Jess Mize is one of the most talented young writers we’ve run across. We recently published her story “Valentine’s Day.” Here’s her official bio:

“Jess Mize is a blonde-haired surfer girl from South Carolina. Her favorite author is Stephen King. She loves to drink and she loves her man.”

Since this doesn’t say quite enough about the personality behind the story, we thought we’d delve further.

INTERVIEW WITH JESS MIZE:

1.) Are you a cat person or a dog person?

JESS MIZE: Well, I hate my fucking cat. I hate everything that eats, shits, and you have to take care of. I’m a dog person though. I like the fact that a dog can eat my boyfriend’s face off, but I don’t like the idea of taking it outside for walks, defecating, etc…

2.) Name a favorite band, singer, or song.

JM: My favourite band is Vampire Weekend. Did you know they have three albums in stores now?

3.) What do you think of the idea of making writers as popular as rock stars?

JM: That’s a fantastic idea. It’s certainly my goal as a writer to live like a rock star. On the rare occasions it happens, like with Stephen King or J.K Rowling, I think it brings great awareness to books in general and that’s a positive for the literary brand.

4.) How long have you been writing seriously?

JM: I have been writing since I first read Arthur Rimbaud at 17. I have only been writing seriously for the past couple of years. Mostly prose poetry but a few short stories that I procrastinate the hell out of.

5) Where do you plan to be in your writing career in five years?

JM: Hopefully I will have finished two novels and a shit-ton of short stories. I would like to have my poetry book, Whores are Always Melancholy, published. That series of events unfolding would be ideal.

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Jess Mize pushes the literary envelope like no other writer out there. The realism and verbal fireworks of her writing hides the talent– note the way she switches viewpoints in her story, and throughout maintains narrative drive. The sky’s the limit on her ability– which is why we were eager to offer her story, even though we knew it might throw some people!