Today's #HistFicThursdays blog is a fantastic interview with Cliff Lovette , as part of his Yarde Book Promotion tour! Read on to find out about his influences, inspirations, and the emotional rollercoaster on which Circus Bim Bom carries readers away. But first, let's meet the book... Blurb Soviet circus performers arrived in America hoping to build cultural bridges. Instead, they became unwitting pawns in a Cold War game of international intrigue. When the first privately owned Soviet circus arrived in 1990 in America as the Soviet Union disintegrated, its elite performers expected to build cultural bridges through spectacular shows. Instead, this prestigious troupe faced a perilous journey through Cold War America. Circus director Yuri had to navigate treacherous waters where American mobsters, Soviet agents, and political forces circled like predators. Young aerialist Anton dreamed of becoming a clown against his family’s wishes, while forbidden romanc...
One of the shortest stories included in my upcoming anthology was written for an Edgar Allan Poe competition in 2021, in which my work came Runner-Up, and is titled The Clockmaker.
Edgar Allan Poe is most famous for his works of Gothic Horror, but it is easy to forget that he also dabbled in Science Fiction, as did many of his Gothic contemporaries. Indeed, a quick Google search has informed me that there are anthologies which solely contain his Science Fiction.
The Clockmaker was designed to marry these Horror and SciFi elements to create the sort of story which Poe himself might have written. I won’t deny it: I was pleased with the outcome.
At only 500 words, it tells the story of a man who pays a visit to an old schoolfriend (you will realise, if you read much of my Gothic Horror, that old school/university friends play vital roles!) who is an inventor, and spends some time admiring a clock which he has made. I won’t spoil by telling you the ending, but I will say that he does regret having studied the clock so carefully!
Flash fiction is a favourite of mine. I am not saying that I am always good at it(!) but there is an immediate sense of satisfaction which follows the creation of a good piece of it, without the sense of emptiness which follows the conclusion of a novel! It’s also a pleasure to work up something so short, because you can pore over it again and again in a relatively short space of time.
Unfortunately, flash fiction is a difficult market to sell. Multiple publishers have expressed an interest in The Clockmaker, only to turn it down because it is so short – one even politely encouraging me to work it up. But it owns its 500 words, and who is to say that it would cope with more?! So, it is included in this anthology, and perhaps each person who reads it will never again hear the chimes of a clock in the same way.
[You can read Judith's earlier Gothic Horror blog posts here]
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