HarryWhitewolf is the author of Route Number 11: Argentina, Angels & Alcohol. He is thirty eight years old and lives in England. He hopes to see world peace in his lifetime, and, yes, he believes miracles are possible.
About your education
I was trained by a pack of blood thirsty, bearded dwarves... no, hold on. Wrong story. I was one of those creative kids who didn't really have a clue what he wanted out of life (when the answer was I wanted lots of different things), but I was a pretty good artist, so I strung that out for a few years, getting a BA (Hons) in Painting in 2000.
What career did you plan during your education days?
Yeah, see, I've never been too big on plans for career. I was always 'happy' to do any old job under the sun, whilst working at my art on the side, doing exhibitions, workshops and the like, but actually I was never really committed to my art. I believe in going where our hearts lead us at any particular time. I don't like life to stay too still. I wanted to travel. Do different things. Help out. And over the years, my creativity in visual art waned. Alongside all of it though, I have always written. I used to perform at and M.C poetry events and I've written a few different things over the years, but it's only in the last year that I've started taking my writing seriously, realising that this is where my true creative passion lies. I feel like I've got a thousand books waiting to burst out of my head sometimes.
What is your biggest source of inspiration in life?
Music. Books. Friends. Laughter. Truth searching.
What hurts you most in this world?
Injustice, poverty, hunger and conflict in the world.
If you had to live a day of your life as one of the living or dead personality, who would it be and why?
I'd be Buddha so I could gain great secrets. Well, either that or I'd be Keith Richards...
What is your favorite genre and why?
I don't really have a favorite genre, but I'm certainly a fan of beat literature, which shows in my writing. I'm not extensively well read, but I sure love Kerouac, Ginsberg and Burroughs. For me, my favorite books are: well written in a unique voice, pushing boundaries, sweeping you along, and making you laugh and/or making you think. So favorite fiction would include The Dice Man, Desolation Angels, The Famished Road, Jpod, Vurt, Gulliver's Travels, Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell, Paradise Lost, The Secret History, 1984, Trainspotting...
Which of your work has been published so far? Would you like to share a synopsis of your work?
I have one book already published- Route Number 11: Argentina, Angels & Alcohol. Here's the blurb:
All alone in Argentina, with only a guardian angel, a broken heart and an abundance of beer for company. The nameless tourist travels through a blur of smoky bars, sexy señoritas, lucky escapes and magnificent mountains, guided by signs and the mysterious 11:11 Phenomenon. His destination? 21/12/12: the beginning of The New Age. This true story is told in a tangle of twisted time lines. Snippets and snapshots with bustling city and small town backdrops. A story for travellers, truth seekers, free thinkers, and any man that's been lost after losing his love. It could have been called 'Drink, Pray, Lust'! A Mind Body Spirit book with sex, drugs and reggaeton...
What are your forthcoming writings?
I'm just putting the finishing touches together for the new book- The Road To Purification: Hustlers, Hassles & Hash, set in Egypt. It's a sort of sister book to Route 11, but more straightforward, darker, insightful and funny!
Here's the blurb for the new book- coming soon!
When Mad Harry spontaneously books a flight for Egypt, he doesn't know that he's about to embark on a fate given pilgrimage. In fact, he's not even sure why he's going, or what he's going to do when he gets there. All he knows is he's got to get away. Guided by signs in numbers, names and otherworldly encounters, Mad Harry's trip often seems to be a magical manifestation of his mind. A crazy headed, hassle driven, sleep deprived, dope smoking journey with non-stop tests of trust and temptation. A holiday this is not. This good humoured true story is told in a frank, rhythmic and playful voice. Set in 2010, shortly before the revolution, it's a backpacking odyssey through tremendous temples, towering pyramids, chaotic cities, small villages and dirty beaches, with a backdrop of ancient spiritual gnosis! A post-modern, pot smoking Egyptian pilgrimage.
What genres you write in and why?
My works defy classification really, which isn't exactly helpful when trying to find a target audience! The style itself is all of my own, and written unconventionally, but there are certainly subconscious beat roots of Ginsberg, Kerouac and Hunter S Thompson. The race and pace and prose of my work lies in that drunken beatnik kicks dark corner of literature, but at the same time my writing will appeal to readers of spiritual fiction writers like Paulo Coelho and Richard Bach. On top of that, Route Number 11 and the new book are my own true stories- though they read somewhat like fiction-
of inner and outer journeys, so fans of travel books and memoirs should equally enjoy them. I mean: what category is On The Road pigeon holed into? Travel?
How do you plan, schedule and monitor your writing commitments?
I don't. My writing tends to force itself out of me when it's good and ready to come out. A lot of my words stay in my head until I grab hold of that first needed paragraph, and then away I go, rolling along with free flowing prose, which is then laboriously and highly edited. So everything else has to fit around that. As long as I've got enough coffee, tobacco, bread and cheese, I'll easily write through blurry dawns of today's tomorrows.
What are your future plans?
Ah, so many plans! So many books to write. So many thoughts to convey. So much peace to make happen.
What is generally your preference in reading – a paper book or ebook? And why?
Most definitely a paper book. It's what I know. It's what I love. The feel. The smell. The satisfying flick through the pages. An actual book somehow seems more valuable, more worthwhile, more worth owning. I'll never have Kindle, though I can see its benefits and why people like them. Me? I don't like staring at screens for too long. We're forgetting to look at horizons around us. And although I can see advantages for readers in being able to buy e-books cheaply, it's really not good for the print book market, as they'll become too unaffordable, and I think we need to most definitely keep both print and e-books alive. I mean, what happens if someone just pulls the great plug one day? It would be the modern equivalent of burning the Alexandrian Library if all data was deleted!
Your dream destination on Earth?
Well, you never know what a place is gonna be like until you're there, so I don't really have dream destinations any more, though there are still plenty of places I have yet to see. I'm lucky enough to have already ticked off Giza pyramids, Abydos, Karnak, Iguazu Falls, Tiahuanaco, Machu Picchu and the Nazca Lines- so I guess that shows where my interests lie in 'sightseeing'. But I guess my favorite place is the rural Peruvian village I lived in for a few months, for it brought me peace, joy and balance. That's what a dream destination's about for me! That is, as long as I've got some good friends, laughter, enjoyable work, good food, cheap beer and something to smoke along the way, you understand.
Your favorite time of the day?
As much as I love the feeling of hot sun renewing me with joy and inspiration, we don't get much in England! And I'm an insomniac anyway. So being up at night time's definitely best, where the stillness of night and the comfort of darkness can abet a creative and philosophical mind.
Your zodiac/ sunsign?
I'm a Pisces, so I'm hopefully pretty amiable, but I do let my emotions get the better of me!
What is the last book you finished reading? What is the current book you are reading?
I just (and embarrassedly not until now) read The Great Gatsby, and I absolutely loved it. As I said in my Goodreads review, it felt as crisp as anything that's been written since. It felt like the prose version of Citizen Kane. I'm currently reading Scorpio Moons, short stories by the incredibly talented author Helen Noble. And also Hunter S Thompson's Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail '72, which, so far seems to me that it's how all political journalism should be written- from a true hearted, opinionated and right on voice.
What is the force that drives you?
The quest for great truths and a better world.
Some quickies: Sun or Moon, Laughter or Smile, Morning or Evening, Coffee or Tea, Mountain or Sea, Long Drive or Short Drive, Silence or Conversation, Water or Fire, Air or Earth, Mars or Jupiter, Tulip or Rose, Red or Blue, Left or Right, Glance or Stare, Fame or Money, Boy or Girl, Day or Night, Tree or Plant, Love or Passion
Sun. Laughter. Evening. Coffee. Sea. Long drive. Silence. Fire. Earth. Jupiter. Rose. Red. Left. Glance. Not fame nor money but personal success. Neither. Night. Tree. Love.
What three words come to your mind for each – Technology, Life, God, Humanity, Terrorism, Racism, Childhood Abuse, Love,
Parenting, Old age
Technology: 21st century shopping.
Life: Good. Bad. Illusion.
God: Misunderstood. Us. Love.
Humanity: Creates and destroys.
Terrorism: Misunderstood. Orwell Newspeak.
Racism: Humanity's one race.
Childhood Abuse: Disturbing. Often organised.
Love: All you need.
Parenting: Friends' kids, fine.
Old Age: Comes too soon.
First thing you do in the morning after waking up?
Try to go back to sleep.
If one fine morning you wake up and find your sex changed to opposite, what will be your first reaction?
“I don't remember putting a coin into a fairground Zoltar machine.”
State your signature line/ tagline/ best quote
I'll go with this short one that illustrates and summarises my writing style! “Blown by the good wind to bustling Buenos Aires. Passionate. Historic. Exotic. Eva Peronic. Maradonic. Dancing football and tango.”
The last line of your autobiography would be...
“Don't you know I'm nothing more than a Chess piece, just like you?”
The title of your autobiography would be...
Who's Afraid of Harry Whitewolf?