{"id":21682,"date":"2025-01-30T06:40:35","date_gmt":"2025-01-30T11:40:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mrbullbull.com\/newbull\/?p=21682"},"modified":"2025-01-30T07:07:39","modified_gmt":"2025-01-30T12:07:39","slug":"jake-hinkson","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mrbullbull.com\/newbull\/the-bull-interview\/jake-hinkson\/","title":{"rendered":"Jake Hinkson"},"content":{"rendered":"

Jake is a well-known writer of noir novels, but sometimes it feels like you are the one who discovered him, but it\u2019s not the case. His novel, Hell on Church Street<\/em> was awarded the French Prix Myst\u00e8re de la Critique in 2016. No Tomorrow<\/em> was awarded the Grand Prix des Litt\u00e9ratures Polici\u00e8res in 2018. He is published widely in both America and France and to critical acclaim. He is also one of the most respected authors I know, and I rarely, if at all, find a word out of place in his work. He\u2019s both a brilliant storyteller and a surgeon at the keys.<\/p>\n

I came across him like a lot of people do nowadays on social media. I bought a couple of his books, and I was hooked. Later, I discovered he\u2019s a film nut, it seems he\u2019s at the movies six days a week. Over the last year or two we started talking a bit more. More than likely because we are both rat enthusiasts. Yes, the tragically misunderstood animals that we both keep as pets. Do keep on the lookout, rats are gaining in popularity.<\/p>\n

What I like most about Jake\u2019s work is each story is its own. He releases the work, promotes it, but he doesn\u2019t change who he is as a person. Sadly, fame and even the smallest bit of notoriety can change a person, especially a writer, for the worse. It\u2019s refreshing to hear a voice that\u2019s both humbled and talented. He lets the work speak for itself, and it certainly does. If you haven\u2019t read any of his books you should. I cannot recommend Dry County<\/em> enough. Honestly, pick up any of his books you\u2019ll be glad you did. If you are a fan of crime, noir, even pulp, you\u2019ll dig his work. Each book, each sentence, is a masterclass. I was excited to learn his latest book, which is currently only available in France, will be coming out later this year in America. Read on to find out!<\/p>\n

– Frank Reardon<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p><\/blockquote>\n

FR: <\/strong>Tell me about the new book in France. What\u2019s it about and why is it only available in France?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

JH:<\/strong> It\u2019s called The Way of The World<\/em>. It\u2019s about a married woman named Alice who\u2019s having an affair. Leaving her boyfriend\u2019s apartment one night she\u2019s attacked on the street. In the\u00a0struggle, she wounds her attacker and runs back to the boyfriend. They decide to go check on the man to see if he\u2019s died, but when they get there, he\u2019s disappeared. Complications ensue.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s only available in France right now because I have a decade-long relationship with a great publisher there. To be blunt about it, I\u2019m more successful there than I am here, so when I\u00a0have a new book, it\u2019s got an immediate readership in France. In America, I kind of have to find the right publisher for the right book, and that takes more time. I\u2019m happy to say that Crooked Lane books is putting out The Way of The World<\/em> later this year. October most likely.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

FR: <\/strong>Dry County<\/em>, yeah, one banger of a book I couldn\u2019t put it down. If there\u2019s an actual debate on what makes a book noir, this one answers it. I\u2019d like to ask about Richard, who is he at his core? Did you know a Richard or two in your life growing up? Tell us a bit about Dry County<\/em> for those who haven\u2019t read it.<\/p>\n

JH:<\/strong> Dry County<\/em> is about a preacher named Richard Weatherford who is having an illicit relationship with a young man in his church. When the young man demands money to leave town, Weatherford has to scramble to find the money and keep his life from falling apart. The book\u2019s really about what he\u2019s willing to do to keep his position, to keep up his image as a respected man of god.<\/p>\n

I grew up Southern Baptist. I\u2019ve known a few preachers I respect, but I\u2019ve known more than a few that I despise. This book is a composite of some of the ones I despise.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

FR: <\/strong>You have a vast knowledge of both noir in books and film. If someone’s new to noir, give them five essential noir books to read, and five essential noir films to watch from the library of Jake.<\/p>\n

JH:<\/strong> Okay, here\u2019s the Jake Hinkson noir starter pack:<\/p>\n

Books<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Savage Night<\/em> by Jim Thompson: The king. I could just list five by JT and be done with it. My favorite changes, but as a starter, this one is hard to beat.<\/li>\n
  2. The Blank Wall<\/em> by Elisabeth Sanxay Holding: She was Raymond Chandler\u2019s favorite crime writer, with good reason. This one is her best and one of the best novels (crime or otherwise) of the 1940s.<\/li>\n
  3. Of Tender Sin<\/em> by David Goodis: Goodis was pitch black noir. This one might be his darkest.<\/li>\n
  4. Twisted City<\/em> by Jason Starr: We don\u2019t talk enough about what a noir god Jason Starr is. He\u2019s the best noir writer alive, by my reckoning. This nightmare of a novel is a great place to start.<\/li>\n
  5. Dare Me<\/em> by Megan Abbott: The other greatest noir writer alive. She\u2019s completely herself while being so steeped in the classics.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

     <\/p>\n

    Movies<\/p>\n

      \n
    1. Detour<\/em> (1945): The best film ever made on Poverty Row. My favorite film noir. My favorite movie, period.<\/li>\n
    2. Caged<\/em> (1950): The best women in prison flick. Just a masterpiece of acting, directing, writing.<\/li>\n
    3. Night of the Hunter<\/em> (1955): Robert Mitchum as an evil preacher. What\u2019s not to love?<\/li>\n
    4. The Maltese Falcon<\/em> (1941): I can\u2019t think of a more perfect film. The studio system is at its best. Bogart is God-level.<\/li>\n
    5. Roadblock<\/em> (1951): Here\u2019s an obscure one. Not a perfect film, but it\u2019s kind of my favorite man-meets-a-woman-and-they-destroy-each-other flick.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

       <\/p>\n

      FR: <\/strong>What I like about your work is that you don’t waste anything. It all feels perfectly placed. You make it seem effortless. What’s the process like? Do you have an office at home? Do you take a ton of joy from it or is it an epic struggle? Constant rewrites?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

      JH:<\/strong> Well, I take that as a big compliment from you because you don\u2019t waste your words, either. Yeah, man, it\u2019s a joy. Writing is the only thing I like to do. The great pulp writer Gil Brewer said something once along the lines of \u201cThe terrible truth is I\u2019m only happy when I\u2019m writing.\u201d That\u2019s me, too. I have a little office at home, or I sit on the couch, in coffee shops, at the library. I\u2019m either writing, or I\u2019m thinking about something I\u2019m writing. I\u2019m virtually monomaniacal.<\/p>\n

      \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

      FR: <\/strong>Find Him<\/em>, another one of your books that I loved. Another book with religion at the center. I grew up Catholic\u00a0in Boston, and even though I don\u2019t practice it anymore it\u2019s an important part of character\u2019s lives,\u00a0it\u2019s what makes them go. It makes for a better book when you don\u2019t make them the typical stereotypes. You don\u2019t judge your characters, which seems to me, and sadly, a growing\u00a0plague in literature. Elaborate on the people in the novel, the religiosity in their lives.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

      JH:<\/strong> I was a Pentecostal for a few years after I left the Baptists. The church in the book is somewhat modeled on the congregation I attended. It was rural, almost aggressively anti-intellectual, and totally focused on the Holy Ghost and speaking in tongues. Naturally, it seemed like a good place to set a crime novel. (And it\u2019s that kind of savvy commercial thinking, by the way, which explains why I\u2019m now a billionaire author.)<\/p>\n

      I wanted to tell a story set in that world that would also be a pretty accurate description of that world. People aren\u2019t cliches. No one perfectly fits into a stereotype, even when they commit their whole life to being<\/em> a stereotype. So, I wanted to tell the story of this preacher\u2019s daughter who finds herself pregnant, who needs to track down her missing boyfriend before her whole world comes falling down.<\/p>\n

      \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

      FR: <\/strong>Completely switching gears here. You and your wife, Sophie, are fellow rat owners like me. It\u2019s hard to find rat owners, never mind other writers who have\u00a0rats as\u00a0pets. I spend a lot of time with my rats, training them, etc. They release stress. They are funny, smart, and they are full\u00a0of love like any other animals. They are also violently misunderstood creatures. Tell us about your rats, names, what they are like?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

      JH:<\/strong> Sophie got me into rats because she\u2019s their queen. If the apartment caught on fire, I\u2019m pretty sure she\u2019d get them out first and then come back for me. Rats are such fascinating creatures, though. They\u2019re the most despised animals on earth, and yet they\u2019re sweet and smart, very affectionate, and playful. Watching their group dynamics is like watching the best TV show you\u2019ve ever seen. I\u2019m going to write some kind of essay about them at some point, I think, because I have a lot of thoughts on them as creatures and on their relationship to humans. The guys we have now are Mitchum, Leland, Duke, Bernie, Sid, and Dwayne The Rat Johnson.<\/p>\n

       <\/p>\n

      FR: <\/strong>You and Sophie go to the movies often. Often classic films, but since 2019, the last five or six years, what have been your five favorite movie going experiences for films since 2018\/2019?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

      JH:<\/strong> Well, my favorite film of the last few years would have to be Paul Schrader\u2019s First Reformed<\/em>. That\u2019s my movie right there. It holds up really well with repeat viewings, and I think it\u2019s going to stand as his masterpiece. This year, I loved The Substance<\/em>. Last year, my favorite was Poor Things<\/em>. I loved both Tar<\/em>\u00a0and The Holdovers<\/em> in 2022. Not a lot of great crime movies in the last few years, sadly.<\/p>\n

      \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

      FR:<\/strong> I could be wrong here, but I believe you are from Arkansas. How has your home state shaped you and made you into the writer you are? Will future work be Chicago-based, like a Chicago-only noir novel?<\/p>\n

      JH:<\/strong> I am indeed Arkansas born and bred. As for how it shaped me, I mean I can\u2019t really imagine who I\u2019d be if I\u2019d been born anywhere else. I grew up in the Ozarks in a deeply religious, conservative atmosphere. That formed me in ways good and bad, I suppose. Mostly good, I think. I grew up working construction with my dad and brothers, going to church, riding around in trucks. The kind of place where you\u2019d see a dead deer strapped to someone\u2019s hood in the parking lot of Walmart. I knew a guy who rode his horse to church. He\u2019d tie the horse to a tree and come in for services. You know what I\u2019m saying?<\/p>\n

      Having said that, I\u2019m about to turn 50, and I\u2019ve now lived outside of Arkansas for almost as long as I lived there. I\u2019ve been in Chicago for 10 years now, and I love it. The new book is set in Chicago. The next book will, too. Chicago\u2019s a fascinating place and a fun place to write about.<\/p>\n

      \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

      FR: <\/strong>Anything new in the pipe writing-wise? Or are you busy promoting the new book in France only? How have your experiences been with French publishers Vs American? They love books over there, and over here reality stars sell more books than James Ellroy, which is sad.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

      JH:<\/strong> France is great. The single strangest thing that has happened to me in my life is I became this minor literary star in France. I met my wife there and probably 60% of my career (maybe more) is there. So, I\u2019ve kind of always got one foot in France. I\u2019ve only ever had one publisher there, Gallmeister Editions. It\u2019s been the most important relationship I\u2019ve had in my professional life.<\/p>\n

      \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

      FR: <\/strong>There’s a lot going on in Dry County<\/em>, religion, the wet and dry vote, the brutality, extortion, but in the backdrop of the 2016 election. People are spinning out of control, which makes for some good fiction. But what I find most interesting is the hypocrisy, which feels like the world we live in. One giant hypocritical stew. How did the climate shape the characters? Did you take from the mad world around us that has been unrelenting since 2016?<\/p>\n

      JH:<\/strong> I\u2019ll tell you something I don\u2019t know that I\u2019ve ever said before. I wrote Dry County<\/em> after the 2016 election, and I remember I was kind of in the middle of writing it when I realized it was about the triumph of evil. It\u2019s about how the American church sold its soul and handed over the keys to the kingdom to the money-changers. I think it\u2019s my best book.<\/p>\n

       <\/p>\n

      BONUS QUESTION: <\/strong>Orson Welles calls you from the telephone of the dead. He says, “Jake, bring me five of the best noir films since the 1990s.” What are you going to bring?<\/p>\n

      JH:<\/strong> I love that it\u2019s Orson Welles calling me up. Did you know that in addition to being one of the great noir directors he wrote some now lost pulp novels in his youth? Crazy.<\/p>\n

      Anyway, my favorite film noirs since 1990:<\/p>\n

        \n
      1. After Dark My Sweet<\/em> (1990): The best noir of that decade and the best Jim Thompson adaptation. A perfect film.<\/li>\n
      2. The Grifters<\/em> (1990): The other <\/em>best Jim Thompson adaptation. It might even be an improvement on the source novel since it streamlines the plot a bit.<\/li>\n
      3. A Simple Plan<\/em> (1998): This is it, man. Study this movie if you want to know how to plot a crime story. It\u2019s also an improvement on its (excellent) source material.<\/li>\n
      4. Gone Baby Gone<\/em> (2007): I love how this starts, how it develops, and I\u2019m in awe of where it ends up, with the protagonist making the decision he has to make even though none of us\u2014including him\u2014wants him to make it.<\/li>\n
      5. Nightcrawler<\/em> (2014): We don\u2019t get as many great pitch-black noirs as we used to. This one is so of its time while also having the feel of a classic.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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