Young Novelist Jack Hurrell
(London, UK)

Coffee or tea?

Coffee; all morning, all day. 

Do you sing in the shower?

To my great shame – and the collective chagrin of my neighbours – I boom and belt out whatever I’m feeling like singing – most of the time it’s cheesy love songs – every song ever. 

Boxers or briefs?

Add a hyphen and lose the “s or,” and now we’re talking. Boxer-briefs are the only things I wear.

What’s your favorite body part?

The soul windows. 

Your favorite thing to do on a Sunday morning…

To get up – early every morning – and write my heart out. 

Organized or disorganized closet?

My closet is organised... the way I like it. ;)

How would you describe your personal style?

Ah, style! As the skater-surfers of the sixties and seventies repeatedly said, “style is everything.” My own style shifts and morphs along with my interests, I let inspiration lead me. It’s a game of feel, punctuated by raw, unfettered ownership. Ergo, if you own the look, you feel it - and everyone else feels it too. Right now, I’m into leather jackets and sturdy boots. All things that will last a lifetime.

How would someone get your special attention?

They will get my attention by being awesome, in whichever unique way that awesomeness takes form. I’m very egalitarian. I don’t require people to agree with me to be liked or appreciated, on the contrary; I believe our greatest strengths lie within the spiny nest of our own multiplistic nature. Be they conservative or liberal - this way, or that – I find myself drawn to the “authentic” manifestation of the self, wherever it comes from.

Tell us about what you’re working on at the moment?

I’m writing fiction! Always fiction. Novels, novellas and short stories. The novella of the moment is called The Antagonist. It’s a story about a character who learns - and is horrified to know - that he’s just a fictitious character in a story. He crashes, his life is torn to shreds, and it all sets him on an impossible mission; first to escape; then, to to end it; by killing The Writer himself. It’s really meta, haha, perhaps a little dark, too. But I love it! 

What time of the day are you most inspired?

Amateurs wait for inspiration. I’m a professional. It might seem grandiose to say, but that’s the way you have to be if you want to do anything worthwhile, and do it well. Every day is inspired when every day is met with discipline. 

How has writing and storytelling affected your life?

It gave me a purpose. An aim. A reason to live at all. I always made stuff up as a kid, I was forever telling stories, embellishing my life, even dreaming up the existence of others in the cosmos, for as long as I can remember. Hell, before I realised I was to be a writer I was almost crippled by the weight of the ideas in my head; without an output, without a direction to aim my bow, I was lost. But now I have a target, and that’s the best thing in the world for an archer. 

Do you ever compromise?

 To compromise is to be alive. But one thing I am is determined, and that makes compromise worth doing, where necessary. 

What writers from any era do you get inspired by?

All of them, really. I read constantly. I’m enthralled by King, Hemingway, Pressfield... I love Phillip Pullman, and I practically owe my oblate obsessions to J.K Rowling. I mean seriously, just, wow! The adventures of Harry Potter... I taught myself to read with The Prisoner Of Azkaban. My poor mum was reading too slow for little impatient me, after all. And my fate was sealed ever since. It was either write my own magic, or live in awe of everyone else’s. And I’m too damned nosey to do the latter. 

Do you speak any other languages?

I’m learning German. Other than that, I’ve never shifted the accent I had as a child. North English – just think of the Starks from Game Of Thrones – that is how I speak to my mother and family, back home. I think it freaks people out, hahaha. People flip out when I answer the phone to my mother and switch in an instant from a southern-sounding Londoner to a Mackem miner. 

What item in your wardrobe would you describe as defining?

My leather jacket. Sheepskin; nothing beats it. 

Any favorite new movies?

Without a doubt, it has to be Joker. The effect that movie had on our culture was as illuminating as theatre house-lights. I was left with a sense that, in the words of Dave Chapelle, we were getting a real good look at one another, after that film. To inspire change, art must first manifest some sort of reaction from the individuals consuming it. Joker definitely had that effect, and so, we, having absorbed those knee-jerk reactions, we got the opportunity to catch a glimpse at the true nature behind the assertions of our peers; a hint of the unseen, hitherto unmasked prejudices. Not to get too gushy, but to me, art is starlight - a divine light in the darkness. Where we stand in blindness; it is light, which helps us see, and which takes us home to one another. And in my opinion, that movie was a lighthouse for mental health. 

What would be your super power?

Teleportation. It would work the best in all scenarios... zombie apocalypse included.

How do you handle stress?

Gym. And if I feel like it, a whiskey sour. 

What are your greatest strengths and weaknesses?

I wouldn’t even know where to start, there. Both are so often locked in tandem with one another. It’s hard to say, really. My biggest curse has historically been anxiety. But that anxious searching helped me to find the lifelong love of literature, so young at 17, and fuelled the fear necessary to pursue a career in it, at least to this point, where I’m readying my drafts for proofing. Yeah, anxiety. My strength and my weakness, both; my sword and armour.

Where would you like to visit?

The North Pole – The Aurora Borealis – for an hour before coming home out of the cold, hahaha.

Which fictional character would be the most exciting to meet in real life?

Ripley from Ridley Scott’s Sci-Fi horror classic, Alien. She was badass, beyond. 

What advice would you give to someone who wanted to do what you do?

For the love of god, drink less. 

Are you a perfect man? In your opinion, what does it take to be the Perfect Man?

No. But the pursuit of perfection, of meaning in ones life, heeds similar results, regardless. A wise man once said; “A man’s reach should be just beyond his grasp.” That’s a quote which, in my opinion, sums up what it takes to be the perfect man. Or somewhere damned close to it, at least. 

Cat or Dog?

Both. You can’t make me choose.

A quote that speaks to you?

I’ve given a couple already, but I’ll happily leave you with a third:  “Eventually, the things you own, they end up owning you.”