Author Scott A. Clark

I feel like such a traitor. I'm basically being forced to use AI in my job, and early experiments with it make me understand why it's so attractive. But I still want control.

I will *NEVER* use it for anything creative, though. Writing is what reminds me I'm human. Why would I give that away?

If any of that sounds interesting or you'd like to know more about me, get in touch.

The Duchess and the Dwindling Stars (coming soon) gets to the root of the gifts shared by The Duchess and some of her associates, while facing a cyber-threat from Mother Russia.

The Duchess and the Indigo Child finds The Duchess dealing with debts of family long forgotten and what to do with this new family she's found, including an insightful young author with a very accurate imagination.

The Duchess and the Accidental Thief introduces us to the world of The Duchess, an enigmatic businesswoman who takes an inexplicable interest in an average IT worker when he shows up in one of her operations.

"Her Violet Empire," as the series is known, has elements of mysteries, thrillers, paranormal urban fantasy, high technology, and a lot of love (found families and relationships).

It seems like people are doing introductions or re-introductions to themselves on socials, so I thought I'd come back around for a little bit.

Hi, I'm Scott. About 13 years ago, I had a crazy dream and thought I'd write it down. And I kept writing it down, and it's about to be a three-book series.

I'm happily reading along with this, but then I see a quote from @kiwanciowrites.bsky.social and it stopped me in my tracks.

Hi, K!

I have been adulting at 150% for the past 3 weeks, and I'm exhausted, y'all. Unfortunately, it's really putting me behind on the editing. I'm still hoping to get my edits completed soon.

blah.

Black cat with three legs stretched out on a floor and multicolored rug.

Tripawd is being stolen immediately. Wreck-It Ralph approves.

Good news can be sneaky and hide under layers of suck. Sometimes, the only way out is through.

I started a side project to prove, even if to myself, that my tech job can still be done well, automatically, and reliably without AI. I'm liking what I see so far.

Build the foundation first. Leave nothing to chance with rogue automation. It's not fast, but nothing worth doing ever is.

I just applied to my first book festival of the year. I really need to kick the editing into high gear if I want to bring all three books to it. 😬

Not super surprising nobody needed to know anything. 🤣

Okay, taking a cue from @scalzi.com , I'm in the air for about an hour. Anyone have any questions of burning import for me?

Why on earth am I in Atlanta this morning?

Remember when I said I thought good news was around the corner? It was. I'll know a whole lot more next week.

This is a year of change for those bold enough to grab it.

Good news is around the corner. I'm sure of it.

I hope good news finds you today.

Following the discovery of radium, the new (radioactive) wonder element was added to wristwatches, children's toys, toothpaste, and even chocolate. But today, we know better. We wouldn't take a new product that we knew was bad for us and bad for the planet and jam it into everything, would we?

Unfortunately side effect of being demisexual: when "the ick" sets in, it's hard to shake off. I don't want to hear, think about, or know anything about it for at least a couple of days.

The ick has me down bad right now.

I just don't have the energy to do my editing and any kind of marketing simultaneously. Right now, editing is the more important, so here's my half-assed pitch.

If you like a thriller with some supernatural and technological twists, my two books might be worth a look.
authorscottaclark.com/books

Time to put my editing pants on. They look like my regular pants, but with extra "what the hell were you thinking?" in the pockets.

Three-legged black cat laying on an orange ottoman

Brown tabby cat sitting on an entertainment center, feet hanging over the edge.

And here's a feed cleanser.

The three-legged public menace (Ralph) and the distinguished gentleman (Felix).

Alpha feedback for The Duchess and the Dwindling Stars is in, and it's good news. My alpha reader enjoyed the story, devoured it in an afternoon, and just wanted more.

Now if I could just finish my edits, we could move this thing along!

That's on me. I read potatoes and stopped reading. 😁

I think "wreck" is the wrong word here. It should probably be "normal person because potatoes are life." 😁

Under-reported danger of finishing a book in a series:

Resisting the urge to immediately contact the cover designer. I have weeks of editing and polishing ahead of me. I don't need new shiny right now.

But, new shiny...

Post a banger that's not in English (okay, it's partly in English, but it's still a banger).

youtu.be/7iKjSCTxke8?...

That was the easiest thing I've ever done: deleting the Discord account that I literally never used and frequently forgot I had.

That reminds me...I have a Slack account that I don't need anymore either.

It took three watches before I realized what I was looking at. Wow!