Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I have writing for over ten years. At this time I have a fiction inspiration novel called Mental Health Day about a young man living life in a rut. I also have my Rogue’s Phoenix series where the first book (Thieves and Kings) is out ad the second book (The White Orc) is in editing. I also have my post economic collapse/apocalyptic series called “The Divide” I currently have one book out (Cataclysm) and the sequel (The Tower) is due out October 30th, 2018.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
“The Tower” is the second book in The Divide and was inspired by a brainstorming session with a friend where I asked a simple question, What would happen if we realized as a world that we had less oil than we thought? The outcome is a post economic collapse story where America went to war with China and Russia over the remaining commodity. It is a survival book that blends storytelling with a few survival techniques.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I write when I can. I get an idea, I hash it out into an outline and then I start the story. There are time mid-story where the characters take the story somewhere different than I originally planned and so I have to go back and re-outline the rest of the books. I love to write while camping as it is quite and relaxing. I truly write when I can as I am a full time employee, dad and husband in addition to writing.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
The fantasy authors are Terry Goodkind, R.A. Salvatore, Tracy Hickman, Margaret Weis. I also enjoy the Benny Imura series by Jonathan Maberry. Recently it has been the Survivor stories by A. American. I have also read the Star Wars books which have recently inspired a Science Fiction novel that I have in development now.
What are you working on now?
I am in development of a Science Fiction story where earth is slowly being abandoned for life in space. The story is tentatively called Washington(Named after the first space station in space for the novel). In addition to that I am working on the third book in The Divide as well as a Steam punk novel. I try to write in multiple genres. It keeps things from getting too stagnant.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
So far I have used Facebook, Twitter and my main webpage. I just in the past couple of days learned of promotional sites such as AwesomeGang that I am hoping to see more attention come out of. I listen to a lot of podcasts and read what works for other authors. I am starting to go to events to promote myself as well.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
The best advice I could offer is to just keep writing. Make sure you are enjoying what you are writing and you won’t have a bad book. Spend the money on book design and editing. Make the book look as good as you can. Beta readers are free and a great resource.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
The book cover was the best advice ever given to me. The book cover is the first thing a person sees and is what a lot of people use to judge the potential of the book. The nicer the book and most explanatory it is will guide sales.
What are you reading now?
I am still in the Survivor books by A. American. This guy writes in a post collapse environment and the story is great. The characters use dialogue to explain situations and survival techniques. It is absolutely amazing.
What’s next for you as a writer?
I’d like to wrap up the third book in The Divide, finish the first book in Washington and then begin a second book in that story. I also would like to begin work on book three in Rogue’s Phoenix(A Fantasy Fiction series I am writing as well)
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?
Terry Goodkind’s Faith of the Fallen. The story is amazing and I really enjoy the element of taking the main character Richard away from everything else he had worked for. I would take a survival book such as Bushcraft 101: A Field Guide to the Art of Wilderness Survival by Dave Canterbury. More so for some of the useful things in it. This is a great resource for writers in the survival genre. I would take Going Home by A. American. A great story with great characters. I would also probably grab the Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien. It is an oldie-but goodie.
Author Websites and Profiles
Tommy Clark Website
Tommy Clark Amazon Profile
Tommy Clark’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account
Pinterest Account