 Bill Moody was born in Webb City, Missouri and grew up in Santa Monica, California. A professional jazz drummer, Bill has played and/or recorded with Jr. Mance, Maynard Ferguson, Jon Hendricks, Annie Ross, and Lou Rawls. He lived in Las Vegas for many years as a musician on the Las Vegas Strip, hosted a weekly radio show at KUNV-FM, and taught in the UNLV English Department. He now lives in northern California, where he teaches creative writing at Sonoma State University, and continues to be active in the Bay Area jazz scene with the Terry Henry Trio and Dick Conte's trio and quartet. He is the author of five Evan Horne novels: Looking for Chet Baker, Bird Lives!, Sound of the Trumpet, Death of a Tenor Man, and Solo Hand.
"The connection between playing jazz and writing crime fiction is a strong one for me. A jazz musician begins with the framework or the song — the chords, the structure, the form — but during a solo, he doesn't know what he's going to play or how until he reaches that part of the song. Writing crime fiction for me is a similar process. Working from the basic structure of the crime novel, I then improvise on a premise or motif, if you will, and I'm a fervent advocate of the 'what if' game during the writing process."
-Bill Moody (http://billmoodyjazz.com/) |
B.O.C.
WHAT INFLUENCED YOU TO START WRITING, AND WHAT WRITERS,
ESPECIALLY IN THE MYSTERY/CRIME GENRE WERE A MAJOR INFLUENCE?
BILL
I started writing in high school--a column for the school
paper, but never did anything serious until I wrote some articles for magazines
like Downbeat and Jazz Times. In the mystery genre, I always like Elmore
Leonard, John Sanford, and Laura Lippman.
B.O.C.
YOU’RE ALSO A TALENTED JAZZ DRUMMER. WHO AMONG THE GREATS CAN YOU LIST THAT ARE
YOUR FAVORITES?
BILL
Drummers: Shelly Manne, Max Roach, Art Blakey, Philly Joe
Jones, and Roy Haynes.
B.O.C.
IF YOU HAD THE POWER, WHAT DEAD CELEBRITY WOULD YOU BRING
BACK TO LIFE AND WHAT USE WOULD YOU HAVE FOR THEM?
BILL
Dead Celebrity: Maybe Chet Baker or Miles Davis. I’d love to
talk to both of them, get their take on jazz.
B. O.C.
WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE NEW WRITERS?
BILL
For new writers I would say persistence is a very important
quality. Never give up and write for yourself, not what you think other people
want.
B.O.C.
YOU KNOW, READING A LITTLE ABOUT YOU, IT SEEMS LIKE A GREAT
IDEA TO COMBINE THE LOVE OF JAZZ AND THE LOVE OF CRIME STORIES. AS A TEENAGER, WERE YOU IN YOUR ROOM READING
THE LATEST ED MCBAIN NOVEL AND BLASTING COLETRANE AND MILES DAVIS? ALSO, DO YOU
THINK WHERE YOU GREW UP HAD A BIG INFLUENCE ON YOUR WRITING?
BILL
My mother was a very good pianist, so there was always music
in our house. I was exposed to jazz at a very early age. I grew up in Santa
Monica, CA but I don’t think that had anything especially to do with
influencing my writing.
B.O.C.
WHAT I REALLY LOVED ABOUT YOUR STORY, FILE UNDER JAZZ, THE
MAIN CHARACTER IS NOT JUST A DIME A DOZEN DETECTIVE. HE JUST DOESN’T LOOK FOR
MYSTERIES BECAUSE IT’S A JOB OR HE’S NOSY. IT’S ACTUALLY A COMPULSION. WHAT WAS
THE INSPIRATION BEHIND THAT STORY AND YOUR CHARACTER EVAN HORNE?
BILL
Compulsion is a good word. I share that quality with Evan
Horne. He’s compelled and obsessed with not only playing but also finding the
answers, the truth to things, particularly when they have to do with jazz
musicians.
B.O.C.
TELL EVERYONE ABOUT YOUR NEW PROJECT OR BOOK.
BILL
My newest book is a spy thriller, The Man in Red Square, I
wrote long before the Evan Horne series. It just took a long time to find a
publisher. At present I’m working on a new Evan Horne book with the working
title San Quentin Blue. Evan plays a concert at the prison and comes across a
famous jazz drummer and of course, becomes interested in why.
B.O.C.
HOW HAS THE INTERNET AFFECTED YOU PERSONALLY ON HOW YOU GET
YOUR WORK OUT TO THE PUBLIC?
BILL
I don’t think the internet has affected me a great deal
other than it makes some research easier. Of course publishers routinely use it
for publicity for new books.
B.O.C.
HAVE YOU EVER HAD AN EDITOR SEND BACK A STORY AND SAY I
DON’T GET IT, OR COULD YOU CHANGE THIS—OR ADD THIS—AND IT NOT HAVE ANYTHING TO
DO WITH WHAT YOU WERE TRYING TO ACCOMPLISH STORY-WISE?
BILL
Every writer knows about rejection, and I’ve had my share.
You just have to hope you have an editor/agent who understands your work and
purpose. Sometimes they don’t. In my case, I was very fortunate to have a big
jazz fan as editor for my first five books.
B.O.C.
OKAY BILL, I GOT THIS CRAZY MESSAGE THROUGH THE TOASTER
YESTERDAY AND THE MESSAGE READ: ASKY BILL MOODY WHAT HIS FAVORITE JERRY LEWIS FILM IS.
BILL
Jerry Lewis? I was never a big fan but I did like the film
he did with Robert DeNiro, KING OF COMEDY. DeNiro wanted to be a standup comic,
so he kidnapped Jerry Lewis who played a talk show host.
Author of CZECHMATE: THE SPY WHO PLAYED JAZZ
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