Cherae
@clclark.bsky.social
SFF’s buffest lesbian. BFA & Ignyte & Locus Winner. Nebula & Hugo & BFA Finalist. TOURAINE'S ARMS & TOURAINE’S LEGS & TOURAINE'S @$$ & AMBESSA'S ARMS (Orbit ‘21,‘23,'25). français, العربيّة. they/she/sir/Hey, soldier.
https://linktr.ee/clclark
https://linktr.ee/clclark
Pinned
Cherae
@clclark.bsky.social
· May 16
It's a THREE BOOK YEAR for me. I'm gonna break them down for you in this thread, but head to my website at the link in bio for more details and sign up for my newsletter to keep tabs on sales, pre-order campaigns, sneak peeks, and events!
Ambessa: Out Now!
The others: Sept 30!
Ambessa: Out Now!
The others: Sept 30!
Reposted by Cherae
We kept the prompts casual in yesterday's writing sprint.
You can mix and match as much as you'd like, or take only what you need to complete your story!
Watch the replay to use these cards, or tune in Wed., Jan 21 @ 3pmET for our next sprint!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=WH_m...
You can mix and match as much as you'd like, or take only what you need to complete your story!
Watch the replay to use these cards, or tune in Wed., Jan 21 @ 3pmET for our next sprint!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=WH_m...
January 15, 2026 at 5:18 PM
We kept the prompts casual in yesterday's writing sprint.
You can mix and match as much as you'd like, or take only what you need to complete your story!
Watch the replay to use these cards, or tune in Wed., Jan 21 @ 3pmET for our next sprint!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=WH_m...
You can mix and match as much as you'd like, or take only what you need to complete your story!
Watch the replay to use these cards, or tune in Wed., Jan 21 @ 3pmET for our next sprint!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=WH_m...
new newsletter went out yesterday! feat. a wild week at the VCFA residency and some good advice from one of my colleagues for artists who want to be a bulwark during these times, and feel a bit less ineffectual. Also, a side-by-side comparison of monster slayer ch.1 with the dice rolls that made it.
Jan 2026: Welcome to the Playground
VCFA Residency, the power of play and poetry
clclarkwrites.com
January 13, 2026 at 10:20 AM
new newsletter went out yesterday! feat. a wild week at the VCFA residency and some good advice from one of my colleagues for artists who want to be a bulwark during these times, and feel a bit less ineffectual. Also, a side-by-side comparison of monster slayer ch.1 with the dice rolls that made it.
Reposted by Cherae
An oldie but a goodie, from this morning's 2025 recap newsletter from @clclark.bsky.social
psychopomp.com/fantasy/issu...
psychopomp.com/fantasy/issu...
The Fiction of Peace, the Fantasy of War - PSYCHOPOMP.COM
As an American millennial, my country has been legally at war for more than half of my life. As a Black person in the United States, and as someone aware of the displacement and genocide of indigenous...
psychopomp.com
January 1, 2026 at 11:07 PM
An oldie but a goodie, from this morning's 2025 recap newsletter from @clclark.bsky.social
psychopomp.com/fantasy/issu...
psychopomp.com/fantasy/issu...
Reposted by Cherae
Had a lovely cozy day off reading, & FLEW through @clclark.bsky.social's new novella Fate's Bane: a haunting sapphic tale of love, loss & rivalry in ancient fens.
(& my brain has decided it's totally the same eerie, unsettling fenland world as Mere by Danielle Giles, which I also loved!)
#SFF
💙📚🪐
(& my brain has decided it's totally the same eerie, unsettling fenland world as Mere by Danielle Giles, which I also loved!)
#SFF
💙📚🪐
January 5, 2026 at 8:16 PM
Had a lovely cozy day off reading, & FLEW through @clclark.bsky.social's new novella Fate's Bane: a haunting sapphic tale of love, loss & rivalry in ancient fens.
(& my brain has decided it's totally the same eerie, unsettling fenland world as Mere by Danielle Giles, which I also loved!)
#SFF
💙📚🪐
(& my brain has decided it's totally the same eerie, unsettling fenland world as Mere by Danielle Giles, which I also loved!)
#SFF
💙📚🪐
there will eventually be an audiobook for fate’s bane! but i cannot tell you when.
@clclark.bsky.social hey so like… are we getting an audiobook for Fate’s Bane? 🥹
a woman is blowing her nose into a napkin while wearing hoop earrings .
Alt: a woman is blowing her nose into a napkin while wearing hoop earrings crying
media.tenor.com
December 29, 2025 at 11:15 AM
there will eventually be an audiobook for fate’s bane! but i cannot tell you when.
Reposted by Cherae
I’d be grateful if folks followed this project on Kickstarter 🖤
Aiming right now to go live in January, depending on when I get all my materials ready.
We have some exciting invited authors and @mspencerdraws.bsky.social is on board for interior illustrations.
Aiming right now to go live in January, depending on when I get all my materials ready.
We have some exciting invited authors and @mspencerdraws.bsky.social is on board for interior illustrations.
December 24, 2025 at 4:28 PM
I’d be grateful if folks followed this project on Kickstarter 🖤
Aiming right now to go live in January, depending on when I get all my materials ready.
We have some exciting invited authors and @mspencerdraws.bsky.social is on board for interior illustrations.
Aiming right now to go live in January, depending on when I get all my materials ready.
We have some exciting invited authors and @mspencerdraws.bsky.social is on board for interior illustrations.
Yessssss!
Have fuuunnnn!
Have fuuunnnn!
December 24, 2025 at 4:49 PM
Yessssss!
Have fuuunnnn!
Have fuuunnnn!
and finally—
in a whirlwind turn of events, we have a finished draft!
Some work remains, like fleshing out some side characters and coming up with some area names (and maybe even a title), but I’m calling this draft done.
in a whirlwind turn of events, we have a finished draft!
Some work remains, like fleshing out some side characters and coming up with some area names (and maybe even a title), but I’m calling this draft done.
some behind the scenes…
December 22, 2025 at 1:40 PM
and finally—
in a whirlwind turn of events, we have a finished draft!
Some work remains, like fleshing out some side characters and coming up with some area names (and maybe even a title), but I’m calling this draft done.
in a whirlwind turn of events, we have a finished draft!
Some work remains, like fleshing out some side characters and coming up with some area names (and maybe even a title), but I’m calling this draft done.
someone blessed me with another Sabine—and omg 🥵
my new website, has my new favorite thing—a “graffiti wall” showcasing some of the amazing work.
it’s such a wonderful gift to a creator, to receive the time and skill of your characters, and i’m grateful every time.
my new website, has my new favorite thing—a “graffiti wall” showcasing some of the amazing work.
it’s such a wonderful gift to a creator, to receive the time and skill of your characters, and i’m grateful every time.
December 21, 2025 at 10:07 PM
someone blessed me with another Sabine—and omg 🥵
my new website, has my new favorite thing—a “graffiti wall” showcasing some of the amazing work.
it’s such a wonderful gift to a creator, to receive the time and skill of your characters, and i’m grateful every time.
my new website, has my new favorite thing—a “graffiti wall” showcasing some of the amazing work.
it’s such a wonderful gift to a creator, to receive the time and skill of your characters, and i’m grateful every time.
i loved these poems so so much.
hi! i'm nailah, a black nonbinary poet writing for the world to come. 🪻🌷
would you interrupt your sister's lobotomy? wish you'd been abandoned on a mountaintop? wanna go feral with that special someone? birth a bird of hell?
do you like poems that bite back?then better hands is the book for you🫵🏾👀
would you interrupt your sister's lobotomy? wish you'd been abandoned on a mountaintop? wanna go feral with that special someone? birth a bird of hell?
do you like poems that bite back?then better hands is the book for you🫵🏾👀
Nailah Mathews • better hands • Print Only - Newfound
better hands • Print Only Summary Who breaks the cycle, and what does breaking it cost? Winner of the 2023 Anzaldúa Poetry Prize, better hands eulogizes legacies of violence, underscored by a fervent ...
newfound.org
December 20, 2025 at 5:08 PM
i loved these poems so so much.
Reposted by Cherae
Uh oh not a sexy butch
December 18, 2025 at 7:42 PM
Uh oh not a sexy butch
we must re-open the schools 😤
look at every medieval & early modern court document about lesbians and/or trans men using dildos (e.g. Katherine Hetzeldorfer, 1477). there are so many!!! court records!!
really I despair
really I despair
December 18, 2025 at 8:15 PM
we must re-open the schools 😤
i did not realize there was aNOTHER sex scene essay this summer and featuring aNOTHER favorite book of mine! so i will be checking that out and you should as well!
Reactor is proud to continue our history of genre-focused literary criticism. Here's some of our favorite essays on reading, writing, and fiction from the year:
Some of Reactor’s Best Articles About Fiction, Reading, and Writing in 2025 - Reactor
We're looking back at some of our favorite non-fiction articles from the past year, highlighting book-centric essays.
reactormag.com
December 17, 2025 at 5:15 PM
i did not realize there was aNOTHER sex scene essay this summer and featuring aNOTHER favorite book of mine! so i will be checking that out and you should as well!
it’s my favorite day of the year, when alix tells me what to read next year
i mean—uh what to get for other people
i mean—uh what to get for other people
last newsletter of the year is just a bunch of books i liked, thinly disguised as a gift guide!
buttondown.com/alixeharrow/...
buttondown.com/alixeharrow/...
December 16, 2025 at 10:04 AM
it’s my favorite day of the year, when alix tells me what to read next year
i mean—uh what to get for other people
i mean—uh what to get for other people
Reposted by Cherae
some behind the scenes…
December 13, 2025 at 11:21 AM
some behind the scenes…
Reposted by Cherae
Dec 15th's choice for best new books of 2025 goes to Fate's Bane by @clclark.bsky.social, a lyrically emotional, sapphic, and beautifully written novella of magic & warring clans set in the fens, where a hostage finds herself drawn to the daughter of her enemy's chieftain.
🪐📚💙
#SFF
🪐📚💙
#SFF
December 15, 2025 at 11:14 AM
Dec 15th's choice for best new books of 2025 goes to Fate's Bane by @clclark.bsky.social, a lyrically emotional, sapphic, and beautifully written novella of magic & warring clans set in the fens, where a hostage finds herself drawn to the daughter of her enemy's chieftain.
🪐📚💙
#SFF
🪐📚💙
#SFF
Reposted by Cherae
“If you come to fiction because of an innate interest in human character, you might write fiction that answers the question, How did this character get this way? That was the plot of all my early stories. Much better to ask: Given that a character is this way, what do they do?” —Elizabeth McCracken
December 13, 2025 at 1:57 PM
“If you come to fiction because of an innate interest in human character, you might write fiction that answers the question, How did this character get this way? That was the plot of all my early stories. Much better to ask: Given that a character is this way, what do they do?” —Elizabeth McCracken
Reposted by Cherae
"If you have ever read a story that seems beautiful and is full of both emotion and event but feels fundamentally dead at its heart, it's because it has an emotional plot and an active plot that have nothing in common. They just run parallel to each other..."
December 12, 2025 at 1:56 PM
"If you have ever read a story that seems beautiful and is full of both emotion and event but feels fundamentally dead at its heart, it's because it has an emotional plot and an active plot that have nothing in common. They just run parallel to each other..."
😯
Oh my gawd I just found this barbarian woman photo shoot Katy O'Brian did a few years and again: her. Movie. With battle axe. Now.
December 13, 2025 at 10:53 PM
😯
i do! personally, i think they’re the most fun moments. i like teaching the most when i’m just another writer in the room, experimenting and trying to do the same wild, ambitious thing as them.
(also, it gives material to teach from if i need an example but don’t want to put someone on the spot)
(also, it gives material to teach from if i need an example but don’t want to put someone on the spot)
Creative writing teachers: Do you ever do the exercises you offer in class? I’m thinking about doing this as a way to try them out and also to be in tune with what the students are working with.
December 13, 2025 at 8:25 PM
i do! personally, i think they’re the most fun moments. i like teaching the most when i’m just another writer in the room, experimenting and trying to do the same wild, ambitious thing as them.
(also, it gives material to teach from if i need an example but don’t want to put someone on the spot)
(also, it gives material to teach from if i need an example but don’t want to put someone on the spot)
some behind the scenes…
December 13, 2025 at 11:21 AM
some behind the scenes…
do i have a strong enough brand to just say, ‘c.l. clark meets the witcher’?
because that’s what’s happening.
because that’s what’s happening.
Time to eat your vegetables again y'all! What's a one-sentence elevator pitch for your book? If you need help, [thing] meets [thing] is a great baseline. #WritingPrompt
December 12, 2025 at 3:31 PM
do i have a strong enough brand to just say, ‘c.l. clark meets the witcher’?
because that’s what’s happening.
because that’s what’s happening.
Looking forward to this one…
Coming April 2026: RABBIT TEST AND OTHER STORIES, 1st collection from Nebula, Locus & Sturgeon award-winner @samtasticbooks.com
buff.ly/9sh2exQ
"Samantha examines the human spirit with a sharp eye and a gentle heart." @foxesandroses.bsky.social
@lisarodgers.bsky.social @awfulagent.bsky.social
buff.ly/9sh2exQ
"Samantha examines the human spirit with a sharp eye and a gentle heart." @foxesandroses.bsky.social
@lisarodgers.bsky.social @awfulagent.bsky.social
December 11, 2025 at 3:05 PM
Looking forward to this one…
Reposted by Cherae
![I [Heart] Reading While Driving bumper sticker](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:l6rhhhqmguakxpoomlxmn4ky/bafkreid3orkmsficdyhka34gas42m2osakskov6muwmcunk62a3cdvvane@jpeg)
this silly gift guide was surprisingly fun to write, but i guess it’s easy when you just get to gush about the things that bring you joy—
C. L. Clark’s Amazing Gift Guide
Not sure what to get the storytelling nerd in your life? Well, I am.
clclarkwrites.com
December 8, 2025 at 3:31 PM
this silly gift guide was surprisingly fun to write, but i guess it’s easy when you just get to gush about the things that bring you joy—