I do hope to convince a few people about the futility of ever investing yourself in a cult or its leader or in any belief system where an enterprising individual promotes their connection to a benevolent deity or claims enlightenment or promises spiritual advancement.

Clark T. Carlton – 25 October 2023

The Back Flap

It’s the year 1990 and Lakshmi Steinmetz is under attack. Hollywood’s guru of the moment is on the verge of fame and fortune with a message of love and forgiveness during the AIDS crisis. Some see her as a saint dressed in Donna Karan, but those who work for her see another side: a malicious, mercurial boss prone to degrading outbursts with an insatiable lust for fame. Into the maelstrom comes Tyler St. George, a failing screenwriter but a talented chef who stumbles into a world of New Age junkies when he takes a job in the kitchen of Manna From Heaven, a charity that delivers meals to people with AIDS. The organization, wobbly from its beginning, is constantly going broke and is rife with corruption. To its rescue comes Robert Bravermann, a former mayor and one of the world’s most beautiful men who does his job too well — and ignites a feud with Steinmetz that tears apart a vulnerable community.

Darkly satirical, A Bitch for God is a portrait of a time when hopelessness and desperation were exploited by charlatans for their own ambitions.

About the book

When did you start writing the book?

I started writing the book in 2013 and was about one third finished when my science-fiction/fantasy book, Prophets of the Ghost Ants, was acquired by Harper Collins Voyager.  I contracted with Harper to write two sequels to that novel now known as The Antasy Series.  When that was completed I went back to work on A Bitch for God which I completed in  May of 2023.

How long did it take you to write it?

It took close to two years to complete — with a 10 year interruption!

Where did you get the idea from?

This is a work of fiction, but I lived in Los Angeles, near West Hollywood, in the late Eighties and early Nineties.  AIDS was a dominant factor in the lives of gay men at that time, especially those of us who lived in urban centers.  I did what I could to help those who were afflicted by a syndrome that was a multitude of diseases and watched too many die protracted and painful deaths.  At the time, there was very little that could be done for these men and women until the arrival of a “cocktail” in 1995 that ended a very dark era.  What I did witness in the years of AIDS was a desperate need for a belief in something outside of ourselves, a need for a god or a higher power who would ease the pain and bring the suffering to a better place.  During that era, a number of people promised a religion or a spirituality that was a complete falsehood, a modern day snake oil that they sold to fulfill their own lust for fame and fortune.  A number of cults arose and my own conflict was that I did not want to dissuade anyone who was suffering from embracing a belief system that gave them some comfort.  I only knew a couple of HIV positive men who were, like me, religious skeptics who could face their illness without faith in a benevolent deity.  As serious as all of that sounds, there is a lot of humor in this book.  I depicted all of the New Age excess that exploded at that time:  reiki, astrology, chakra adjustments, magical breaths from a supposed bodhitsattva and enchanted mud from the Dead Sea.

Were there any parts of the book where you struggled?

No.  I work entirely from feelings.  It takes time to craft a book but I never struggled, never lacked inspiration.  I shape and edit my work using my rational processes but I had something I needed to say.  This book, like all my books, came out of my love/hate relationship with humanity and how we treat each other.

What came easily?

The main character, Tyler, is a thwarted screenwriter who is trying to get back on the success track.  He also happens to be someone who loves to eat and prepare food and is fascinated by its endless variety.  In a way that I don’t think is extraneous, I got caught up in the description of food as it’s prepared in a kitchen for people with AIDS as well as in the conflicts between different chefs who competed with each other for glory.  The different foods we eat says as much about our individuality as the clothes we wear and the music we listen to.  And the need to compete with each other, whether it’s in spiritual progress or who makes better enchiladas, is an inherent part of being human.

Are your characters entirely fictitious or have you borrowed from real world people you know?

All interesting characters in a book are based on real people.  Interesting characters tend to be amalgams of real people and then are flavored and shaped by the writer’s own personality.  It’s often said that characters start off with a real life basis but then evolve into something more interesting or heightened as the narrative grows and is colored.

We all know how important it is for writers to read. Are there any particular authors that have influenced how you write and, if so, how have they influenced you?

I have been mostly a genre writer for my traditionally published books and the authors that inspire me are the masters of sci-fi/fantasy and speculative fiction:  Clarke, Herbert, Le Guin,  Auel, Heinlein etc. But I have always been a wide reader and favor authors who write honest, confessional work.  The novel that gobsmacked me when I was 12 years old and that still absorbs me to this day is Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye.  It’s a work of fiction but Salinger acknowledged that it was autobiographical. I found it painfully humorous on first reading but was in awe of its emotional honesty.  It had to be a shock to readers in the time it was first published.  The portrait of Holden Caulfield is not a flattering one and we witness his embarrassing moments and see the mildly evil delight he gets in lying to people and revealing their gullibility.  We also see someone with a deep sensitivity who is haunted by his brother’s death and sympathize with a young man who clings to his childhood and resists growing up and detests all of the phonies.

Other writers I revere are the two Davids, Leavitt and Sedaris, who also write confessional books either as thinly disguised fiction or as humorous accounts of real life.  David Leavitt will refer to himself as David in some of his works of fiction. He doesn’t paint heroic portraits of himself but tells stories that are drenched with intimate and embarrassing details. David Sedaris never idealizes himself or brags about what he’s accomplished.  He always gives you the dirt on himself as well as others.  I was also consumed by the autobiographical works of Augusten Burroughs.  Running With Scissors and Dry are incandescent reading. Both of these books are fascinating in their details and their aching openness.

Before I went to work on A Bitch for God, I read Lauren Weissberger’s The Devil Wears Prada.  It’s one of the best novels to depict what it’s like to work for an impossible, demanding celebrity, something I could relate to.  In as much as Miranda Priestly is painted as someone cold, demanding and self-absorbed, the protagonist does have moments of admiration for her.  Andrea does not gloss over her own faults or the fact that she took the job without having a genuine interest in fashion.  My character, Tyler, is already a skeptic when he takes a job in an organization that is rife with New Age junkies but it’s only when everything sours that he reveals his doubts about God and spirituality.  He’s a flawed character and more interesting for it.

Do you have a target reader?

I do hope to convince a few people about the futility of ever investing yourself in a cult or its leader or in any belief system where an enterprising individual promotes their connection to a benevolent deity or claims enlightenment or promises spiritual advancement.  And I hope to entertain readers who are familiar with their own version of Lakshmi Steinmetz.  Cults have always been and will always be with us.  Keith Raniere’s NXIVM was a very recent strain and a very dangerous one but new cults have popped up since his demise.  We will always need warnings about cults.   Years ago we got one in Elmer Gantry and A Bitch for God is a new one.

About Writing

Do you have a writing process? If so can you please describe it?

Yes.  My process is to glue my butt to my chair and write for however many hours I have left in my day.  It helps to drink a lot of coffee.  I usually work late at night after our dogs have been walked and my honey is fast asleep.  I write books when I have something to say and I always have something to say.  I have strong feelings and a good memory and connect to both when I write.  If someone tells me they have “writer’s block” it’s likely they just don’t have anything to say.  When someone tells me they want to write, I ask them what it is they want to tell the world.

Do you outline? If so, do you do so extensively or just chapter headings and a couple of sentences?

I do not outline but I always know my beginning and I always know my ending.  The writing process is going well when I surprise myself by where my characters lead me.  When I have the feeling of running after them, of catching up to where they’ve gone to, I know it’s going well.  I scrap anything that’s not vivid or surprising.

Do you edit as you go or wait until you’ve finished?

Yes, I will toss passages that I don’t like re-reading.  Everything that furthers the story stays in and so does everything that’s interesting or funny and is a part of my theme or intentions.

Did you hire a professional editor?

I did for my first novel.  I hired Ann Creel, herself an author, when my novel Prophets of the Ghost Ants was almost accepted by two Big Five publishers.  One of those editors told me my book was too long for a first-time author and Ann helped me by telling me exactly which passages had to go, what she called “brutal cuts.”  I’ve learned to edit since then but always welcome the chance to toss out anything that slows the narrative.  I run my books past friends whose opinions I trust.

Do you listen to music while you write? If yes, what gets the fingers tapping?

It depends on what I am working on, but in writing A Bitch for God, it was helpful to listen to the rock/pop and hip-hop of the late 80s and early 90s. I listened to a lot of Seattle grunge and Annie Lennox and Joni Mitchell records from that time as well as the B-52s Good Stuff.  Pandora would play pop music I had completely forgotten but which could plunge me back to the early 90s, music from Milli Vanilli, Vanilla Ice and Taylor Dane, the music that I heard on my car’s radio.   I also listened to the indy rock that I liked back then, bands like The Sundays and Cocteau Twins.

About Publishing

Did you submit your work to Agents?

Sadly, my close friend and agent died a few years ago.  I have a manager who handles my contracts.  I may attract an agent again if my new novel gets some traction — that’s usually how it works.  The truism that “it’s harder to get an agent than a deal” has been true for me.

What made you decide to go Indie, whether self-publishing or with an indie publisher? Was it a particular event or a gradual process?

I was fortunate enough to have a successful indie book which led to its acquisition by Harper Collins.  I hope that’s the case again with A Bitch for God which I want to get out as soon as possible because it’s timely.  The publisher of my sci-fi/fantasy series was not interested in this novel because it is a work of mainstream fiction.

Did you get your book cover professionally done or did you do it yourself?

I hired David Colon through Fiverr and let him know my ideas for the cover.  He’s a reasonably priced professional who had his own ideas about what would be intriguing.  I really think he succeeded and came up with something that is alternately dark and bright with a juicy morsel of mystery at its center.

Do you have a marketing plan for the book or are you just winging it?

I have a wonderful publicist, Julie Coryel, who works with Julia Drake at Wildbound PR.  They have made it easy for someone like me to catch up with all the possibilities of social media.  Years ago, Julia was helpful in getting me reviews for Prophets of the Ghost Ants which led to its success as an indy novel and later to its acquisition by Harper.

Any advice that you would like to give to other newbies considering becoming Indie authors?

Your book won’t get better until you know how it fails. The biggest favor that a beta reader can do for you is to give you a brutally honest response. Consider all criticism and be suspicious of all praise.  At the same time, work just as hard to get your completed book discovered and have no expectations that it will be.  If you write the book that you want to read, that you believe is well crafted, you will have succeeded in creating a work of art even if it’s for an audience of one.  Getting others to read your book and to enjoy it is what we all want, but it is the creation of it that is the real triumph.

About You

Where did you grow up?  

I grew up in South River, New Jersey, a blue collar suburb of NYC and later, Arcadia, California, a segregated and conservative suburb of Los Angeles.  I was born in Florida where my father was a shoeless cowboy until he was eight.  My mother is from a family that grew cotton among other crops.

Where do you live now?

I am lucky to say I live in Los Angeles, an always fascinating place.   I love California.

What would you like readers to know about you?

Between books I work on paintings to create psychedelic landscapes.  A friend of mine calls me “Grandma Moses on acid” which I take as the highest compliment.

What are you working on now?

A painting! But I am also doing research and gearing up to rewrite a lesser known fairy tale in which the happy ending turns out to be a tragedy and the gift of a fairy godmother turns out to be the curse of a witch … and vice versa.

End of Interview:

For more from Clark T. Carlton visit his website or follow him on Facebook and Twitter.

Get your copy of A Bitch for God from Amazon US or Amazon UK.