I came across Andy Carrington’s work here at GoodReads. I had interviewed Harry Whitewolf and he liked and shared the post. After that we became acquaintances. Andy’s bio and his books got me all curious. I have always been a non-conformist, so the ideas behind his book titles and covers were something I assimilated with. I think we live in a world where the systems have failed and Andy, like Mr. Wolf and R. Dreyfus are some of the few who are representing this indignation through works of written art.

I haven’t yet read Andy’s books - yet, but have added them to my to-read list. However, some good friends of mine at GR, have read and left excellent reviews of his material. Without further ado, you can read here an interview we did these past days.

1- When did you start identifying yourself with the punk lifestyle and ideas?
Quite late. I grew up on Public Enemy / Wu-Tang and pretty much lived off Hip-Hop’s Golden Era (late ‘80s-early ‘90s) through all of my teens. I didn’t really start listening to The Clash / Upstarts till the early ‘00s. There wasn't really any music scene around our end and we relied mostly on mixtapes / CDs and word-of-mouth. It wasn’t till after moving to Bradford I started knocking about down the 1 in 12 Club, getting out to gigs and becoming more involved in the movement. The writing pretty much coincided with that.

I just love Punk’s angst. It’s urgency. It can be whatever the fuck it wants and it doesn’t care whether you like it or not. Some of my closest mates help out voluntarily, work the bars, play in bands, run local charity events; and it’s this self-sufficiency and collectiveness that I respect most / identify with.

2- When did you start writing your books?
2008 / 2009.

3- We can see you use the written art as form of protest. How easy/difficult is it to bring your message to the people compared to other forms of art, such as visual, music or performance?
Not easy.
If I could sing or dance, I wouldn’t be doing this.

4- Do you do/have done live reading? How was/is the experience for you? What can people expect from you on such events?
First reading was on a Halifax radio Punk show; then @ the 1 in 12 in Bradford for an anti-fascist all-dayer. I’ve done a few. The one in Dublin warming up for Hooligan / Upstarts was probably the best.
Sometimes they cheer, sometimes they heckle, sometimes they sit in stone silence. It all depends.

What can people expect? Aggressive outbursts, mumbling fuck-ups and nothing going to plan.

5- How’s your writing process? Do you have any rituals?
I find smoking weed and listening to Public Enemy alleviates stress. Then the writing just happens when it happens…

6- What keeps you inspired?
See above.

7- What are your biggest challenges as a niche indie author?
Being heard. Also jumping from shitty job to shitty job, just trying to eat / pay the rent and get by on a week-to-week basis is a challenge in itself.

8- Do you have any favourite books or authors?
Harrison / Bukowski / Orwell / Larkin / the Fantes / Ian McMillan / M.J. Black / Larkin / Whitewolf / Dreyfus / Andy T / Laura Taylor.

I take more from music than I do reading, to be honest.

9- Which is your best book, according to yourself and why?
Apathy Will Kill Us All, probably. I dunno.

10- What can new readers expect from your books, in general?
Bad language / scepticism / direct insults / lefty bias.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

SPOTLIGHT
Here you see a couple of Andy's books - and their cool covers!
Click on them to visit the book's page here at GoodReads.






~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

Where to find Andy’s work:

Website: www.andycarrington.co.uk
Amazon UK | GoodReads