Episode 354: Character, Conflict, and World Building in Fantasy – Interview with C.L. Clark

by Gabriela Pereira
published in Podcast

Today, I have the pleasure of interviewing C.L. Clark.

Cherae Clark graduated from Indiana University’s creative writing MFA and was a 2012 Lambda Literary Fellow. In addition to writing, she has had various jobs as she’s traveled the world, including: personal trainer, English teacher, editor, or some combination thereof.

When she’s not writing or working, she’s learning languages, doing P90something, or reading about war and post-colonial history. Her work has appeared or is forthcoming in FIYAH, PodCastle, Uncanny, and Beneath Ceaseless Skies and she is now one of the co-editors at PodCastle and editor of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association (SFWA) Blog.

In this episode C.L. and I discuss:

  • How to identify which character is the protagonist and whether there can be two.
  • The relationship between magic, religion, and technology and how she uses it.
  • Different ways to handle conflict and the approach she takes in her writing.

Plus, her #1 tip for writers.

About C.L. Clark

Cherae Clark graduated from Indiana University’s creative writing MFA and was a 2012 Lambda Literary Fellow. She’s been a personal trainer, an English teacher, and an editor, and is some combination thereof as she travels the world. When she’s not writing or working, she’s learning languages, doing P90something, or reading about war and [post-]colonial history. Her work has appeared or is forthcoming in FIYAH, PodCastle, Uncanny and Beneath Ceaseless Skies. Now she’s one of the co-editors at PodCastle and editor of the SFWA Blog.

You can find C.L. Clark on her website or follow her on Twitter, Instagram, and Goodreads.

The Unbroken

Touraine is a soldier. Stolen as a child and raised to kill and die for the empire, her only loyalty is to her fellow conscripts. But now, her company has been sent back to her homeland to stop a rebellion, and the ties of blood may be stronger than she thought.

Luca needs a turncoat. Someone desperate enough to tiptoe the bayonet’s edge between treason and orders. Someone who can sway the rebels toward peace, while Luca focuses on what really matters: getting her uncle off her throne.

Through assassinations and massacres, in bedrooms and war rooms, Touraine and Luca will haggle over the price of a nation. But some things aren’t for sale.

If you decide to check out the book, we hope you’ll do so via this Amazon affiliate link, where if you choose to purchase via the link DIY MFA gets a referral fee at no cost to you. As always, thank you for supporting DIY MFA!

Link to Episode 354

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