C.B. Clark has discovered her passion. She loves to write, but not just any subject, she is dedicated to romantic suspense novels where the characters encounter insurmountable challenges, struggle to overcome them and find true love.
This may sound somewhat simple, but writing is anything but simple.
“Once I’ve got my first sentence, I’m on my way,” she said.
“But after that it’s really flying by the seat of my pants. I don’t have an outline, I don’t really know where the characters will lead me or where the story will go. This means I have to do a lot of revising, but that’s okay.”
All she knows for sure is the story will contain romance and a happy-ever-after ending.
“I enjoy the suspense and intrigue as well but the story must have a happy ending,” she said with a smile.
This spring, Clark published her first novel, My Brother’s Sins through the publishing house, The Wild Rose Press.
My Brother’s Sins wasn’t the first book Clark submitted for publication. In fact, she wrote several books and sent them to a multitude of publishers and has the rejection letters to prove it.
“Each new story improved as I honed my craft,” Clark said.
“After My Brother’s Sins placed first in the Music City Romance Writers’ Melody of Love Contest, the Wild Rose Press offered me a contract. It was a dream come true.”
Being with a publishing house has decided advantages regarding distribution and costs. But there are also aspects such as cover design and synopsis which are completely out of Clark’s hands.
“But I work with an editor who goes through the book in great detail and sends back suggestions to me, but I make all the final decisions on the text,” she said.
“Then, once that process is done (can take more than one edit) the book goes to a copy editor who checks for spelling, punctuation and grammar. After that, the final gallies are presented to me for final approval.”
The entire process took about seven months and Clark is thrilled with the final product.
Being a writer was not Clark’s first vocation. She grew up in Canada’s Yukon and Northwest Territories and learned the value of small towns where everyone knows their neighbours. She has worked as an archaeologist and an educator, however it wasn’t until she lost her voice for a year due to a botched operation that she decided to combine her two loves, reading and writing and wrote her first book.
“By the time I’d typed the second page, I was hooked,” she said.
My Brother’s Sins is a story about a brother who agrees to protect his brother’s girlfriend from a notorious Mexican drug cartel. Through a series of dangerous, mysterious experiences, the true story unfolds.
Clark’s second novel Cherished Secrets has been accepted by The Wild Rose Press for publication and she is currently in the process of editing. A third book has just been submitted and she is optimistic it will also be accepted for publication.
My Brother’s Sins is available through the Wild Rose Press, Amazon, iTunes, Nook, Kobo, Bookstrand and Google Books as well as locally at Books&Company in Quesnel and Prince George.
If you like authors like Mary Stewart, Daphne du Maurier and Victoria Holt, you’ll love C.B. Clark’s My Brother’s Sins. It’s classic and timeless in its appeal with modern settings and global issues woven cleverly into the story. Well worth the read.