SALT LAKE CITY, November 15, 2018
Stephen Clark’s debut novel, Citizen Kill, explores the dangers of Islamophobia through a government conspiracy to end the War on Terror following an Inauguration Day bombing that kills the new president’s young son.
For his second novel, he wanted to focus on another timely topic: race relations in America. It’s one that came after a series of racially charged police shootings in recent years captured the nation’s attention.
Clark felt that while those shootings sparked another so-called national conversation on race, the dialogue again generated plenty of outrage and eye-rolls on all sides, but fell short of any real mutual understanding.
He states: “As a former journalist, I’m fully aware of the limitations of the media to address in any meaningful way deeply embedded societal issues. But as a novelist, I believe in the power of fiction to expand the smallest minds, unite the most divided among us and reveal deeper truths about humanity. That singular belief inspired me to write my current novel.”
Clark’s writing has been influenced by several authors, including Albert Camus, Alex Haley and Stephen King. But in recent years, Gillian Flynn has been the most influential. “Her deeply flawed female protagonists,” says Clark, “not only in Gone Girl, but also in her two previous novels, encouraged me to not shy away from writing characters who are extremely complex, even unlikeable, regardless of their race, religion or gender.”
In Citizen Kill, CIA assassin Justin Raines murders American Muslims suspected of inciting terrorism until he falls in love with one of his targets. Zahra al Sharif, a proud Muslim educator, is also a divorcée who swears like a sailor, drinks like a fish and even samples a cigar for the first time during a date with Justin. In the author’s current novel, the characters are also full of contradictions and vices – just like humans everywhere.
In Clark’s current book, working title “Hands Up,” one character looms larger than life: the city of Philadelphia. The author has a deep affection for Philadelphia, well-known for its cheesesteaks, the never-ending Rocky franchise and die-hard sports fans.
“As the birthplace of our nation, with a rich and complicated history, the City of Brotherly Love is the perfect setting for a social commentary on race relations in America,” says Clark. “Philly is a truly diverse city with a population that is nearly half black. The other half includes the second-largest Irish and Italian communities in the country, along with a sizeable share of Latinos and Asians. Yet studies show Philly is one of America’s most segregated big cities.”
Clark grew up in the suburbs of Philly. “But racial tensions existed there, too. My family was the first to integrate our neighborhood; we were greeted with racial slurs spray-painted on our garage. Yet my family still lives in that house today, and I’m happy to say that the good times over the years far outweigh the bad.”
Stephen Clark is a former award-winning journalist who served as a staff writer for the Los Angeles Times and as a political editor for the Washington, D.C. bureau of FoxNews.com. As a reporter for the Utica Observer-Dispatch, he won a New York Newspaper Publishers Association Award of Distinguished Community Service for his investigation into the financial struggles of nonprofit services. He also won a Society of Professional Journalists Award for Investigative Reporting at the Stamford Advocate for his series exposing an elderly grifter’s charity organization. His first book, Citizen Kill, a political thriller, was released by WiDo Publishing™ in the summer of 2017. Stephen lives in North Jersey with his wife and son. He has a bachelor’s degree in communications from Arcadia University and a master’s degree in journalism from Syracuse University.
Learn more about Stephen Clark on his website: https://www.stephenclarkbooks.com/