Author Scott A. Clark

@authorscottaclark

Author of the 'Her Violet Empire' supernatural technothriller series 💬 Certified wordy bastard 🖤🩶🤍💜 Demi/Ally 🏳️‍🌈 🚫 AI is not art; AI is theft. Aspiring digital minimalist authorscottaclark.com

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Author Scott A. Clark@authorscottaclark· 12d

Film you've watched more than six times with a gif. Hard mode: no Star Trek, Star Wars, LOTR, Marvel, Disney, or Ghibli.

Author Scott A. Clark@authorscottaclark· 17d

This might be the last WIPSnip I do for a while because The Duchess and the Dwindling Stars is going to go through some sizeable rewrites. I need to focus on that, but this is from an associated short story, entitled "Stealing It Forward." #WriteSky #WritingCommunity #WritingPrompts

Friday morning, Duncan sat in his tower office, feeling a little twitchy himself. The Duchess always said she didn’t believe in coincidence, but to have had Jack Bradshaw’s kid break into his home felt like a sign or serendipity or something. There had to be more to it, but now wasn’t the time.

“If I’m not careful, I might start talking to myself like Martin,” he said. It made him chuckle and broke the tension for a moment until there was a knock on the door.

“Come in,” he said.

It was Nicole, the receptionist. “There are a couple of, erm, gentlemen here to see you, Duncan.”

“Right on time. Better than I expected. I’ll come meet them in the lobby, Nicole.”

Author Scott A. Clark@authorscottaclark· 22d

It's #SelfPublishedAuthorsAppreciationWeek and I'm one of those. I would appreciate it if you appreciated one of my self-published books this week. I happen to think they're quite a lot of fun. Be on the lookout for something exciting later this week too. #SPAAW

Author Scott A. Clark@authorscottaclark· 29d

It's been a long, long time since I posted something, and a lot has happened in the first half of 2026. Some days, I wonder who I need to talk to get a refund. This is a long post, so please pack your patience. I hope it's worth the read. authorscottaclark.com/employment-a...

Author Scott A. Clark@authorscottaclark· Jun 30

I dunno why I felt the need to post this, but I was thinking about the lone championship I ever won, and wanted to prove that I did indeed play hockey at one time.

Dorky author hoists "The Stanley Keg" over his head after his team won a championship. It feels relevant to point out that he contributed almost nothing to the victory.

Author Scott A. Clark@authorscottaclark· Jun 21

This is about the closest I can get, as a mostly-sex-repulsed demisexual, to writing romance. Julia and Ian's relationship started out physical before love blossomed. From the forthcoming "The Duchess and the Dwindling Stars." #WriteSky #WritingCommunity #WritingPrompts

“How do I look?” Ian said, presenting himself in the tan suit as requested.

“Turn around first, then I’ll tell you.”

He did a catwalk turn, then buttoned his jacket, and placed his finger on his chin in a thoughtful pose.

“You’d never make it in Milan, but I think I’ll enjoy taking you out of that later. In the meantime, The Duchess told you to calm your tits. She’s handling it.”

“She really said that?”

“Well, she said to calm your respective tits, but I figured I could leave that bit out.”

Author Scott A. Clark@authorscottaclark· Jun 19

Graham Littley is one of my new characters for this book, and he's been one of my favorite to write. From the forthcoming "The Duchess and the Dwindling Stars." #WriteSky #WritingCommunity #WritingPrompts

After that, the group paired off in conversation. They drank and chatted for hours until the crowd thinned. Graham was a fascinating character, without question one of the savviest numbers men she’d ever encountered. He was putting on the full schmooze, extolling the virtues of The Duchess’s firms and enterprises. As immune to the hard sell as she was, he was making an uncomfortable amount of sense.

“I’m not saying you should work for her,” Graham said, “but she needs a firm hand to guide her. When I retired, I got quite worried about her darker impulses.”

Author Scott A. Clark@authorscottaclark· Jun 6

Gorgeous morning to be out here doing Saturday Morning Storytime ar Fairytales Bookstore in East Nashville. I'm reading the hilarious "The Book with No Pictures" by B.J. Novak to anyone who wants to hear it!

Author Scott A. Clark@authorscottaclark· Jun 2

Simon, and his intern, Vaibhav, have been battling with a pesky hacker for weeks. Time to turn some tables, and not just the database kind. From the forthcoming "The Duchess and the Dwindling Stars." #WriteSky #WritingCommunity #WritingPrompts

“Get ready with the ban hammer, Bhav. I’m taking him on this time.”

“But, sir...”

“Be ready when I tell you, no complaining. I want you to switch off the main router on my signal.”

“Power down? That takes us out of communication with our clients.”

“Been working on a plan for a bit. We’re gonna change up the game on him.”

Author Scott A. Clark@authorscottaclark· Jun 1

My new character, Graham, is indeed wise, but hides it under thick layers of sarcasm and abuse. The only person he ever gets sentimental with is The Duchess, and for very good reason. From the forthcoming "The Duchess and the Dwindling Stars." #WriteSky #WritingCommunity #WritingPrompts

“I can’t lose more people that I care about. It’s easier not to have them.”

“It’s too late for that, and you know it. You say you want to feel, but that’s a gift you give to yourself.”

“When did you get so wise?”

“It’s pure bullshit, my dear. Say enough words, and sooner or later, the right ones will hit. I’ve said an awful lot of words over the years.”

Author Scott A. Clark@authorscottaclark· May 29

Here we find the rising action doing what it does best...rising. As you might guess from the title, stars are a recurring theme in this third book of my series, and it is quite silent in space. From the forthcoming "The Duchess and the Dwindling Stars." #WriteSky #WritingCommunity #WritingPrompts

“Stars!” she said.

“You musta hit your head...” he replied, but she interrupted him.

“No, Geoff. Real stars. I saw the infinite vastness of space, then an immense explosion,” she said, falling silent again. She stared into the distant universe for a moment, then her gaze locked on him in fright. “Martin. Veronica. I must know if they’re safe. To the airport at once!”

Author Scott A. Clark@authorscottaclark· May 28

OK, so it's not the cleverest metaphor in the world, but we can't all be Douglas Adams. From the forthcoming "The Duchess and the Dwindling Stars." #WriteSky #WritingCommunity #WritingPrompts

The trip back from Wales had left him altogether knackered and famished. He’d requested food stops multiple times along the way, but The Duchess insisted there was no time to stop. She always had a plan, but he didn’t realize tonight’s was to make an elaborate Indian dinner for them. It was the first time he’d watched her cook, and it fascinated him. He sat at the expansive kitchen island, feeling wrung out like a wet rag, but she flitted about the kitchen like a butterfly.

Author Scott A. Clark@authorscottaclark· May 27

The importance scale is, of course, relative, but I think this is certainly in the "emergent" category. From the forthcoming "The Duchess and the Dwindling Stars." #WriteSky #WritingCommunity #WritingPrompts

“Oh, so you’re still in England, then?”

“Yes, I am. Is that important?”

“That depends on how you classify the import of things. There are unknown forces following our friends for reasons I’ve yet to fathom, and I’m lacking a crack researcher.”

“Blimey, I’d say that’s high on the scale.”

Author Scott A. Clark@authorscottaclark· May 25

Hey, you sass that hoopy Douglas Adams? There's a frood who really knew where his towel was. #TowelDay

Author Scott A. Clark@authorscottaclark· May 22

Function and form has been an obsession of mine since I took drafting classes in high school. I suspect Vasiliy has a similar eye. From the forthcoming "The Duchess and the Dwindling Stars." #WriteSky #WritingCommunity #WritingPrompts

Alta Mining’s small headquarters office in Bradford, West Yorkshire, sat on the ground floor of a squat office block, which was the pinnacle of modern design by the standards of 1971. Vasiliy found it reminiscent of Soviet construction: all function and little-to-no form. It never ceased to amaze him how the rest of Europe had looked down on his home country throughout the Cold War, yet imitated it at every opportunity.

“Ugh, it reminds me of Chelyabinsk,” Ilya said, getting out of the hire car.

Author Scott A. Clark@authorscottaclark· May 22

Something I've used at my table is book stands with comparable titles. Definitely second the tablecloth.

Author Scott A. Clark@authorscottaclark· May 21

Felix says it's none of your business.

Author Scott A. Clark@authorscottaclark· May 21

This is a cat checkpoint; relinquish your most recent cat picture on your phone. 🐈

Author Scott A. Clark@authorscottaclark· May 21

West is a fine direction, and I try to face it as often as possible. My books have a lot of people messing about with other people's thoughts. From the forthcoming "The Duchess and the Dwindling Stars." #WriteSky #WritingCommunity #WritingPrompts

What concerned her more were an uncertain destination and her motives for going there. After her vision in religious studies, a ceaseless, nagging pull at her thoughts repeated, telling her to go west. She tried to ignore it, telling herself it made no sense. West was a fine direction, but she wished the consciousness would be more specific. After all, quite a lot of Great Britain lies west of Hampstead. The plan took root earlier this week after she’d had the talk with Bea. They were watching another episode when the vague awareness found its voice.

“Take the train. Go west. It calls you.”

Author Scott A. Clark@authorscottaclark· May 20

Expectations can be a dangerous thing. When someone usually has all the answers, disappointment can follow. From the forthcoming "The Duchess and the Dwindling Stars." #WriteSky #WritingCommunity #WritingPrompts

The line went silent, but it was a familiar silence. It was the non-sound of her running through implausible scenarios, connecting the unconnectable, and extracting patterns from chaos. He’d heard it many times before, and the results were often remarkable.

“None of this makes sense,” she declared, much to his disappointment. “Something is deeply wrong, and I can’t think straight.

Author Scott A. Clark@authorscottaclark· May 9

We have baby groundhogs.

Author Scott A. Clark@authorscottaclark· Apr 27

I have ignored one of the principal rules of Bluesky. Here's a cat for you.

Author Scott A. Clark@authorscottaclark· Apr 23

In honor of the coming Independent Bookstore Day and the announcement of the 2026 Indieverse Award Nominees, I'm running my first ever audiobook sale on Chirp, starting Saturday, April 25, and running through Friday, May 8. #BookSky #Audiobooks #IndependentBookstoreDay #IndieverseAwards

Author Scott A. Clark@authorscottaclark· Apr 15

With recent news around Substack and Draft2Digital stirring up the author community, I thought I'd write a word or two about it. But seriously, if anyone is struggling with their online presence, I'm here to help. authorscottaclark.com/platforms-an...

Author Scott A. Clark@authorscottaclark· Apr 15

Thanks for the opportunity! I have a couple of lovely books with a third on the way on my web store at maximumcatpress.com

Author Scott A. Clark@authorscottaclark· Apr 11

Pre-orders for paperbacks are now live! If you want about 3,000 words of mine, and some other great words, go check this out. Support indie authors, editors, designers, and the Indieverse Awards! www.indieverseawards.com/2025-anthology

Author Scott A. Clark@authorscottaclark· Apr 7

In case you were wondering, TheBEAN just turned 14 and they're not on any social media yet, but they're becoming an incredible artist and I am one proud dad. Double proud because they've done multiple sketches of my book characters. Here are some other TB highlights. #youngartists #fanart #oc

Author Scott A. Clark@authorscottaclark· Apr 7

My kid did this incredible fan art of one of my characters, Maureen, with her beloved tumbler of good scotch. Art by TheBEAN. #booksky #fanart #hervioletempire

Paint drawing of a red haired woman in a business suit holding a tumbler of scotch and looking disdainful.

Author Scott A. Clark@authorscottaclark· Apr 4

This is partially marketing and partially a sincere question. I've struggled with my genre since I started, because it combines so many elements of other things: humor, absurdity, crime, stakes, psychics. The only thing It doesn't have much of is romance. If you've read them, what do you think?

Author Scott A. Clark@authorscottaclark· Apr 2

Time to lay the cards on the table about unemployment, health, and the third book. It's not an emergency yet, but ask me again in May. authorscottaclark.com/leap-of-fate