On God, the French, and Orson: Jake Hinkson Interview

As far as many are concerned Jake Hinkson is the finest noir writer of his generation. From his searing debut, Hell on Church Street, to scorchers like The Posthumous Man and The Big Ugly. Lou Boxer (co-founder of NoirCon) stated, "Keep an eye on Jake Hinkson. He's taking the notion of the sacred and the profane to an entirely new level in noir."

David Cranmer: Is there anything you've ever wanted to be besides a writer?

Jake Hinkson: Not really. I have no other skill. I come from a line of people who either work with their hands or preach (or, sometimes, both). I did construction, and I sucked at it. So maybe I'd be a preacher. If I wasn't a heathen, I probably would have made a pretty fair preacher.

But, no, I never actively wanted to do anything else. I started writing stories as a kid, and I just never stopped.

DC: As a heathen (Merriam Webster defines in part, "not belonging to a widely held religion") do you leave open the door that we may have been dropped off by aliens--some celestial helping hand--or is it straightforward The Big Bang Theory?

JH: To paraphrase what God told Job: who knows?

DC: Have you matured as a writer since your debut, Hell on Church Street?

JH: Oh man. That's for other people to say, I guess. One of the truest things I ever heard about writing is that the more you write the harder it gets. Maybe it doesn't work that way for other people, but it's worked that way for me. You learn from your mistakes, but you also see more mistakes. I've written entire books that will never see the light of day. Those are costly mistakes to learn from.

DC: What was your impression of France?

JH: France was amazing. I can't speak highly enough of the people I met and the incredibly warm reception I got when I was there. We did a seven city book tour, and everyone was so kind to me. I met hundreds of people. It was crazy. They seemed to really love Hell on Church Street and were eager to read The Posthumous Man. It's downright bizarre to be far more well known in France than I am in America-than I am in my home state of Arkansas-but there you are. For some reason, my work has caught on overseas. Who the hell would have ever predicted that?

DC: France has a history of seeing talent we Americans overlook or take for granted. Phillip K. Dick was a good example of our occasional myopic deficiencies. Could you see yourself locating there if that enthusiasm considers to soar?

JH: To your point, the French were the ones who looked at our dimestore pulp novels and our cheapie B movies and said, "This is something unique called noir." Their ideas about noir, in turn, had huge influence on us here. So noir, at least originally, was the result of a French interpretation of an American phenomenon. And I have to tell you, I was shocked at how big noir is in France. Noir stuff there is what SciFi/Fantasy/ Superhero stuff is here. First off, reading is the national pastime in France, so there are bookstores everywhere. (Bookselling is so big there that people go to college to study to become booksellers. Selling books is a career in France, not just a job.) And when you walk into a bookstore half the store is crime stuff. HALF. There are two kinds of books there: noir and blanc. Noir is crime stuff. Blanc is everything else. So, in short, France is like heaven for a crime writer.

Would I move there? I don't know. I absolutely had the time of my life there, and I can't wait to go back when we release the French version of The Posthumous Man. I can tell you, though, that I never felt more American than when I was in France, which, funny enough, only made me love France all the more. So I don't know. There's been some vague talk of maybe going over at some point to do a residency at a college or something. I wouldn't rule out, but it would be a pretty big move. I'm not sure how long I could go without an America-sized cup of coffee.

DC: Michael Kronenberg has done an exceptional makeover to The Posthumous Man cover. Where did you first meet this gifted graphic designer and artist?

JH: Oh man, who is better than Kronenberg? I first became aware of Michael through his work as the designer for Eddie Muller's magazine Noir City. I write articles for them, and Michael's layouts for my pieces were just fantastic. We met and became fast friends. He's now designed covers for three of my books: The Big Ugly, No Tomorrow, and, now, the revamp of The Posthumous Man. Kronenberg is the best.

DC: Here's a wild card last question: like me, you are an aficionado of Orson Welles. Which one of his films do you like best and why?

JH: Welles is my great obsession. Maybe for that reason, it's hard for me to pick just one of his movies and call it my favorite. Citizen Kane is a movie unto itself, of course. There's nothing else like it. Falstaff is his most beautiful, most virtuosic, most moving film. I think it's probably his masterpiece. But to answer your question, let me pick a dark horse, a movie that not enough people talk about: The Trial. It's not for every taste-it's sort of film noir meets European art house with the heart of a dark absurdist comedy--but I love it. It's the Welles film that I've returned to over and over again the last few years. I love the world he creates in that film. It's its own closed universe.

Giving Away Jake Hinkson's The Posthumous Man

The Posthumous Man reborn! (and we're giving it away)

Film Noir Foundation

I regrettably wasn’t able to attend The 13^th Annual San Francisco Film Noir Festival but was much honored that BEAT to a PULP was a sponsor. Just look at these beautiful souvenir programs that Promotional Director Daryl Sparks sent my way. Thank you, Daryl! And a big thanks to Michael Kronenberg (talent behind Jake Hinkson’s The Big Ugly cover) for designing our ad. And, of course, the one and only Czar of Noir, Eddie Muller. Here’s a link to their indispensable Film Noir Foundation.

Crimespree Magazine reviews...

The Big Ugly by Jake Hinkson. Dan Malmon says in part: "He gives us a protagonist that has every right to be boiling with vengeance, but is cool and even tempered. He gives us supporting characters that should fall neatly into typecast roles, but sidestep cliché at every turn." Read the full review here.

Talking McQ, Brannigan, and The Shootist

We are talking the later John Wayne films over at Criminal Element today. Jake Hinkson reviews one of my favorite Westerns, The Shootist. And I tackle The Duke’s cops and robbers films from the 1970s, McQ and Brannigan. Stop over and join in the conversation. If you’re a diehard Duke fan you may disagree with my take on his police films but you’re still more than welcome.

FREE eBook: The Big Ugly by Jake Hinkson

The Big Ugly is now available through BEAT to a PULP books and will be offered as a free download for two days. But I recommend the beautifully bound paperback with cover design by Michael Kronenberg—a nice addition to any noir book lover's shelf.

Ellie Bennett is an ex-corrections officer who has just served a year inside Eastgate Penitentiary for assaulting a prisoner. She’s only been out for a day when she accepts a strange job offer from the head of a Christian political advocacy group. He wants her to track down a missing ex-con named Alexis. Although no one knows where Alexis has gone, it seems like everyone in Arkansas is looking for her—from a rich televangelist running for Congress to the governor’s dirty tricks man. When Bennett finds the troubled young woman, she has to decide whether to hand her over to the highest bidder or help her escape from the most powerful men in the state.

Here's what others have said about The Big Ugly:

“Keep an eye on Jake Hinkson. He's taking the notion of the sacred and the profane to an entirely new level in noir.” —Lou Boxer co-founder of NoirCon

“The Big Ugly is a jolt to complacency, a spur to the psyche -- a novel that starts simply enough, but expands and suddenly consumes the reader. Jake Hinkson is a master at creating, not characters, but people -- and then putting them through Hell.” —Steve Weddle, author of Country Hardball

“Jake Hinkson is a thunderhead on the horizon of crime fiction, and you can take The Big Ugly as confirmation that this storm isn't going to blow over any time soon. Batten down the hatches, take shelter and prepare for nasty weather. My favorite kind.” —Jedidiah Ayres, author of Peckerwood

Jake Hinkson Interview

Mike Monson annoys his favorite writers #2: Jake Hinkson.

The Girl They Loved To Kill

The tragic life and career of Peggie Castle, a woman who made a brief living out of dying in film noir. -- Jake Hinkson

Colds, Antibiotics, and Dead Men

My little family has been hit hard with colds. Nice way to start the new year, huh? Ava first, followed by Little d, and now me. I swear by Airborne because my symptoms are not as severe as my charmers and I’ve been popping ‘em into my drinks like an addict. And because I’m paranoid, I probably just jinxed myself with the previous sentence. Anyway, both charmers went to the doctor and were prescribed antibiotics and are starting to feel better.

Which reminds me of a pet peeve of mine. Every year at this time, some person will remark that s/he has the flu and needs to get antibiotics. Person #2 chimes in that antibiotics don’t work for the flu, but says it like a question because s/he’s not sure. Person #1, embarrassed that s/he doesn’t know what s/he’s talking about, turns to others who weigh in pro and con. This goes back and forth several times until someone goes on the Internet. In the old days, this conversation never got resolved so life has improved, and it has dropped this pet peeve lower on my list, but it’s still in the top twenty. Wanna know numero uno? It’s this: on December 31st at least three people looked at me, smiled, and said, “See ‘ya next year.” I killed all three before the smiles left their faces.

Last but not least. Jake Hinkson’s THE POSTHUMOUS MAN (released through our BEAT to a PULP Books) is garnering many positive reviews.

And Brian Lindenmuth just selected it as one of his best of reads of 2012. Please jump over to Spinetingler and take a look when you get a chance.

THE POSTHUMOUS MAN is every bit as crazily entertaining as Hinkson's hard-rocking debut, HELL ON CHURCH STREET, and it reads like a streamliner rocketing across the Bonneville Salt Flats.

--Scott Phillips, award winning author of THE ICE HARVEST and THE ADJUSTMENT.

Now Available: The Posthumous Man by Jake Hinkson (New Links Added)

When Elliot Stilling killed himself, he thought his troubles were over. Then the ER doctors revived him. It’s infatuation at first sight when he meets his nurse, Felicia Vogan, a strange young woman with a weakness for sad sacks and losers. After she helps Elliot escape from the hospital, she takes him back to her place. He’s happy to go with her, even when she leads him straight to a gang planning a million dollar heist. Does Felicia just want Elliot to protect her from the outfit’s psychotic leader, Stan the Man? Or is Elliot being set up to take the hard fall? One thing’s for sure: if he’s going to survive this long night of deceit and murder, Elliot will have to finally face himself and his own dark past.

From BEAT to a PULP and available through Createspace and Amazon print, and eBook.

Nerd of Noir review at Spinetingler Magazine.

Praise for Jake Hinkson's latest noir hit:

THE POSTHUMOUS MAN is every bit as crazily entertaining as Hinkson's hard-rocking debut, HELL ON CHURCH STREET, and it reads like a streamliner rocketing across the Bonneville Salt Flats. --Scott Phillips, award winning author of THE ICE HARVEST and THE ADJUSTMENT.

In THE POSTHUMOUS MAN the existential and theological themes buried inside the best noir are pulled to the surface, hungry for air and clutching a last chance at redemption. Jake Hinkson crafts this bullet-fast novella with qualities emblematic of my favorite best crime fiction: empathy, gravity and brevity. Much appreciated and highly recommended. --Eddie Muller, president of the Film Noir Foundation and Shamus-award winning author of THE DISTANCE.

Hell on Church Street

A small Baptist church in Arkansas should be easy pickings for a natural born con man like Geoffrey Webb. But after talking himself into a cushy job as a youth minister, he becomes obsessed with the preacher’s teenage daughter. When their relationship is discovered by a corrupt local sheriff named Doolittle Norris, Webb’s easy life begins to fall apart. Backed by a family of psychotic hillbillies, Sheriff Norris forces Webb into a deadly scheme to embezzle money from the church. What the Norris clan doesn’t understand is that Geoffrey Webb is more dangerous than he looks, and he has brutal plans of his own.

“I’m hard to surprise when it comes to plot, and I’m very hard to shock, but I read this book slack-jawed and drooling. There’s not a filthier, funnier, bloodier, more transgressive or more shocking book on the shelves this year. Or last, or next, probably, unless Hinkson writes another, which I certainly hope he will. An amazing debut from an instant star of the genre.”
— Scott Phillips, author of The Ice Harvest, a New York Times Notable Book of the Year

“Hell on Church Street has to be one of the best noir novels of recent years, an instant classic, as relentlessly twisted as anything by Jim Thompson and Charles Willeford.”
— Jason Starr, two-time Anthony Award winning author of The Craving

“Mr. Hinkson has created flawlessly etched characters inhabiting a bleak, noir landscape that’s recognizable and yet altogether unique. Go ahead and attend Hell on Church Street. You will not be disappointed.”
— David Cranmer, Editor and publisher of Beat to a Pulp

“If Jim Thompson’s skeletal hands could clap, you’d hear his round of applause for Jake Hinkson’s debut. Dark, depraved, and deadly, Hell on Church Street is a wicked story well told.”
— Hilary Davidson, author of The Damage Done

Order from New Pulp Press or Amazon.

Film Noir

Masters of Darkness and Light: Film Noir’s Unheralded Geniuses by Jake Hinkson at Criminal Element.

Spenser: A Look Back at Robert Parker

Jake Hinkson at the Criminal Element.

Memento and Amnesia Noir

Mr. Hinkson with a fine article at Criminal Element.