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Joe Clark

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Joe Clark’s Demented got him Long-Listed for the Book Viral Millennium Book Award in 2020. His novels, The Walsh’s: the Coming of Eve, Demented, and MacGregor’s Final Battle are Book-of-the-Month selections. He writes Contemporary Drama and Urban Adventure. His “deliciously flawed characters” face moral and ethical dilemmas as they battle through challenging times. April Walsh, a suburban housewife and struggling writer, puts it all on the line in her undercover investigation of sex work. She and friend, PI Nickey Arnold, fight for the prickly, often abrasive, Cindy Foster when her porn past threatens to destroy her. Nurse’s Assistant, Kate Graham crosses lines when she falls in love with an elderly patient in MacGregor’s Final Battle.
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Joe Clark Like all writers of fiction, I draw on my memories as a source of my creations.
Three of my four novels have been set in the Greater DC metropolitan ar…more
Like all writers of fiction, I draw on my memories as a source of my creations.
Three of my four novels have been set in the Greater DC metropolitan area where I have lived for over 40 years.
The Walshes are Catholics - practicing but not deeply committed. April is a struggling writer and her world view most closely mirrors mine (at least in my opinion). Husband Joe is a career engineer like me. He played varsity sports in college - like me. Their daughter Becky was based in part on my daughters.
Jack Edward's physical appearance is based on a cop I had a run in with while a grad student at VPI.
The setting and some of the characters carry-over to Demented,
Physical confrontations in the two books are informed by my decades as a martial artist - Shotokan Karate and Kung Fu
MacGregor's Final Battle is partly biographical Mac is an elderly, retired engineer - many details of his early life and career are borrowed from my life. But my second wife and I are still chugging along and we have a great relationship with out children. Kate Graham was inspired by a friend who is a nurse and Eddie Flores is modeled on my son-in law. The road trip was inspired by my own experiences driving across country.(less)
Joe Clark Thank you, Sara. I have been giving some thought to this question. I cannot pinpoint one book - either as a life guide or as influencing my writing. C…moreThank you, Sara. I have been giving some thought to this question. I cannot pinpoint one book - either as a life guide or as influencing my writing. Certainly no one book influences both writing and living.
As to writing, Stephen King's "On Writing," is a strong influence but it doesn't give specific guidance. "Fast Fiction" by Denise Jaden, the first book I read when I started writing novels, was more helpful. "Revision and Self-editing" by James Scott Bell introduced me to those processes. Finally "Conflict and Suspense" by Bell was my bible while I was writing Demented. Each of those books strongly influences how I approach my writing.
As to life, I believe I am more influenced by people real and fictional. Bret Maverick is my culture hero. Rhett Butler is another icon. I can't stand characters like TV MASH's Major Burns. I have read a great many books covering many aspects of life. Two stand out. The Tao Te Ching attributed to Lao Tsu and a book I can't find on Amazon. Back in the 70's, I read a book about a new way to look at living. Somewhat like The Power of Positive Thinking and PsycoCybernetics. I believe there were three main principles: Define your life goals in a way that gives you the best chance of winning; stay focused on your goal - don't let side issues get the best issues; create a garbage dump where you can dispose of the negative crap that gets dumped in your lap. I try. But like almost everybody else I find it difficult to focus on draining the swamp when I'm up to my ears in alligators.(less)
Average rating: 3.98 · 719 ratings · 97 reviews · 5 distinct worksSimilar authors
Demented

3.73 avg rating — 281 ratings3 editions
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MacGregor's Final Battle

4.31 avg rating — 210 ratings — published 2023 — 5 editions
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The Walshes: The Coming of Eve

3.81 avg rating — 180 ratings5 editions
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The Cauldron: A Struggle fo...

4.82 avg rating — 45 ratings2 editions
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Survive (1)

3.67 avg rating — 3 ratings2 editions
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More books by Joe Clark…

Common Sense Health Care

It’s time for a common sense tough love approach to health care. Even Barack Obama recognized that his signature legislation, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) needed an overhaul. The American Health Care Act of 2017 (AHCA) proposed by President Trump and GOP congressional leaders is not the overhaul that is needed. It will not provide… Continue Reading Common Sense Health Care


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Published on July 03, 2017 09:06
Once Upon a Death
Joe Clark is currently reading
by Dzintra Sullivan (Goodreads Author)
bookshelves: currently-reading
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The Killer Angels
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Beyond Mach 3: A ...
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Joe’s Recent Updates

The Walshes by Joe  Clark
"This book pulls you in with a bold premise and refuses to let go. Watching April transform into Eve is both thrilling and unsettling in the best way. The tension between her double life and her family creates a constant emotional pull. It’s not just " Read more of this review »
The Walshes by Joe  Clark
"A gripping and unconventional story that explores choices, identity, and consequences. The undercover journey into a hidden world feels immersive and intense. I especially loved how the author shows the emotional cost behind every decision. It starts" Read more of this review »
The Walshes by Joe  Clark
"I joined the discussion with Joe Clark and came away more interested in April Walsh than I expected to be. What I found particularly interesting was hearing Joe explain the thinking behind April's choices and why he doesn't necessarily see them in th" Read more of this review »
The Walshes by Joe  Clark
"I really enjoyed the opportunity to hear Joe Clark discuss The Walshes: The Coming of Eve. His perspective on April's choices was different from the way I initially looked at the character, and I appreciated hearing the reasoning directly from the au" Read more of this review »
Joe Clark has read
The Harp and the Eagle by Susannah Ural
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As the bloody Civil War stretched into years, Irish opposition to it and Lincoln grew and signs of anti-Irish prejudice became the norm. Support for McClellan in the 1864 election was widespread among the Irish. After the war, anti-Irish Catholic sen ...more
Joe Clark is 51% done with The Harp and the Eagle: The war dragged into a third year in 1863. Support declined as a shocked public came to terms with the human cost. Lincolns shift of goals to Emancipation alienated those who opposed to freeing the slaves. Abolitionists gave speeches but didn't volunteer to fight. A draft was required to meet manpower requirements of the Union army. German and Irish immigrants bore the brunt
Reminded me of the sixties.
The Harp and the Eagle by Susannah Ural
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Joe Clark is now following Holly Bourne and Colleen
Joe Clark is currently reading
Once Upon a Death by Dzintra Sullivan
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Joe Clark is currently reading
The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara
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Quotes by Joe Clark  (?)
Quotes are added by the Goodreads community and are not verified by Goodreads. (Learn more)

“Everybody dies. What counts is how you live.”
Joe Clark, MacGregor's Final Battle

“We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win.”
John F. Kennedy

“A cynic is a man who knows the price of everything, and the value of nothing.”
Oscar Wilde

“A warrior must focus his attention on the link between himself and his death . . .. He must let each of his acts be his last battle on earth. Only under those conditions will his acts have their rightful power.”
Carlos Castaneda, Journey to Ixtlan: The Lessons of Don Juan

“Spread a little kindness and your blessings will be greater than the sum of its parts.”
Angel M.B. Chadwick

“Everybody dies. What counts is how you live.”
Joe Clark, MacGregor's Final Battle

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