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Erica Robyn Reads

a horror book review blog

Interview with Michael Clark

April 4, 2020      Erica Robyn      19 Comments

I am so delighted to be sharing this interview with an amazing author, Michael Clark!

If you’re a fan of horror and the paranormal, and you haven’t heard of him yet, you gotta check Mr. Clark out! šŸ™‚

Mr. Clark first reached out to me on Twitter, and shortly afterward, two of his books showed up on my doorstep. Soon after that, a bookish beautiful mug arrived. Then an amazing bookmark from A Stranger Dream based on a character from the book series! To say I was excited would be the understatement of the year. I was totally blown away by his generosity and could not wait to dive into the books!

When I finally started the first book, I had to dive into the second one immediately after. Finishing the second book in just a few sittings, I posted my review and Mr. Clark reached out to ask if I’d be interested in reading an early copy of the third book.

At first I let out a little scream/wahoo cheer mix, but then paused. This was such a “is this real life?!” moment for me.

Did I die and go to book blogger heaven?!

Who is Michael Clark?

Michael Clark was raised in New Hampshire and lived in the house The Patience of a Dead Man is based on. The bats of the barn really circled the rafters all day and there actually was a man-made grove hidden in the forest. He now lives in Massachusetts with his wife Josi and his dog Bubba.

The Patience of a Dead Man is his first novel. Dead Woman Scorned is his second. More to come.

Let’s dive into the interview!

Interview with Michael Clark author of The Patience of a Dead Man Trilogy

What is your first memory of writing for fun (ex. A fun project in school, your first novel draft), et cetera)?

I never wrote anything for fun until I started ā€œThe Patience of a Dead Manā€ in 2017. I think I wanted to write a book in the early nineties–I think it was going to be a prison story–but I just sat down and started writing from page one (no premeditated outline) and the project died quickly. I guess I just wasn’t ready. Before TPOADM I had never written more than five pages, which I had to do once a week for Freshman English at UNH. BUT, you know that ā€œsecret questionā€ on websites to log in or retrieve a lost password? My question was always “What’s your dream jobā€ and the answer was always ā€œwriterā€ because you can do it from anywhere.

How many books have you written?

I just finished my third, and it is/was a trilogy.

What are some of your other interests outside of writing?

I tried to play guitar for 12 years, but it didn’t come naturally and it takes a lot of time. I also love to travel and hang out with family.

Are you also a reader? 

Yes, but I’m the guy that sees ā€œsoon to be a major motion pictureā€ on the cover and gets interested that way. I think I’m a movie person first. A couple of books that I read that were ā€œsoon-to-be’sā€ were Jurassic Park and Silence of the Lambs.

What genres do you reach for the most?

Horror and Sci-Fi, although I think I like sci-fi movies better than books. I grew up a Stephen King fan and met him in 1983. He signed my copy of ā€œChristineā€. I also like rock-n-roll biographies for some reason.

Do you have an all-time favorite book or author?

Stephen King, Michael Crichton, Thomas Harris, Vince Flynn… If I had to narrow it down to three books, I’d say The Shining, Silence of the Lambs and Jurassic Park.

Book Related Questions

You were raised in New Hampshire and actually lived in the house that the trilogy is based on. What other elements included in the series were based on things from your real life?

Well, the divorce part was easy to write, but let me be clear that ā€œSheilaā€ is not my ā€œexā€. My parents were also divorced, and coincidentally it all went down while I lived in the house that’s in the book.

I also think I write from the perspective of a dream. When I have a nightmare, there is usually a confrontation scene, where you have to make a decision, like do I run? Or do I fight? And in my opinion, ghosts are creepy…but do you ever touch one or fight one? What happens then? To me, the story gets less scary once things get physical. I like the eeriness of a ghost in the distance or hiding behind a door.

My first book started around one scene–the one where Tim starts work on the house all by himself, planning on putting in eighteen-hour days, but then he sees something…and runs…but then realizes he has to go back or he’ll lose everything and no one would believe him. What would a grown adult really do in a situation like that?

In the books, many of the characters see ghosts and it sways their beliefs if they hadn’t believed in the paranormal before. Where do you fall with that; do you believe in ghosts? Have you seen or heard one yourself?

No, I don’t believe in ghosts and that might disappoint some people, but I love ghost stories and good horror movies. I like things with a touch of realism, such as Jurassic Park. There is an attempt to make it sound as if it could happen in real life. I also like Batman based in reality (the Christian Bale movies) as opposed to fighting alongside Superman. The same with ghost stories. I want the characters to be seeing a ghost as if for the first time because that would be me.

I just adore book covers that 1, look amazing, and 2, really capture the essence of the story itself. Each of your book covers gives off a very eerie vibe and features wonderful photos of your wife! What was that cover design process like? 

I start thinking of the title and the covers as I’m writing because I think of the three things together as a ā€œpackageā€. If one of them is off, it’s like watching a movie with no music in it. My working title for ā€œThe Patience of a Dead Manā€ was ā€œTwo Stones in the Grove,ā€ but I didn’t like that double ā€œOā€ sound. During that time, my cover was…

…two stones in a grove.

Two Stones Original Cover

The problem was, I don’t know of a cool grove like that around here, and the picture you see here was one I ā€œborrowedā€ from the internet and tried to disguise. I made so many versions of it, and photoshop is something I’m only average at anyway, so I gave up.

Luckily, I had the idea for the flies-on-the-neck cover, but again, I borrowed the dress picture from Etsy and didn’t feel comfortable using it.

TPOADM Original Cover

Whew, this is turning into a long answer! THEN, a friend of mine had an account with ā€œDesign Pickleā€ and had this done for me, the original cover of the book:

TPOADM Cover Version

When I figured out there would be more than one book, I found a guy to ā€œbrandā€ all three. I knew I didn’t want to use Shutterstock photos so my wife and I had a little photoshoot using the light from a lantern to make it grungier and creepier. James from GoOnWrite.com put all the flies and special effects on it. He also did Book Two and Book Three. James has a package deal. Buy three and get a discount. That meant I had to think of the cover and title of Book Three early. It turns out I didn’t end up using the title OR the photo, but here was my first ā€œdraft.ā€

TPOADM Book Three Cover Early Draft
Just a reminder, this is not the real title or cover for Book Three.

Just one last question; Where can readers find you (blog link, social media, Goodreads, etc.)? 

I’ll make it easy: https://linktr.ee/michaelclarkbooks


Thanks for reading!

Thank you again to Michael Clark for taking the time to answer these questions!

Snag copies of his work through your local bookstore or from his website!


Additional Reading:

Feel free to also check out my reviews of his work below:

  • The Patience of a Dead Man
  • Dead Woman Scorned
  • Anger is an Acid

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Priscilla Bettis says

    April 4, 2020 at 2:31 pm

    Nice interview! Interesting about writing from the perspective of a dream.

    Reply
    • Erica Robyn says

      April 4, 2020 at 3:39 pm

      Thank you! And right!? I loved that idea!

      Reply
  2. Kelsey says

    April 5, 2020 at 10:54 am

    Such a fantastic interview. It’s interesting that he considers himself a movie person first. I wonder how that influences his perspective on written stories (or if it does), re: entertainment factor, dialogue, creative techniques.

    Reply
    • Erica Robyn says

      April 5, 2020 at 11:28 am

      šŸ˜€

      Reply
    • Michael Clark says

      April 14, 2020 at 8:54 am

      Hi Kelsey- I think it makes me a CRITIC, and I’m not proud of that. It gives me that short-attention-span attitude and I put a lot of books down…but I DO realize however that the book is almost always better than the movie.

      Reply
  3. Lindsi says

    April 5, 2020 at 11:41 am

    I’m not a huge horror fan, but I can appreciate a good interview! šŸ˜‰ It’s always fun to see an author’s answers to simple questions. It makes them seem more real.

    Lindsi @ Do You Dog-ear? šŸ’¬

    Reply
    • Erica Robyn says

      April 5, 2020 at 4:01 pm

      <3

      Reply
  4. ShootingStarsMag says

    April 5, 2020 at 1:19 pm

    What a fun interview! That’s fascinating that the first book he ever finished was the first one in the trilogy. šŸ™‚

    -Lauren

    Reply
    • Erica Robyn says

      April 5, 2020 at 4:02 pm

      The books are AMAZING as well! You would never know they were his first books!

      Reply
      • Michael Clark says

        April 14, 2020 at 9:01 am

        Thanks, Erica!

        Reply
        • Erica Robyn says

          April 14, 2020 at 1:41 pm

          Of course!! <3

          Reply
  5. Mary Kirkland says

    April 5, 2020 at 4:43 pm

    That was a great interview.

    Reply
    • Erica Robyn says

      April 7, 2020 at 9:23 pm

      Thank you for stopping by <3

      Reply
  6. Bill Gottlieb says

    April 7, 2020 at 3:08 pm

    Agree – great interview. Was interesting to read about a normal guy, using his life experiences, and intertwining his dreams, into something so creepy. Great easy read of the first two books and look forward to the third!

    Reply
    • Erica Robyn says

      April 7, 2020 at 9:24 pm

      <3

      Reply
  7. Lauren @ Always Me says

    April 8, 2020 at 11:28 am

    I’m sold – I need to start in on his books!

    Reply
    • Erica Robyn says

      April 8, 2020 at 5:12 pm

      YAY!! I can’t wait to see what you think!!

      Reply
    • Michael Clark says

      April 14, 2020 at 9:03 am

      Thanks Lauren! I mail autographed bookmarks to anyone and everyone too BTW. Just send me an email to michael@michaelclarkbooks.com

      Reply

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