Interview: Rodd Clark

 

Hello everybody, today, I have the pleasure to host Rodd Clark.

Welcome to my Jaded Eden, Rodd. Before I begin to flood you with questions, can you introduce yourself with a few words?

My name is Rodd Clark and I currently reside in Dallas, Texas.   I have made a home in the oppressive Texas heat, only because I can travel the world in my books.  My greatest love, besides writing is the animals in my company. I am pleased to say that my home is filled to capacity with dogs, cats and the occasional stray which I am eager to welcome.

 

Now that we know you a little better, let’s begin, shall we?

 

The morning, you are tea or coffee?

Coffee, I’m addicted.

 

What kind of book do you write?

Mysteries and Thrillers

 

Why did you choose this genre?

I started writing true-crime because I have an interest in the darker sides of the human psyche but I am eager to cross-over into other genres like horror and erotic fiction.

 

When you write, are you keyboard or paper?

Keyboard, I work from the computer because I often need to research areas in my books to gain realism and access to the internet is a must.

 

Are you more motivated to write when the sun shines or when the weather is gray?

Both work for me, but I do enjoy reading more when the sky is grey and cloudy.

 

Where do you find your inspiration?

Other writers, great books, movies…

 

When you start writing a book, do you already have the whole story in your head, or is it built progressively?

Both actually, sometimes the story is laid out for me by my outline, but characters often decide to change the course of their story along the way, what can you do but acquiesce and allow them room to grow.

 

What do you feel before a book’s release? Fear? Joy? None of the above? And after?

Personal pride but a release date doesn’t mean as much to me as to other writers, because in my mind the book is already out in the ether when I complete it.

 

Between your first and last novel, do you feel a change? Do you write differently?

Yes, I believe I have grown a lot from my first book to the last one, but I am always struggling to regain that initial sense which I created in my first project.  I want the reader to be able to distinguish my books and say that sounds like a “Rodd Clark” kind of phrase.

 

They say that writers project themselves into the skin and the head of their hero/heroine, is that the case for you?

I would say yes, even though my characters are rarely an extension of myself.  I can’t help but add my own voice through them, because real and tangible characters have to be built from somewhere, and it works best when that voice is the author’s.

 

You define yourself more like a bookworm, a city mouse, or a country mouse?

Country mouse for sure.

 

Molière wrote: “Writing is like prostitution. First we write for the love of it, then for a few friends, and in the end, for money”. What do you think about it?

I agree and I consider myself a professional writer, I have no other job to report to on Mondays, so for me…this is it.  I began writing because I had a desire, but even an artist understands how the world works.  I could write hundreds of books in a lifetime but the individual recognition through sales is what drives us forward.

 

Your books have already been translated?

If you are asking have they, I would have to say no.

 

Do you pay attention to literary criticism?

Criticism is like a passing complement, if you let it get to you, it can make you vain and shallow.  How people see you, is less important than how you see yourself.

 

The days have 25 hours. You spend that extra hour in the garden or in the kitchen?

I enjoy both but I lean towards kitchen.

 

Which book would you bring with you on a deserted island?

Probably a book on survival, learning how to build a fire out of nothing might prove essential.

 

When you go to bed, do you turn off the light right away or do you take the time to read?

Rarely, I write so frequently that I am usually too tired to read before bed, but I have my favorite authors I follow, and I try to keep up with their newest projects.  I consider their success my inspiration.

 

Thank you for being such a good sport, Rodd.

And now, for the readers’ pleasure, here’s the blurb and an excerpt of your book

A Cache of Killers:

A Brantley Colton Mystery

(The Brantley Colton Mysteries Book 2)

 

Brantley Colton never set out to be anything but normal...but with tragedy came transformation. In his search for peace he is confronted with the darker aspects of men’s souls and plagued by horrific murders at every turn. “Why does evil seem drawn to him like a wise virus contaminating his body?” In “A Cache of Killers” Colton runs across a ring of child abductors and killers and sets out to enact his own brand of justice…saving a life because his is so torn and tenuous.



Colton had driven around the damp canyons of downtown Portland, he had traipsed through residential streets and cruised blocks where drug addicts casts webs, wooing others to their dens, as spiders ingesting blood from the creepy-crawlies they preyed upon. He had seen most portions of the city where the tourists visited and observed parts where the natives didn’t venture, and through it all he was still amazed at how much the city could astound him.

The deaths of the boys had their affect, but it seemed unremarkable to him. The world still revolved, papers were still sold on the corner stands broadcasting additional information and tastier news, business men still walked carrying attaché cases along the downtown streets, and preachers still held court from the pulpit on each and every corner and in every church…but few were obsessing over dead runaways and street urchins like Colton had been.

Somehow he suspected Art Peck was involved in the boys’ disappearances, but there was no proof to that. The only thing he had seen had been evidenced that Peck’s arrest for solicitation had been well-founded. He was a sexual deviant and patron of those purveyors of human sexuality. But that still didn’t make him a killer. As boring as his time spent trailing Peck had been, he rationalized he might have to do it again, choosing to wait until the upcoming weekend. If Peck was going to show him something, it might be then.



You can find Rodd’s book on Amazon and on Wordpress

And you can follow him on Twitter