In language that is fierce and disturbing, James J. Cho's stories highlight the darker side of human nature. Whether he's exploring the mind of a serial killer or mocking our values and sensibilities, his writing goes straight to the spine. We offer three of his stories, marking his publishing debut.
James Cho is 23 years old and a graduate of The American University with a BA in history. He's been writing fiction for about one year (although he's written poetry since about fourteen), and has been probed by aliens on numerous occasions (okay, the last part isn't true; he wanted to to spice things up a bit Jerry Springer style)..
James says: "I like to take the abstract topics floating around in my brain and give life to them through a plot, a setting, characters so that the reader can see these ideas as being more tangible, kind of a frankenstein's monster sort of thing. Stylisticallly, I suppose I am a symbolic writer. But at the same time, I'm heavily influenced by how Kerouac and Ellison infused jazz improvisational techniques to prose. In the end, my lone goal is to have the reader upon finishing a story go 'Wow, I need to read this again!' because when I say that, I know the piece has made an impact upon my life. But then again, I am still a young writer with a lot to learn." James welcomes both positive and negative feedback at nuprin897@hotmail.com.
James's works here at Unlikely Stories are:
July 1999 - July 2000:
A Prayer
A Short Trip to Las Vegas Before Returning Home
The Funeral of David Yummy, or, How I Learned to Love Hamburgers