Ask the Author: Steven J. Clark
Answered Questions (11)
Steven J. Clark
Grotesque fingers tore away the last of Alenna's defiantly erected barrier and cast the heavy board aside like a child might throw away a broken toy. Now none could save her from the devouring, murderous rage of the man/creature she once revered as not just her life-long friend, but her ardent lover.
Steven J. Clark
I'm currently researching romance novels with a view toward a foray into this genre. So far I've read a couple of Linda Lale Miller books and one other whose author I can't recall. They all seem quite formulaic so far and would force me to become much more touchy-feely in my writing. But it could be fun. What do you think?
Steven J. Clark
What has happened to many of my friends after years of not hearing from them. Have aliens carried them all off to a distant planet? I'd love to hear the stories.
Steven J. Clark
I wish I could say that I carefully plan every little detail, but that would not be the case. I start from a plot point and let the story carry itself, always keeping in mind the view of what the reader would see. Suspense usually involves letting the reader see a something that the protagonist doesn't that is a danger to him(her). For instance, in Wages of Greed, the car chase was very suspenseful because the readers knew what Blackthorn was up to, while Danny had to figure it out. The readers knew that Danny was in great danger while Danny didn't realize how much until he saw the fire. Suspense for the reader lies in them knowing the danger, but having no assurance that the beloved protagonist is going to overcome it.
Steven J. Clark
It's out. (Amazon) It's called Fountains of Fire, and is a story of eco-terrorism run amuck which threatens the entire country. The lead character in this sequel to Wages of Greed is Chaco. The ending is over-the-top exciting as the eco-terrorists attack one of America's most iconic pieces of national infrastructure.
Steven J. Clark
I don't sit around and wait for inspiration, I just sit down and start writing. It doesn't matter about what. I once sat down to work on "Pretty Dresses", got distracted and wrote a fun short story about a man who went into his backyard and discovered that his beloved Globe Willow Tree had been struck by lightning and the trunk had split into three parts. When he looked down into the roots he saw a round, freshly painted door at the bottom of the hole. For the rest, you'll have to visit my website at www.stevenjclark.com and click on 'Other Writings'.
Steven J. Clark
I get away from what I'm doing, maybe write something else completely non-related, go feed the dog or til the yard or mow the grass and come back to the project with a fresh set of eyes. If that doesn't work, I'll put it away for maybe a week or more. If when I come back after that I find I still have the same problem, it tells me that there's something wrong with the story that I must go back and fix so the creative waters can flow again.
Steven J. Clark
That's easy. It's like living in the ultimate fantasy-land. You get to create your own worlds, conjure up your own heroes and villains, and tailor your own endings. While writing appears to be a solitary enterprise to outside observers, to the author, there's a myriad of characters, places and situations going on inside your head. My job is to catch them and hold them just long enough to make them come alive on a printed page.
Steven J. Clark
Start writing! I meet so many people who tell me they want to write a book but have never begun writing. No book ever got written until someone's butt hit a chair and their fingers (or pencil) started to move. If you never make that butt/chair interface, all you have is an idea. And ideas are worthless until you begin to make them a reality. The next most important thing is to finish it. A half-written book benefits no one except the author in who's head the idea still resides. If you want to be an author, start writing. It's the only way I know how to do it.
The other problem people tell me about is that they "don't know how to write" or don't know how to write well enough. The solution is the same. Start Writing! Good writing is best and easiest learned by writing. Take a creative writing class at a local college. Join a writers' support group. Let friends and acquaintances critique your work until it feels right to them. It doesn't matter if your work sucks at first, All of us put out crap until we practiced and learned how to produce commercially viable work. But none of that can happen until you get your butt into that chair and start writing.
The other problem people tell me about is that they "don't know how to write" or don't know how to write well enough. The solution is the same. Start Writing! Good writing is best and easiest learned by writing. Take a creative writing class at a local college. Join a writers' support group. Let friends and acquaintances critique your work until it feels right to them. It doesn't matter if your work sucks at first, All of us put out crap until we practiced and learned how to produce commercially viable work. But none of that can happen until you get your butt into that chair and start writing.
Steven J. Clark
I'm currently working on a novel entitled Down From The Mountain. It is a sequel to All The Pretty Dresses. Cass and Sam stumble across a terrorist cell operating in Nicholas County at the same time Cass is trying desperately to save a young protege from an abusive home environment. Sam finally allows a man to get close after her terrible kidnapping at the hands of her ex-husband, and suddenly finds herself strapped with family responsibilities.
Steven J. Clark
I attended a writers conference in Blanding, UT. While there, I learned that the government was in the process of closing down the only remaining Uranium processing plant in the U.S. five miles south of the town They were also cleaning up the site, which set me wondering, what if the wrong people were in charge of cleaning the place up, and what mischief could they get up to. Then I started to place my characters from Wages of Greed into the situation. From there, it was all downhill. One thing I wanted to do in this book was give Chaco a relationship conflict with Kathy, and boy-howdy, did he ever get more than he bargained for.
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