Dark Harvest: Six of the Best with Sonya Clark

Dark Harvest collects some pretty awesome authors. Okay, well, that's my opinion because I'm the editor and I picked the authors because I think they rock. Tonight's special feature is none other than Sonya Clark, who's certainly an established guest here. She's got a lovely novel out with Carina entitled Trancehack, which she terms as witchpunk. Go check it out. 

For now, she's here to chat about the story that appears in Dark Harvest. So, Sonya, tell us about your story, Musicmage? Where did you pick up the story seeds? 

Musicmage is about a mage given one weekend out of an asylum to help solve a murder, but she’s more interested in chasing the music that feeds her magic. The seeds for this story blew into my head from a variety of places. My own love of both music and magic made combining the two feel natural. I also had the desire to write something with a bit different tone than what I normally write. Short fiction is a great way to experiment. Around the time I was fiddling with ideas, I stumbled across some David Garrett videos. His version of Kashmir made its way into a scene in the story.

What creeps you out?

Clowns. Toys that come to life by themselves. Clowns. Weird smells. OMG, clowns. I have some serious clown-fear thanks to Stephen King’s IT. One of these days I’m going to have to face that fear by writing a story - one that involves flamethrowers. “Clown meets business end of flamethrower” sounds like a good idea for a therapeutic story, LOL.

Why do you love dark/unsettling fiction? 

I think it’s a healthy way to deal with our fears and nightmares, and the dark parts of ourselves that aren’t strong enough to dominate our personalities but still exist and need expression. Plus, sometimes it’s just fun to get down with the spooky.

What are you working on now? 

Right now I’m getting started on the third book in my Magic Born trilogy. I’m also tinkering with a few short story ideas.

What’s the most unexpected thing people discover about you?

It seems to really catch people by surprise that I don’t just like music, but that I know music history. And it does seem like that surprise is at least a little bit of a gender thing - “why does a girl know so much about Robert Johnson/Led Zeppelin/whoever?” It’s really blown some minds that I’ve been to all three of Robert Johnson’s gravesites. I love music history, I love knowing the stories behind the songs and albums, the life stories of the musicians and what drives them. I love music-related sites and museums, and since I live about halfway between Nashville and Memphis I’ve been fortunate to visit some really fantastic places. I love new music too, both new-to-me and brand new releases.

And I love being able to infuse my fiction with my love of music. ☺

Tell us a little more about what you’re reading at present?

I was given several books on writing for Christmas so I’ll be working my way through those over the next several months, in my own sort of “home school for writers” thing. Having been published doesn’t mean a writer is through learning the craft. There’s always more to learn, and there’s always room for improvement. So I study and work.

I also read for fun, and I think a writer can learn from that, too. But we all start out as readers first, right? Lately I’ve been reading my way through the Psy-Changeling series by Nalini Singh, along with my usual mix of urban fantasy and romance. I’ve got a book by fellow Dark Harvest contributor Amy Burgess waiting on my Kindle – The Circle: Blood Gift. And of course I’m reading the rest of Dark Harvest, one story at a time. As I make my way through it and take in the diversity of stories and level of talent, it makes me even more proud to be a part of this anthology.

About the author:
Sonya Clark grew up a military brat and now lives in Tennessee with her husband and daughter. She writes urban fantasy and paranormal romance with a heavy helping of magic and lots of music for inspiration. Learn more at her website and follow her on Twitter.

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