Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I grew up on a citrus and cattle farm in central Florida near Tampa. I grew up hunting and fishing in the Florida woods and waters, and fishing and sailing along the Florida West Coast. I loved boats, the lakes and rivers and the open waters of the Gulf of Mexico. I guess that’s why I got a degree in Marine Biology and Natural Sciences and spent nearly thirty-seven years in professional environmental protection where I was involved in every program from hazardous waste management to chemical emergency response and both civil and criminal law enforcement. During that time I wrote thousands of documents, including an environmental law enforcement textbook, a field handbook for law enforcement officers and the text of an educational comic book about environmental crime prevention and more than fifty online training courses.
After retiring, I supported my two daughters through USTA Junior Tennis and through varsity college tennis. I began to do what I’d wanted to do; write fiction. I have written several screen plays, two novellas, two novels and numerous short stories and flash fiction stories. My books are three non-serial series (the stories do not depend on the previous book): The Detective Mike Eiser Series, The Adventures of Harry Morgan Series, and the Mark of the Beast Series.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is ANGELICA, A Detective Mike Eiser Novel, available now for preorder and delivery June 10th. ANGELICA is a ‘what if’ scenario. What if a mobster you knew in your far distant past suddenly decided he wanted you dead for no reason other than his own obsession? What if you lived in a completely different part of the country and had a son and a successful business?
What could your friends and neighbors do to help you out?
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I can’t stand having my thought processes interrupted when I’m writing. So go away, and forget the telephone number for a while.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
Seriously? They’re too numerous to count. My favorite authors range in breadth from Edgar Allen Poe to Mark Twain, to John LeCarre, to Robert Ludlum to David Balducci and John Grisham, and more recently to George Wier, Scott William Carter, Michael Grumley and Lee Child and many other mystery and action writers. From there to science fiction with classics by Andre Norton, Issac Asimov, Robert Heinlein, and Robert Silverburg and more recently, any number of modern science fiction writers. I read a lot, and I look for quality story lines and crave action in books.
What are you working on now?
I have a novella, a rewrite of one of my short stories coming out later in the summer. It’s about a terminally ill guy who is trying to accomplish an obsession on his bucket list and his friend who helps him.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I can’t say. I’m still trying to determine which ones are really effective.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
I recently had the great opportunity to mentor a high school senior through her senior class project of writing and self-publishing a short story on Amazon. What I told her was write what you want to read and don’t quit your day job!”
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Write what you love; what you want to read. Don’t write to a market or a genre. And then, write books, books and more books. The more books you write the more readers will be intrigued and the greater potential market you represent for retailers. Finally, don’t quit your day job!
What are you reading now?
I read and review for other authors, both on my CPMA Book Review Blog and for other bloggers. This calendar year, I have personally read more than seventy books for other authors and written reviews for at least sixty-five of them.
What’s next for you as a writer?
Great question! I have plans for the next Detective Mike Eiser Novel, FIRE ON THE MOUNTAIN, plans for a new dystopian novel and series, plans to change The Mark of the Beast Series a bit, and plans for a couple of short story collections. Time will tell which one I do first.
If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
The first one would be a King James Bible. After that three or four good action mysteries and/or science fiction books.
Author Websites and Profiles
Clabe Polk Website
Clabe Polk Amazon Profile
Clabe Polk Author Profile on Smashwords
Clabe Polk’s Social Media Links
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