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Examiner Bio Independent Author Interview: Clifford Roberts

August 3, 6:56 PMPittsburgh Books ExaminerHolly ChristinePrevious

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Clifford Roberts is the author of Dead Nobles. He has resided in many cities on the East coast and after many troubled years, turned to writing as an outlet for his life experiences. A complete biography can be found on his website www.clifford-roberts.com

Your novel Dead Nobles tells the story of a crime-laden city in a rather interesting dialect. What caused you to write the book in this manner?

I wanted to stay true to the nature of the beast that live and breathe from day-to-day while living in the Big Apple. My life was a harsh one. Backbreaking handyman by day, rabble-rouser by night. Until one day and having a head for wrongs, I smelled the coffee. Abandoning all remorse, I got my house in order. Boldness became my friend. Turning my accomplishments of many years into an hourglass, I began to write again.

The characters in Dead Nobles have the most creative names. How do you decide your character names?

I watch TV quite frequently. Sometimes I dip my nose in a little Shakespeare. Just a tad. It’s just that I find Shakespeare’s words to be on the cutting edge of literature and oh so deeply profound. In addition, I claw through magazines on celebrities. To my opinion, and probably unbeknown to some celebrities, bending the English language adds new words and meaning to our language.

You have a very interesting and inspiring history. Do you find that bits of yourself and your life appear in your writing?

Definitely. My experiences in life help me to identify and to construct a mental road map of each character’s needs and wants, habits, attitudes, nuances, platitudes, idiosyncrasies, from the pimps, ladies of the night, derelicts, thieves, teachers, doctors, lawyers, judges or creative killers.

Not necessarily in that order, but no matter how one juggles and flips them like hot pancakes, the point is well taken here.

You write fiction and non-fiction. Which do you prefer and which do you find most challenging?

Of all the genres, I’m partial to fiction. I can fabricate, enchant, encounter and darkly end an argument. I can twist and bend the plot, to my calm content, so that it becomes so evident that it will glimmer everlastingly through a blind man’s eye. I like all genres but always lean more towards murder mysteries, suspense thrillers and dramas. Every time I write, I picture myself getting ready to settle in and watch a great movie unfold. I just think that now’s the time to share the stories I write.

What inspires your stories?

Looking through the window of my heart, I’m inclined to say, dreams and sighs, wishes and tears, and everything advantageous to life. Furthermore, such things as evil deeds, happiness, barren winter with its wrathful nipping cold, full of strange shapes, of habits and of form, helps to inspire my stories. From December snow, to fantastic summer’s heat, into the wee hours of the morning, I find myself writing and writing, until I’m pale with cheer.

When did you first consider yourself a writer?

The notion of becoming a writer struck me back in 1963. I was stationed at Fort Bliss, in Texas. I put in for writers school up in Boston, but failed the test two times. My writing enthusiasm waned and stayed dormant until 1998. In all truth, I didn’t consider myself a writer until 2008.

What are your thoughts on being an Independent Author?

I consider my present state of being an independent writer a temporary state of affairs, with the hope of landing that proverbial traditional book deal one day in the foreseeable future. I think a writer can learn quite a bit starting off as an independent writer. It has its pitfalls like everything else. I say shape, mold and polish one’s craft. Then when you look in the direction of traditional publishing, you might get lucky and land that big deal.

Did you first attempt the traditional route or immediately self publish?

The traditional. I spent a ton of hours sending out query letters, synopsis, and manuscripts to literary agents, publishers, etc.

From the moment I started out, I had more hair than wit. After a time and to my dismay, I discovered I had more fault than hairs with my writing. I quickly learned I needed a new approach. That was self-publishing.

What authors have inspired you?

John MacDonald, Stuart Woods, James Baldwin.

What is your advice to aspiring writers?

Create a marketing and promotional plan. Network with people of like minds, and never give up. He/she might consider joining Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, Digg.com, and others of like ilk. Establish a website, preferably one with one’s own domain; get radio interviews, book reviews and interviews. In addition, magazines, newspapers, book signings, book fairs, book conventions. Sell from the trunk of a car. Don’t forget to add in eBook sites. If one can afford it, check out Lightning Source. Barnesandnobles.com, Amazon.com. Lastly, keep telling yourself that you can do it. Rome wasn’t built in a day.