A Warm Welcome to Clayton
Clayton
Bye is a writer, editor and publisher. The author of 9 books and a varied
collection of short stories, poems, articles and hundreds of reviews, he is about to publish his second anthology of excellent short stories by
some great talents from around the world.
The first book, Writers on the Wrong Side of the Road, featured general
fiction, while the current offering, The Speed of Dark, is horror, through and through.
Clayton also offers a wide range of writing
services, including small business management for writers.
HERE IT IS, HOT OFF THE PRESS!
CLAYTON REVEALS:
How would
you describe the Anthology?
The Speed of Dark consists of 27
strangely different and disturbing, short horror stories by 19 talented authors
from around the world.
What makes it unique?
I hand-picked authors who I thought
were capable of dropping the constraints of writing "normal" short
stories and picking up the gauntlet to provide readers with really different
and, most especially, disturbing tales of horror. This is not a book for a
lazy, sunny Sunday afternoon; no, this book is meant to be read in a dark
corner, beneath a single bulb lamp, and it is meant to disturb you deeply.
These are stories you will carry with you for some time. Stories like
"What about Mom?" and "Jesse's Hair" and "Little Girl
Lost." All have the power to change you. And all are literary in nature.
I'm not sure you'll find a book like this anywhere else on the market today.
What do
you think are its outstanding attributes?
That's easy: the authors. This is
a group who stretched themselves. They are a group who were finally allowed to
take a story "way out there" and know it would be published. They
didn't disappoint. And the really interesting thing? There is still a story for
everyone; the stories are as diverse as the authors.
What
inspired you to embark on this venture?
A number of things, as is often
the case. I have a medical condition that limits me to 10-15 minute work
sessions, then I must rest or do something less demanding. Because of this my
plan to have a collection of my own short stories to publish by this spring
just wasn't viable. But, I thought, I might be able to do an anthology of other
authors work. After all, my anthology of the previous year was both an award
winner and a critical success. Then, seeing as I had done general fiction the
year before, I decided to do horror stories. Being who I am, the stories, of
course, would have to be very different in nature. I began contacting authors
and the rest, as they say, is history!
What's
been the strangest thing that has happened to you, while you have worked on
this book?
There are two things, actually.
First, after years of trying to break into the Superstore market,
Chapters/Indigo has agreed to evaluate my books for placement in their stores.
I'm blown away. Second, one of the stories submitted was so visceral, and it
affected me so deeply, I actually considered cutting it. This is a big deal.
I'm a horror reviewer who has seen it all, except for this story. But
thankfully I came to my senses, for this was exactly the kind of story I was
hoping for when I began the project. Strange indeed!
In
reading your bio, I saw that you are a man of many hats. How do you balance it
all?
Balance? That’s a good one. I live and breathe writing and
entrepreneurship. They’re the only things that keep me going. You see, I have severe
Rheumatoid Arthritis (can’t walk more than a block), and I'm seriously Bipolar.
On a more useful line of discourse, I’ve always followed a simple
philosophy. You make a list of things you want or need to accomplish in a day,
beginning with the most difficult and most urgent, then continue on until the
day is done. Anything left is put aside until the next day—without thought or
remorse. You won’t get more done using any other method, and this one allows
you to go to bed satisfied with what you did accomplish. It also allows for
balance, as long as you build family and recreational goals into the list. I never
complete my list, by the way. There’s more work to do than my lifetime will
allow.
What
else would you like to tell us?
The most useful thing I can tell any writer is to never forget that
writing is writing and business is business. They’re two different things that
you must do equally well.
THE SPEED OF DARK IS ALREADY ATTRACTING GREAT REVIEWS:
"This [The Speed of Dark] was a horror anthology I was mightily pleased to have read... There is a lot of scope and dimension in these short stories." - Jess Scott, author of To IRAQ and Back
The Speed of Dark is an anthology of short tales of horror by Cynthia Ainworthe, Kenneth Weene, Clayton Bye, Micki Peluso, Mary Firman and more than a dozen other great writers. It's one of those hard-to-put-down books that keeps you up all night reading... and trembling. From the computer generated green terror in Retrovirus, to the dreadful secrets in the cellar in Taking Care of Mother and the unexpected fate of the man in room 627 in Hansom Dove, readers are sure to find that each of these macabre stories will keep them wanting to read one more before, if they dare, turning off the lights. - T.R. Heinan, author of L'immotalité: Madame Lalaurie and the Voodoo Queen
"In The Speed of Dark I got two things. One was excellent presentation with very good editing, and the other was well-written work that in most cases wasn't overly graphic, but which was interesting, involving and rarely over the top. Much of it was quietly creepy and, therefore, very effective." - Glenda's Bookshelves
I WISH YOU HUGE SUCCESS WITH THIS PROJECT, CLAYTON. MANY THANKS FOR DROPPING BY!
And don't forget to leave a comment for the chance to win a copy of 'The Speed of Dark'
