Mind Wings Audio Author Bios-Interviews: Jack Bates

Jack Bates received his first rejection slip at the age of eighteen and felt like he had discovered a new world. As a playwright, he has written for children as well as adults and has had his works produced locally in his home state and nationally. In October of 2007 he optioned a screenplay on which he had collaborated. A big time fan of pulp detective novels and film noir, Bates introduces rookie private investigator Harry Landers who dreams of being a P.I. in Las Vegas while cutting his teeth on nickel and dime cases in the suburbs of Detroit. Latest releases: Ten Minutes After Midnight, A Model for Murder

Along with the two new installments to the Harry Landers’ episodes, Bates presents a story with a young character that has moral issues and finds himself in an awkward situation in a small town. Bates ability to create a compelling atmosphere for the listener is impressive and satisfying. Title: A Murder of Crows.

When did you first decide you wanted to be a writer?
"Is it too pretentious to say first grade? Otherwise, it was one of those innate feelings. I enjoyed writing as much as reading. I figured the two had to go hand in hand. I was always writing."

What is your preferred type of writing?
“I used to start in the upper left corner of a blank sheet of paper and just go at. I thought the idea was to discover the story as it happened. It was many years later I began to understand why a writer needed to know how the story ended. I don’t work with an outline. I keep ideas in thin Moleskin journals with a red Pilot pen. I write a lot, stop, go back and edit, then go back to writing. I repeat this over and over until I’m comfortable with the results.”

What is the most challenging part of the writing process for you?
“Finding the time. My day job is teaching. My evening job is parenting. Somewhere in there I manage to find the minutes to write. Weekends and holidays. Really late hours.”

What does audio production bring to your story?
“Nuances the reader might otherwise not imagine. Anger, humor, pathos. Those kinds of elements. I think it also frees the reader/listener to relax and enjoy, to imagine the world of the characters and create it in their head. And, it allows the reader/listener to enjoy my stories while driving, hiking, biking, working out, etc. It makes the story mobile.”

Is Harry Landers your alter ego?
“Yikes. Hadn’t thought of that. I’ve visited many of the places Harry hangs at. I know Michigan and I’ve been to Vegas. I think that’s as much as I want to compare us!”

Are the Harry Landers’ episodes based on real life events?
“Some of them are original. Some of them are ideas generated from things I’ve read or seen on line. Some are combinations of both of those worlds.”

Will there be more Harry Landers’ episodes?
“I think so. I like the format. I have at least two that I’m still mulling and working on. Writing the Harry Landers episodes have helped me to improve my editing. I’d like to cut loose and write a full novel when he finally gets to Vegas. I’ve mapped out what his first Vegas case is going to be: Solving his own murder.”

Are you planning to write any novels in the future?
“I have a goal for 2009: Ink a deal with Hard Case Crime. I’ve started one. I just hope it doesn’t wind up in the trunk with some of my earlier attempts: The Sand and the Surf- a spring break tale; Scalpel- a twisted horror tale about a doctor possessed by Jack the Ripper.”

What are you currently working on?
“Harry is on a break until something clicks with him. I’m working on the novel I want to submit to Hard Case. I have a couple of screenplays floating around desks in NYC and Hollywood. And, my buddies and I are working on producing short films as well as serial podcasts similar to old time radio shows. Everything old is new.”

Interview Links:
Emerald City Confidential
Lake Solitude (as a play)

Published Works:

Screenplay Sales:

Didja Think of That? 2008
Devil Monkey Films
Humorous short

Zeke’s on the Levee 2008
Web Series
Duke Fire CFCC Productions

Whiteout (with Tony Lucchi)
Triboro Pictures, New York
WINNER: 2007 Gotham Screenplay Festival

Short Story Sales:

Emerald City Confidential
In short story collection
Shadows of the Emerald City. Northern Frights Publishing (Canada):
October 2009

Audio Book Sales: