Ask the Author: Jeremy Bates
Answered Questions (38)
Jeremy Bates
Hi Michael,
So sorry for the crazy late reply ! lol I don't get on GRs much, and when I do, I don't know all the ins and outs and didn't even see all these pending questions until now. Anyway, I'm not sure what book I last released 3 years ago, but I have released a couple since. The most recent one is The No-End House (I ended up going back with a traditional publisher for it), and I have two more with them coming out in the next year or so. If you liked my other ones, I'd suggest giving The no-End House a try!
Best
Jeremy
So sorry for the crazy late reply ! lol I don't get on GRs much, and when I do, I don't know all the ins and outs and didn't even see all these pending questions until now. Anyway, I'm not sure what book I last released 3 years ago, but I have released a couple since. The most recent one is The No-End House (I ended up going back with a traditional publisher for it), and I have two more with them coming out in the next year or so. If you liked my other ones, I'd suggest giving The no-End House a try!
Best
Jeremy
Jeremy Bates
Hi Airika,
Hey Callie,
So sorry for the crazy late reply ! lol I don't get on GRs much, and when I do, I don't know all the ins and outs and didn't even see all these pending questions until now. Anyway, thanks so much for reading the books :)
Glad you liked Hotel Chelsea. As of now, there is a seventh book called Congo. It's not a "real" seventh book, as it was one of my first books I wrote. But I renamed it and added it to the series because it was based on a scary place even before I knew I was going to write a series about a scary place! lol But unfortunately, that's the last one as I moved on to the World's Scariest Legends Series.... but I will be coming back to the Places series at some point! So please stayed tuned :)
Hey Callie,
So sorry for the crazy late reply ! lol I don't get on GRs much, and when I do, I don't know all the ins and outs and didn't even see all these pending questions until now. Anyway, thanks so much for reading the books :)
Glad you liked Hotel Chelsea. As of now, there is a seventh book called Congo. It's not a "real" seventh book, as it was one of my first books I wrote. But I renamed it and added it to the series because it was based on a scary place even before I knew I was going to write a series about a scary place! lol But unfortunately, that's the last one as I moved on to the World's Scariest Legends Series.... but I will be coming back to the Places series at some point! So please stayed tuned :)
Jeremy Bates
Hey Callie,
So sorry for the crazy late reply ! lol I don't get on GRs much, and when I do, I don't know all the ins and outs and didn't even see all these pending questions until now. Anyway, thanks so much for reading the books :) Besides King etc, my influences are totally random. What I mean is, whatever the latest book I'm reading usually influences me in some way. A good example was a Denis Lehane novel. I'd never read him before but I got into his writing and it influence a little how I was writing the book at that time................
So sorry for the crazy late reply ! lol I don't get on GRs much, and when I do, I don't know all the ins and outs and didn't even see all these pending questions until now. Anyway, thanks so much for reading the books :) Besides King etc, my influences are totally random. What I mean is, whatever the latest book I'm reading usually influences me in some way. A good example was a Denis Lehane novel. I'd never read him before but I got into his writing and it influence a little how I was writing the book at that time................
Jeremy Bates
hey man!! yes, of course! sorry for the late reply, I don't get on Goodreads much.... But how's it's going?? Alison and I have moved to the Gold Coast, in Australia. Great to hear form you. Where are you now??
Jeremy Bates
Hi, Allison,
Thanks so much for reading the books! I'm glad you enjoy them.
To answer your questions, well, I'm Canadian but live in Australia. I used to visit my parents in the US when they lived down there in Arizona, but they're now back in Canada. I'm not sure when I'll be in the US again, but when I am, I'll post it on my website etc.
Hopefully that won't be too long away!
Best
Jeremy
Thanks so much for reading the books! I'm glad you enjoy them.
To answer your questions, well, I'm Canadian but live in Australia. I used to visit my parents in the US when they lived down there in Arizona, but they're now back in Canada. I'm not sure when I'll be in the US again, but when I am, I'll post it on my website etc.
Hopefully that won't be too long away!
Best
Jeremy
Jeremy Bates
Hi Dallas. Thanks for getting in touch, and I'm glad you like the books! I would have been happy to have sent you an autographed book as I have a bunch of copies lying around here. The problem is, I live in Australia, and when I checked the postage calculator online, it was going to cost about thirty dollars just to send one to Texas. Perhaps the next time I'm in the States I could send one...
Jeremy Bates
Hey Rory! And sorry for the late reply. I'm not on Goodreads much but glad I saw your question!
I've travelled extensively, but never been to Russian before unfortunately.
I don't have Russian friends, but I do find the culture fascinating. Really would love to check out Moscow!
I don't know why I've written a lot about Russia... this mystery was a no-brainer, but in Island of the Dolls one of the protagonists was Russian... I guess I do have a fascination with Russian people :)
Theories abound regarding the Dyatlov Incident... I just took the one that seemed to suit my genre best.
Mountain of the Dead was one of the most difficult books I've written (due to the research), but one of the most enjoyable.
I've travelled extensively, but never been to Russian before unfortunately.
I don't have Russian friends, but I do find the culture fascinating. Really would love to check out Moscow!
I don't know why I've written a lot about Russia... this mystery was a no-brainer, but in Island of the Dolls one of the protagonists was Russian... I guess I do have a fascination with Russian people :)
Theories abound regarding the Dyatlov Incident... I just took the one that seemed to suit my genre best.
Mountain of the Dead was one of the most difficult books I've written (due to the research), but one of the most enjoyable.
Jeremy Bates
Hey Sue!
Probably looks like there are more books than there really are because several are novellas.... Having said that, I've written 2 stand-alone novels, 5 in the World's Scariest Places series, and 8 novellas (which have created two more novel-length books with 4 novellas in each). So I guess you can say 9 in total? I'm working on the tenth now!
Probably looks like there are more books than there really are because several are novellas.... Having said that, I've written 2 stand-alone novels, 5 in the World's Scariest Places series, and 8 novellas (which have created two more novel-length books with 4 novellas in each). So I guess you can say 9 in total? I'm working on the tenth now!
Jeremy Bates
Hi Amanda!
Sorry for the late reply. I've been on GRs less and less recently due to other things but I'm going to make a comeback! Anyway, yes, there is going to be a fifth book (I think that's what you mean). It's been done for nearly a year now, but I've been working with an agent and seeing how that goes... but I'm now leaning on just putting it out myself! So best answer (and I'll know soon whether I keep going with the agent or do it myself), if I do it myself, it will be out in 3 months! Cheers Jeremy
Sorry for the late reply. I've been on GRs less and less recently due to other things but I'm going to make a comeback! Anyway, yes, there is going to be a fifth book (I think that's what you mean). It's been done for nearly a year now, but I've been working with an agent and seeing how that goes... but I'm now leaning on just putting it out myself! So best answer (and I'll know soon whether I keep going with the agent or do it myself), if I do it myself, it will be out in 3 months! Cheers Jeremy
Jeremy Bates
Hey Kathryn!
Thanks for the note! And sorry for the delay, but the reason is I've been working to finish a book, and yes it is a world's scariest places! It's called Mountain of the Dead, based on some Russian hikers who mysteriously vanished there in 1959 (it's a real story... if you google Dyatlov Incident, you can read all about it). Seriously freaky stuff. To this day, nobody knows what happened to them!
Hope you enjoy it, and if you'd like, I can get you an ARC whenever it is ready
Best
Jeremy
Thanks for the note! And sorry for the delay, but the reason is I've been working to finish a book, and yes it is a world's scariest places! It's called Mountain of the Dead, based on some Russian hikers who mysteriously vanished there in 1959 (it's a real story... if you google Dyatlov Incident, you can read all about it). Seriously freaky stuff. To this day, nobody knows what happened to them!
Hope you enjoy it, and if you'd like, I can get you an ARC whenever it is ready
Best
Jeremy
Jeremy Bates
Hey Karen!
So sorry about the long delay. I've been finishing a book and dropped out of the social sites for a while. But I'd love to get the errors you've come across. Really helps when people let me know any mistakes. My email address is: jeremybatesbooks@gmail.com Hope to hear from you! Best Jeremy
So sorry about the long delay. I've been finishing a book and dropped out of the social sites for a while. But I'd love to get the errors you've come across. Really helps when people let me know any mistakes. My email address is: jeremybatesbooks@gmail.com Hope to hear from you! Best Jeremy
Jeremy Bates
Hey Johnna!
Thanks for the message and reading the books :)
Well, it seems movies keep being made similar to my books (The Forest, Sea of Trees, As Above As Below....or whatever the name is of the catacombs one).
So no offers on those! But oddly I had a production company interested in my novella, Six Bullets. However, nothing came of that. I've also had a theater company interested in Black Canyon! (but again, nothing fruitful).
But I'll always be open to offers!
Have a great 2017!!
Thanks for the message and reading the books :)
Well, it seems movies keep being made similar to my books (The Forest, Sea of Trees, As Above As Below....or whatever the name is of the catacombs one).
So no offers on those! But oddly I had a production company interested in my novella, Six Bullets. However, nothing came of that. I've also had a theater company interested in Black Canyon! (but again, nothing fruitful).
But I'll always be open to offers!
Have a great 2017!!
Jeremy Bates
Hey Kevin,
Thanks for the questions! I'll answer them in line.
1) Depends on the novel, but I tend to research as I go... So for example with Suicide Forest, I new about the forest before hand, and just got a couple chapters down without researching anything, and when the characters got to the forest, I started researching it...but it was a day to day thing... (what do the trees look like there, whats the weather like etc...)
2) Most novels take about 8 months to get a decent draft. I don't write one draft, then rewrite it...I sort of rewrite as I go...so by month 8 I usually have something pretty close to the finished thing, but then I will spend a couple more months fixing everything up....so I guess I would say 10-12 months total.
3) Free flow, baby! Lol... I just can't write notes... because they always turn out to be wrong... I have a basic idea...I have notes scribbled on loose leaf...but I often don't even look at those again... it's more to get it in my head... I preferably enjoy writing and seeing where it goes each day
4) The Shining, Elfstones of Shannara (one of the first adult novels I read), Phantoms by Dean Koontz..... The Association, Bentley Little, and The Travelling Vampire Show, Richard Laymon (those last two were a couple of my favorites growing up, though I've read them again recently and don't know if I'd say they are my favorite anymore, but they get on the list for influencing me to like writing!)
Thanks for the questions! I'll answer them in line.
1) Depends on the novel, but I tend to research as I go... So for example with Suicide Forest, I new about the forest before hand, and just got a couple chapters down without researching anything, and when the characters got to the forest, I started researching it...but it was a day to day thing... (what do the trees look like there, whats the weather like etc...)
2) Most novels take about 8 months to get a decent draft. I don't write one draft, then rewrite it...I sort of rewrite as I go...so by month 8 I usually have something pretty close to the finished thing, but then I will spend a couple more months fixing everything up....so I guess I would say 10-12 months total.
3) Free flow, baby! Lol... I just can't write notes... because they always turn out to be wrong... I have a basic idea...I have notes scribbled on loose leaf...but I often don't even look at those again... it's more to get it in my head... I preferably enjoy writing and seeing where it goes each day
4) The Shining, Elfstones of Shannara (one of the first adult novels I read), Phantoms by Dean Koontz..... The Association, Bentley Little, and The Travelling Vampire Show, Richard Laymon (those last two were a couple of my favorites growing up, though I've read them again recently and don't know if I'd say they are my favorite anymore, but they get on the list for influencing me to like writing!)
Jeremy Bates
Hi Linda!
So sorry about the delay responding. I'm on Goodreads now and then but don't know the ins and outs and don't always see all the stuff I should be replying to!
Anyway, to answer your questions, I've been to the States a number of times. My parents, from Canada, do the snowbird thing and go to Arizona every winter, and I often visit them there.
So I've been there and a number of other states--but, no, not Colorado! I'd love to go, especially given I love snowboarding.
Part of the reason I set some stories in the States, even though I'm not American, and I might not have been to them, is because by far and large the biggest audience is American! And the truth is, Americans would rather read about a story set in Colorado, then, say, British Columbia.
But I do have a bucket list, and that's to visit some of the places I've written about and haven't seen--so I'm hoping to get to Black Canyon sometime!!
So sorry about the delay responding. I'm on Goodreads now and then but don't know the ins and outs and don't always see all the stuff I should be replying to!
Anyway, to answer your questions, I've been to the States a number of times. My parents, from Canada, do the snowbird thing and go to Arizona every winter, and I often visit them there.
So I've been there and a number of other states--but, no, not Colorado! I'd love to go, especially given I love snowboarding.
Part of the reason I set some stories in the States, even though I'm not American, and I might not have been to them, is because by far and large the biggest audience is American! And the truth is, Americans would rather read about a story set in Colorado, then, say, British Columbia.
But I do have a bucket list, and that's to visit some of the places I've written about and haven't seen--so I'm hoping to get to Black Canyon sometime!!
Jeremy Bates
Hey Lozzi!
I've been thinking about the next one but haven't decided on the location yet :((
I'll do a blog post or something when I finalize the location.
If you do a Youtube search of "World's Scariest Places" a number of good locations come up, which makes it so difficult!
Cheers
Jeremy
I've been thinking about the next one but haven't decided on the location yet :((
I'll do a blog post or something when I finalize the location.
If you do a Youtube search of "World's Scariest Places" a number of good locations come up, which makes it so difficult!
Cheers
Jeremy
Jeremy Bates
Hey Kimberly!
Thanks for the kind words - and yeah the website has been a work in progress but I'm happy with it for now!
Hardest book to write... Good question. Probably The Taste of Fear. The reason...I wasn't sure what genre etc I was writing back then.
The World's Scariest Places books came much easier because I knew the genre, horror, and what I liked writing about.
With Taste of Fear (one of my firsts), I was still writing and trying to find my voice, genre, the whole thing....which made it tough because of all the second guessing.
I think any author you ask, they'll probably tell you the same thing, and point to one of their first books. Once you know what you're doing...or at least what you want to do...the entire process becomes a lot less work and a whole lot easier.
Thanks for the kind words - and yeah the website has been a work in progress but I'm happy with it for now!
Hardest book to write... Good question. Probably The Taste of Fear. The reason...I wasn't sure what genre etc I was writing back then.
The World's Scariest Places books came much easier because I knew the genre, horror, and what I liked writing about.
With Taste of Fear (one of my firsts), I was still writing and trying to find my voice, genre, the whole thing....which made it tough because of all the second guessing.
I think any author you ask, they'll probably tell you the same thing, and point to one of their first books. Once you know what you're doing...or at least what you want to do...the entire process becomes a lot less work and a whole lot easier.
Jeremy Bates
Hey Kris,
Thanks for the question!
This is a tough one. There are so many urban legends out there and I haven't really thought about it. But I like the one legend about the babysitter falling asleep on the sofa and feeling the dog lick her hand, which was hanging off the sofa. But when she wakes up and goes to the bathroom, she finds the dog hanging in the shower, dead--leaving the question...who was licking her hand???
Anyway, I'm not sure what twists I could throw in this, I'd have to think about it... I guess you could either go supernatural or not.... what would you suggest?
Thanks for the question!
This is a tough one. There are so many urban legends out there and I haven't really thought about it. But I like the one legend about the babysitter falling asleep on the sofa and feeling the dog lick her hand, which was hanging off the sofa. But when she wakes up and goes to the bathroom, she finds the dog hanging in the shower, dead--leaving the question...who was licking her hand???
Anyway, I'm not sure what twists I could throw in this, I'd have to think about it... I guess you could either go supernatural or not.... what would you suggest?
Jeremy Bates
Big operation transferring it all. Crazy Amazon owned two sort of similar companies in the first place! Hope all your books arrive safely, Jan!
Jeremy Bates
Hi Kathy,
Great to hear from you. I didn't even realize I was at a limit. I'll go through my list and see if there hasn't been any one active for a couple year. Then I'll send you a friend invite.
Cheers!
Jeremy
Great to hear from you. I didn't even realize I was at a limit. I'll go through my list and see if there hasn't been any one active for a couple year. Then I'll send you a friend invite.
Cheers!
Jeremy
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