesseClark
And stories fables ghostly tales
@poppymoonray
Question from imaginarygown: Describe your perfect pizza
+TheJesseClark
so I love bacon and pepperoni on mine. But I like anything, really. I never order veggie on my own but I enjoy it when it's there
@poppymoonray
Question from cmd102:  What mythological creature do you think would make the best pet? Worst pet?
+TheJesseClark
most creatures worth writing mythology about would probably make for lousy pets. I guess the Minotaur would be doable if you happen to own a vast labyrinth by the garage
@poppymoonray
Question from poppymoonray: Nsync or Backstreet Boys? Vanilla or chocolate? Hall or Oates? Coke or Pepsi?
+TheJesseClark
hmm... Backstreet Boys, tie, Oates, tie.
@poppymoonray
Question from cmd102: What famous creepypasta or nosleep antagonist/monster do you think you would stand the best chance at beating in a fight?
+TheJesseClark
Probably Jeff the Killer because I hate that story so much and would enter the ring seething with rage. Also I'm 24 and he's what? 15? Bring it on, bitch
@poppymoonray
Question from poppymoonray: FMK the NoSleep mod team
+TheJesseClark
Hmm... I definitely wouldn't kill anyone because you guys decide what gets removed and what doesn't. And FM for the rest! Polygamy for the win
@poppymoonray
Question from cmd102: The Purge has become reality. Do you take the opportunity to legally commit crime, or do you stay home and try to stay safe? If you become a criminal, what would you do?
+TheJesseClark
I like to imagine I'm the badass on the motorcycle with the sawn off, but I'd probably end up locking myself in a basement. If I'd choose a crime, robbery. Straight up.
@poppymoonray
Question from imaginarygown: If you could live forever, how would you spend eternity?
+TheJesseClark
see immortality is more a curse than a blessing. You lose everyone you ever loved, the possibility of becoming permanently mobilized like 127 hours jumps to 100 percent, and after the sun explodes I get to just float in space. Forever. And ever. And ever. I'd probably blow my brains out long before then.
@poppymoonray
Question from poppymoonray: Request: Please write a haiku about NoSleep.
+TheJesseClark
Oh yikes. A haiku?
im really really not good
at haikus. At all.
Nosleep.
@poppymoonray
A for effort!
Question from cmd102: What are you going to be for Halloween?
+TheJesseClark
im going as slash, and my girlfriend is going as Axl Rose. It's the trendiest costume of 1992.
@poppymoonray
Question from poppymoonray: If NoSleep had an animal as a mascot, what would it be?
+TheJesseClark
definitely something spooky. Like a bat. Or a spider. Or a snake. Or a murderous, sadistic housecat.
@poppymoonray
Question from cmd102: What's your favorite Halloween candy?
+TheJesseClark
i used to love candy corn but now it's too sugary. I like the basics: Reese's, sour/gummy worms, snickers, etc.
@poppymoonray
Question from poppymoonray: What's your favorite flower?
+TheJesseClark
hmm... I only know like five by name. So of those, tulips.
@poppymoonray
Question from cmd102: What do you think of the popularity of zombies in horror media? Which zombie adaptation is your favorite? If you wrote a zombie story, how would you make your zombies stand out from the rest? Zombie.
+TheJesseClark
I think the oversaturation of zombies has dampened their scariness. But they're still great. I like Dawn of the Dead (original and remake) a lot. And if I wrote one, and this is going to be very, VERY unpopular with zombie/Romero purists, but I would use the fast zombies. Or infected, or whatever you want to call them. I know slow zombies are the only thing it's cool to like, but if I can out WALK something, and also trick it into walking straight into my modded chainsaw flamethrower, then no amount of explaining how it's all about the overwhelming numbers and slowly building doom is going to convince me to be afraid of them.
@poppymoonray
Question from BigSpook: which nosleeper would you most expect to be working as a school janitor?
+TheJesseClark
I don't know why, but Tobias wade jumped to mind. But only because I can totally see him being a janitor under cover for some reason
shit that was a bizarre answer
@poppymoonray
Question from BigSpook: who is your favorite character in The Office?
+TheJesseClark
Jim is the guy I most want to be, but Creed is so bizarre and hilarious and you never know what he's up to or what the hell hes talking about. So, him.
@poppymoonray
Final question, from cmd102: Any advice for new or aspiring authors?
+TheJesseClark
Keep writing! I'm not gonna try to convince you not to care if your story bombs. That's an impossible order and not particularly useful coming from people who've seen success. So I'll say keep writing and writing and writing until people start to pay attention.
+TheJesseClark
Practice really does make perfect
@poppymoonray
Thank you to everyone who asked questions, and a humongous thank you to TheJesseClark for taking the time to do this with us today! Tune back in to NoSleepInterviews on October 30th for our spoopy Halloween victim, Sergeant_Darwin!