Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am the real world equivalent of a D&D bard (but without the musical proficiencies or spells). I like making people laugh and telling stories to and with them.
I love board/card/video games and the worlds they create.
Futures Gleaming Darkly is my first solo venture into publishing, but I have been the leader writer for Ionic Comics for several years. The people and my experiences writing the script for our first graphic novel certainly gave me the courage to go through with this first book.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Futures Gleaming Darkly is an ode to speculative fiction anthology shows like The Twilight Zone and Black Mirror. However, with my collection, I wanted to focus not only on the What Ifs of a particular technology, but also how different people, namely LGBT+ folks, interact with those technologies.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I usually hunch over my laptop and type furiously. Any attempt at hand-written drafts are thwarted by my inability to read my own handwriting.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
Ray Bradbury’s short fiction, H.P. Lovecraft’s use of negative space, Sylvia Plath’s unabashed emotional honesty and Don DeLillo’s minimalism come to mind.
What are you working on now?
I’m toying with the idea of a fantasy anthology cousin to Futures Gleaming Darkly.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I’m still figuring that out!
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Get it out. Whatever’s on your mind or that thing you can’t quite say out loud. Write it, even if you’re the only one who will see it.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
“There are bigger dummies than you.” – Georgia Hardstark of My Favorite Murder
What are you reading now?
The Southern Reach Trilogy by Jeff Vandermeer.
What’s next for you as a writer?
I’m just going to keep writing! It may or may not be lucrative but I’ve accomplished more than I ever gave myself credit for.
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 Collected Works of H.P. Lovecraft, The Collected Poems of Sylvia Plath, and The Collected Poems of Walt Whitman.
Author Websites and Profiles
Clinton W. Waters Website