I was lucky to get an interview with Clayton W Snyder, the author of Cold West, and a semifinalist in this year’s #SPFBO9.
Please, tell us a bit about yourself…
Co-author of SPFBO finalist Norylska Groans, which Anthony Ryan (Blood Song) described as “Rich in bone crunching violence and a grimly convincing sense of place and character.”, and the final instalment of the Manifest Delusions series, A War to End All. Several of my other novels have been SPFBO semi-finalists. I’ve also authored numerous short stories, my most recent, Hounds, at Grimdark Magazine. I currently split my time between work and writing. I have worked as a systems admin, chainsaw operator, and once did an ill-advised stint as a bodyguard because I am ‘really tall’.
Why should I buy your SPFBO9 entry?
Pitch: Bastard. Killer. Husband. Father. His wife cold in the ground, and two young boys to feed, Wil Cutter turns to what he knows: Violence. But a bounty is never just a bounty, and blood is never spilled in drops. Forced to ever more violent acts, he’ll have to ask himself: Is Hell too far to ride?
As to the why: If you like westerns and fantasy, and good old-fashioned revenge stories. If you like character studies and tragedy. If you loved Unforgiven, or you just want to see a man doing his best in an uncaring world.
“Why I chose to write dark fantasy is because I take a dim view of human cruelty and wanted to shine a light on it. To warn others off, maybe even symbolically punish those who seem to be bulletproof in the real world.”
What got you into writing? And how long have you been doing it?
Stephen King and Clive Barker’s short stories. I spent a lot of time reading them and thinking God, I want to make something that makes others feel like this. That sense of wonder, mystery, and terror. It’s like a drug, and I wanted to share it with everyone. A lot like ecstasy, I imagine.
I started writing around 15 or 16, parodies of books we were assigned in class. A Separate Peace, The Red Badge of Courage, etc. Out of school, I continued to tinker with short stories for several years, but it wasn’t until I was in my 30s that I decided I needed to knuckle down and actually make an effort at this.
So, to answer your question, I fucked around for about 15 years, got serious a few years ago, and have been doing it ever since. 32 years all told?
Have you participated in the SPFBO before and where did you hear about the competition?
I have! Three of my solo books have been semifinalists, and my cowritten book with Michael R Fletcher was a finalist. I think I first heard about it from a friend on Twitter.
Why did you choose to write fantasy?
I chose to write fantasy because it’s the genre where, by definition, anything can happen. The only real limit is your imagination. It’s right there in the word, isn’t it? Fantastic. Why I chose to write dark fantasy is because I take a dim view of human cruelty and wanted to shine a light on it. To warn others off, maybe even symbolically punish those who seem to be bulletproof in the real world.
Which other author has had the biggest influence on your writing?
Probably Roger Zelazny. The Chronicles of Amber opened my eyes to what fantasy could be. Magical, cynical, incredible, with a twist of noir. There’s no end to the inventiveness in those books, and I love them to death, even thirty years after first reading them.
If you were to win the SPFBO, what impact do you think this would have on your writing career?
Obviously, they would build a great statue in my name, and worship me for the god I am.
A statue? How big a statue are we talking about here?
Wait. Wrong answer sheet.
I think it’d go a long way toward banishing this accumulation of self-doubt that’s accreted to me over the years. Imposter syndrome never really goes away, but every now and then you can scrape it off, like barnacles from the hull of a ship.
What challenges did you face during the writing or publishing process, and how did you overcome them?
Discipline. There are times I have to sit and force myself to write, whether I’m feeling it or not. In those cases, I use the five minute rule, which is pretty simple: do a thing for five minutes, and if you still don’t want to, then stop. I usually find I’m about an hour in before I realize the five minutes is up.
Do you have any tips or an author app, tool, or resource that you can really recommend we try?
Hm. Probably the same advice I give everyone: read widely. Your genre, outside your genre, good, bad, mediocre. Read poetry and history and mad scribblings. Every book is a lesson.
And now it's time to yank out your Palantir! Let’s talk about the future. What new projects are you working on?
I’m currently working on a sci-fi story about found family, tentatively titled Murder-9.
Apps that are based on artificial intelligence (AI), such as ChatGTP and Midjourney, along with apps aimed specifically at authors, have caused quite a stir. Do you expect these new technologies will make your life as a self-published author easier or harder, and do you expect that they’ll mean you’ll earn more or less?
I’m probably not the best person to ask about this. I find AI and its proponents to be, well, not helpful to the industry if I’m being diplomatic. Let’s just say I think there’s more harm than good coming from this corner when it comes to the arts.
Do you have any dreams you’d like to share?
Oh, someday I’d like to dig up the show versus tell guy and whack him with his own shinbone.
Aside from that, if I had a really big dream? My book in stores. Everywhere.
With the way your books keep performing, that will hopefully be possible someday! Anything else you would like to say before we close?
Fergulous.
Ohh…kay, fergulous just bacame the word of the day…I guess? I admittedly had to look it up (it’s a UK thing,) but this Urban Dictionary page explains it in the best way possible :-)
Clayton, thank you for teaching me a new word! I wish you the very best in the SPFBO. I hope a lot of readers (and bookstores!) discover your writing.
Thanks for doing the interview!
