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M. C. CLAY
Romance and Fantasy Author
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When did you first start writing?I've enjoyed writing since I was in elementary school. I first started to take it a little more seriously (from a creative aspect) when I was in 10th grade. We had a project to write short stories and I chose to write a thriller that absolutely blew my classmates and my teacher out of their seats. It ended up being submitted to our school's literary magazine and in the small town where I'm from, that felt like a big deal!
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When did you decide to publish your first book?I've written for fun over the years, always having the basic idea for what would eventually become the Nokturn Rising series. I worked on it here and there for years, not realizing that self-publishing was even something I could do. One day in 2020, after everything shut down and we were all quarantining as a nation, my husband asked me what it was I truly wanted to do with my life. At the time, I had been working as a technology teacher for grades K-5 for 2 years, which I'm still doing today. But when he asked me that, I didn't hesitate when I gave him an answer. "I want to write." That is exactly what I told him. And he has supported me every step of the way! Once I had his support, I hit the ground running that summer, editing A Sword of Greed and Envy, until I was finally ready to let a couple of ARC readers see it. It was published before the end of summer and I have never felt more accomplished than I did in that moment. Now it is published, along with three additional novels in the series and more are on the way!
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Who is your favorite character to write and why?This is a difficult choice. I strangely enjoy writing my male characters in general because most of them are morally gray, brooding, and just all around arrogant and sarcastic. Narrowing it down to one specific character, I would have to pick Killian Adaro from my Nokturn Rising series. He is easily the most fun to write!
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How many books have you written and which one is your favorite?So far, I have written 8 books. Of those 8, 6 are in the YA Fantasy genre, 1 is in the YA Paranormal/Academy genre, and 1 is in the Adult Romance/Billionaire Romance genre. It's hard to pick just one favorite because I work in different genres, but I think my favorite would have to be Beautiful Mess (because I'm a sucker for a tumultuous relationship in a book) or All the Eyes of Days, because I love Kavera and Merrick.
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What scene from one of your books was the most fun to write? Which one was the most difficult?The most fun scene for me to write are my love interests first meetings (or the moment they realize they like one another), no matter which book/series. Those are the moments that make me happy as a reader and so I enjoy constructing those scenes as a writer. I wrote a specific scene in Nokturn Rising when Killian and Taron have a scuffle in the woods down by the creek bed. In the book, the chapter is written from Lark's point of view, but I actually have written that scene from Taron's perspective and intend to publish it as part of a short story collection later down the road. But it was such a fun and intense scene to write as Taron is struggling with coming out in regard to his sexuality and Killian hasn't come to terms with his own. It really makes for a tension filled scene that will have your heart pounding. The most difficult scenes for me to write are any sort of action/battle scenes. I can always see it in my head, but it's oftentimes difficult to convey that on the page with words. To me, there is always going to be something that falls short or doesn't quite live up to the way the mental movie plays out in my mind. So far, I think specifically, the battle scenes in Nokturn Rising have been the most difficult.
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If you were to write a spin-off about a secondary character, who would it be and why?Rhys Skraven from All the Eyes of Days. I need more time with this character because I quickly grew to love him as I developed him for the first EOD novel. His role in EOD is small, but he will return in the rest of the series here and there. Rhys is a morally gray character who is never on the right side of the law. He is sort of like a mob boss in a sense. Pulling heists and performing questionable "jobs" for the upper class, always taking his cut of everything. I do actually have plans on writing a spin-off duology or possibly a trilogy about him but it is in the very early stages currently.
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Do you play music while you write? If so, what kind?Sometimes I do listen to music when I write, especially if I'm struggling in a scene. Music helps break me free of any type of writer's block I might be facing. Usually, my genre of choice is indie/alternative. (This also tends to help me building my book soundtracks that I include in the front of every book!)
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What books do you enjoy reading?I enjoy a multitude of genres. My favorites include: YA (Fantasy/Paranormal/Romance/Thrillers) NA College Romance Adult Romance of all varieties Thriller/Mystery I am usually reading one book from each genre at all times.
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Do you prefer ebooks, print books, or audiobooks?While I do read ebooks for the convenience (I love my Kindle and I feel like I read crazy fast when I read ebooks!), I am a sucker for a physical book. There is nothing like actually turning the pages of a real book.
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