Author Biography
Jack Wilkens grew up in Sayville, NY, a town on Long Island's South Shore. Summers on Long Island spent at the beach with family and friends became a central piece of his childhood, prompting him to move to Florida for his undergraduate education. Jack studied psychology at Florida Southern College, where he was a member of the Theta Chi fraternity, along with various other organizations. After four years in Lakeland, Florida, he moved to western Virginia to pursue a master's degree in industrial-organizational psychology at Radford University. This led to his passion for organizational development and a job in HR consulting.
He returned back to Florida, and now lives in the Tampa area where he enjoys spending time with his college friends, hosting weekly bar trivia, writing and reading, and unwinding at the beach.
Interests & Values
A love for travel and making new friends has given Jack a holistic appreciation for all different types of people. He is a firm believer that empathy-first perspectives are crucial in building a thriving community.
Creative writing has become a means by which Jack can escape his busy life, use the creative side of his brain, and produce art with a backdrop of contemporary America. Because he values the distinctly human process of creation, he has committed to avoiding the use of generative AI in all creative endeavors. This means that all text and cover art is completely human-made, either by Jack himself or by a professional he personally engaged to support.
Flyover Independent Press, LLC
Flyover Independent Press is my independent publishing company, through which I publish all of my works. But Flyover is not just a legal entity; it’s a mission-based approach to independent publishing. My mission is this:
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Humanity over technology.
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Creativity over marketability.
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Connection over transaction.
When I decided I wanted to write, it was because I wanted to tell a story. I wanted to craft a world, to create characters who live (and sometimes die) beyond the page. I didn’t set out with the goal of profit, or praise, or prestige. As much as I might hope for all of those things, the driving force behind my writing is the same as ever: creating for the sake of creation. I believe that storytelling is an art, and a distinctly human process. It’s an art form that has persisted through generations, spanning the entirety of recorded human history. We’re all storytellers, in one way or another. I believe that is one of the things that truly connects all of humanity.
Not everyone will love every book that I publish through Flyover Independent Press, and that’s by design. I spend a lot of time crafting my stories, and I do hope to deliver a quality product that my readers can enjoy. But this is an outlet for me to share the stories that I’ve created simply because I want them to exist. I’m not writing for the masses. I’m writing for myself, and humbly inviting you to come along for the journey.
For me, the labor of self publishing is about my commitment to storytelling for the love of telling stories. It’s my way of standing in support of human-driven art. It’s a vehicle for me to connect with you, my readers, in a unique and special way. It’s Flyover Independent Press.
Connect with Jack:
TikTok
@jack_wilkens
@jack.wilkens.author
jtwilkens1@gmail.com