Harker Jones, a successful writer and editor, began writing at age 13 and has worked in editing for more than 30 years. Recently, he reflected on his creative journey, his deep connection to the Ann Arbor area and what’s next on his horizon.
“We’re in pre-production on a comedy short I wrote called ‘Mindy & Martin’s Melee,’” Jones said. “It won Best Short Script at a film fest, and it gets such an overwhelmingly positive response when anyone reads it, I figured it was time. Just do it. So a friend is helping produce and another is directing, and as soon as we raise the money, we’ll roll the cameras — ideally this summer.”
Jones is also juggling several other projects.
“I’ve been promoting my thriller ‘Never Have I Ever’ as well, and I’m just finalizing the design of my first children’s book, ‘The Bird Who Was Afraid to Fly,’” Jones said. “I hope to have that out to the world within a week or two, so mid-May. My psychological thriller script ‘The Alexandrite Ring’ is being sent out to talent by a producer…People really love that project, too, so I’m hoping it will be a game changer.”
He said one of his most rewarding accomplishments to date is his debut love story.
“I am happily surprised by how warmly my love story ‘Until September’ was received,” Jones said. “It’s not a romance and people seem to think love story means meet-cute and happily ever after. But I guess I marketed it the right way, because most people have really embraced it. It’s won some awards and placed in some contests and sold nearly 6,000 copies, so to me, that is probably the biggest success so far.”
His second novel, like many of his works, carries strong Michigan roots.
“My second novel, a teen thriller called ‘Never Have I Ever,’ has also been received well and has placed in some contests, and it just came out last August, just in time for the Halloween season,” Jones said. “It actually takes place in Manchester! Actually, almost all of my projects are set in Michigan, mostly in Ann Arbor!”
Beyond books, Jones has contributed to screenwriting and film. He continues to shop around a feature-length script and has worked on two award-winning short films accepted into more than 60 film festivals. He also served for seven years as managing editor of Out magazine, once the largest LGBT magazine in the world.
Jones’s ties to Ann Arbor run deep. After graduating from Eastern Michigan University, he lived in Ann Arbor, having grown up in Pleasant Lake — roughly halfway between Ann Arbor and Manchester. He fondly recalls time spent at Briarwood Mall and the University of Michigan campus.
“I worked for a few of my college years at Video Outlet, a video store at Maple and Miller on the west side,” Jones said. “Some of the best times with the best friends were had there…A friend and I used to go up on Sunset near Hunt Park and steal lilacs down the street in the spring. I also went to the Nectarine on both retro night and gay night with friends. Some crazy memories there, romance and heartbreak and friendship. And, of course, autumn in Ann Arbor is a thrilling experience every time.”
For Jones, Ann Arbor is more than just a place — it helped shape him.
“I remember Ann Arbor being the perfect hometown,” Jones said. “I consider both it and Manchester my hometowns. And growing up in such a small town, then moving to a college town were the perfect steps to prepare me for the larger world. I learned so much about life, about how to be an adult — if anyone ever really figures that out. Had my heart broken repeatedly. And learned how to heal in Ann Arbor.”
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He still visits favorite haunts whenever he is back in town.
“Every time I come back, I make a point of hitting Briarwood, which, sadly, is a shadow of its former glory, going to campus and hitting State Street and East University, Pinball Pete’s and the Brown Jug,” Jones said. “I go up to Hunt Park and look over the city. I go by the place where Video Outlet used to live and feel sad and nostalgic, too. And I drive around. Just driving through Ann Arbor makes me happy.”
Looking ahead, Jones has dream projects in mind.
“Aside from writing my own projects, I would love to be assigned to write screenplays for the ‘Flowers in the Attic’ series by V.C. Andrews,” Jones said. “I think there is a way to turn that flowery prose into something solid, and none of the filmed versions have nailed it yet. It would be fun to bring that gothic horror to the screen.”
Though he’s happily based in Los Angeles, part of him still longs for Michigan.
“I love Ann Arbor and would love to have a house there, up on Sunset where I used to steal lilacs,” Jones said. “I wish I could get there twice a year and just be there for a couple of weeks and soak up all the Ann Arbor–ness. It feels like home, and it does call to me. Nostalgia has a powerful pull. But at this point, I would not move back for good. I love LA too much! Though I do really miss those Midwest autumns.”
Jones invites readers to check out his short films ‘Cole & Colette’ and ‘One-Hit Wonder’ on YouTube and Vimeo, and his novels ‘Until September,’ ‘Never Have I Ever,’ which are available wherever books are sold.
Donna Marie Iadipaolo is a writer, journalist, and State of Michigan certified teacher, since 1990. She has written for national publications like The Village Voice, Ear Magazine of New Music, Insurance & Technology, and TheStreet.
She is now writing locally for many publications, including Current Magazine, Ann Arbor Family, and the Ann Arbor Independent. Her undergraduate degree is from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, where she graduated with an honors bachelor’s degree and three teacher certificate majors: mathematics, social sciences, English. She also earned three graduate degrees in Master of Science, Master of Arts, and Education Specialist Degree.
