Waleed Hawatky,

Author of Setting of the Bleeding Sun

 

Please introduce yourself and tell us a little bit about your background.

My name is Waleed Hawatky. I was born and raised in Sacramento, CA with most of my childhood spent between there and the bay area. I’m 24 years old and recently graduated from UC Davis after completing my B.S. in Genetics. I moved to beautiful San Diego, penniless, jobless and with the ambition that made the American Dream what it is. I am a scientist by day and an artist by night. I’m currently working on piecing together my teaching credentials in order to teach high school biology.

 

What inspired you to start writing?

 Though I have many, one of my earliest and strongest passions is writing. I picked it up shortly after I learned to write - it came naturally to me only because talking excessively came naturally to me. I also possessed the tendency since a very young age to exaggerate beyond reason and it only yielded itself to a) a vivid imagination and b) an insatiable desire to communicate it somehow.

 

Who is one of your favorite authors?

 Terry Goodkind. He manages to bring something very fresh to a genre that is, to an extent, predictable by writing simply and without much fluff letting the story essentially speak for itself. To the point and moving.

 

What are some of your favorite books?

The Unbearable Lightness of Being, Ulysses, Jane Eyre, The Black Stallion, A Wrinkle in Time, The Sword of Truth Series, Steppenwolf, For Whom the Bell Tolls, many more

 

 Give us a one sentence description of your winning story.

The story is a seemingly static story of a man and his unorthodox profession; but also a broader metaphor for the matter of existence, relevance to action and accountability.

 

Besides writing, what are some of your hobbies or interests?

 Well, I’m a musician and have been writing and recording my music for over a decade. I sing, play the guitar, bass, drums and violin. I also paint and sketch in several mediums.  I love the outdoors; I backpack, rock climb, and fish. I grew up playing soccer, baseball and basketball and remain passionate about all of them.

 

Are you a gamer? Any favorite games?

HAHA. The million dollar question, no doubt. I have not had the passion for games as I did when I was younger but the aftershocks are hardly unrecognizable. In fact, most of my musical recognition comes from the videogame music scene (and how I’m quite familiar with Jason’s work) and particularly the remix/arrangement community where I am popularly known as zyko. The manifestation of the gamer in me remains vivid in my love for Zelda, Mega Man 2, Mario 3 and others of similar ilk.

 

What is your favorite type of music?

That’s an extremely difficult question to answer. I have been known to be quite volatile in this regard; so anything that falls between A and Z is likely to be on my playlist.

 

How long have you been writing?

Since the day I figured it out.

 

What kind of stories do you most enjoy writing?

The kind that describes a seemingly normal, everyday event in a context that isn’t. It may have a lot to do with the fact that I see the world through a pair of eyes that automatically exaggerates anything the second it is observed, anyways… so that an ordinary recollection of dancing with a kitten in a parking lot can end up being a tour de force in passion, flirtation and love.

 

When you sit down to write a story, do you know where you are going or  do you “see where the pen takes you”?

I describe things that have already, sort of, happened. The trick, I think, to writing something that hasn’t really happened is to see how it may very well have and describing it in that regard – I honestly believe (with all arts) that we accumulate information, both conscious and subconscious, over the years that we store away and tap into, consciously and subconsciously, when creating. So usually the source material is already there, all logged away somewhere inside my head as “an already happened” sort of plot… even if it never has.

 

What has been your biggest learning tool or experience as far as  writing is concerned?

 Reading.

 

Is there anything else you would like to add? (something interesting  about yourself or an interesting experience you’ve had)

I spent most of my childhood in a world I dubbed Waldonia characterized mostly by a world war that was rooted in a bitter sibling rivalry between me and my little sister. Her kingdom and mine waged war for nearly 14 years until I went to college. Our backyard was a lush and diverse series of settings… ranging from a canopy of grape vines to pine trees to tall
leaning cypress trees, a beautiful and thick fig tree and a swampy side yard. Running through bushes and hiding in trees, I lived in a sanctuary within my mind but with the tangibility of my yard… before joining the cold and calculated world of the grownups, laced with the spice of zealotry, lack of compassion and the unfortunate behest towards the imagination. I’m also currently making a movie based on this world that I am also scoring.