Woodrow Landfair had never ridden a motorcycle. He had never written a book. He had no experience in public speaking.
After earning a degree in Creative Writing in the spring of 2006, Landfair pawned all he had and dedicated himself to traveling the 48 states while writing his first novel.
To lighten expenses, Landfair sold his car, purchasing a 1995 Suzuki Intruder motorcycle to undertake the odyssey.
To promote himself he performed his short-stories at venues nationwide.
To support himself --and to gather material--Landfair did manual labor and odd jobs. He worked as a room service bell hop, a door-to-door salesman, a babysitter, a bartender, a waiter, and a food-runner. He's built a fence in Florida, a barn in Vermont, been a bouncer in New York City, changed oil in Virginia, and lifeguarded in Washington, D.C.
Landfair has lived in homeless shelters in New York City. He has lived in the Katrina ravaged Lower 9th Ward of New Orleans. He's slept and dined in the mansions of millionaires, in trailer parks, in truck stops, and in roadside fields.
His journey through the 48 states is a curriculum in self-education. Landfair learns as a writer, as an artist, as an American, and as a human.
Born in Richmond, Virginia, Stanley Woodrow Landfair, nicknamed Pack, grew up traveling between his mother in Washington, D.C. and his father in California.
He attended the University of Texas as a Midshipman on a US Navy ROTC Scholarship.
An NCAA National Champion as part of the University of Texas baseball team (2005), Landfair was twice named their Teammate of the Year (2004, 2005). He graduated in 2006 with a Bachelor of Arts in Creative Writing.
Landfair's intention was to be a U.S. Navy SEAL before setting out to become a writer. When a back injury ended his former aspiration, Landfair began work on the latter.
As for life plans, Landfair quotes Louis L'Amour: "My intention was to be a writer. I would make no effort to acquire a trade."
