Over the last number of years, the magnificent Tony Jones has given me a ton of great book recommendations. One such recommendation I still haven’t got to reading yet. ‘The Clackity’ is the debut novel of today’s Special 3Q’s guest and not only am I super excited to read it (and I just even one a gorgeous copy of it!), but I’m super excited to have Lora Senf stop by today!

Please, welcome Lora!

Steve: What does your writing time look like? Do you try and write at the same time each day? Do you have a word count you attempt to hit?

LS: I so envy writers with processes! I would love to say I have one but I really don’t. I work full time and have third-grade twins, so I write where and when I can. That usually means very early in the morning or late at night. I’m also fortunate to be able to write in the midst of chaos, so I’ve done my fair share of drafting and revising sitting on the couch while the kids watch tv. When I’m actively drafting a story, I usually aim for 500 words every day. It doesn’t always happen (and sometimes I end up with far more) but it’s a reasonable goal for me.

Steve: You’re riding an elevator and BAM! It gets stuck. What two authors (one living and one dead) would you happen to find yourself stuck with?

LS: Easy. Ray Bradbury and Neil Gaiman. Both have been so important to me as a reader and a writer. I would love to stand quietly in a corner and listen to them talk story and storytelling.

Steve: Tell me about your newest release (novel/story/poem/novella) and why someone should read it!

LS: Sure! The Clackity is my debut novel and came out about six months ago. In it, twelve-year-old Evie Von Rathe lives in Blight Harbor, the seventh-most haunted town in America (per capita). Her Aunt Desdemona, the local paranormal expert and otherworldly advice columnist, doesn’t have many rules. One absolute, iron-clad rule is to stay out of the abandoned abattoir at the edge of town. Evie obeys – until she doesn’t, following her aunt to the slaughterhouse one bright June day. When her aunt disappears into the abattoir, Evie goes searching for her.

There she meets The Clackity, a creature that lives in the shadows and seams of the slaughterhouse. The Clackity promises to help Evie get Desdemona back in exchange for the ghost of John Jeffrey Pope, a serial killer who stalked Blight Harbor a hundred years earlier, and who has unspeakable ties to the abattoir. To find them both, Evie crosses through the abattoir to a strange neighborhood of seven houses. She must make her way through them, one by one, until she reaches the seventh house, and her aunt. The task sounds simple enough, except these aren’t regular houses, and she’s being followed by a dead man.

Save her aunt, escape a dead serial killer, and get them all back to The Clackity before the sun sets. None of it is going to be easy, especially with Evie’s panic attacks, but the strange neighborhood plays by its own set of rules, and some of them might just be in Evie’s favor.

I believe middle grade horror is a safe place for readers to practice being brave, and that’s what I set out to create. I wrote Evie, the main character of The Clackity for scared but brave kids (and those of us who used to be those kids) who deserve to see themselves as heroes. For lots of reasons, I especially hope Evie and The Clackity reach young readers who will benefit from them. But I also set out to write a story for readers of all ages who love story for the sake of story (that makes sense to me and I hope it makes sense to everyone else) – it’s something writers like Bradbury and Gaiman mastered in their own work. And, if nothing else, readers can ignore everything I just said and simply read The Clackity for the spooky adventure it is. Because, at the end of the day, sometimes a monster is just a monster and a scary book is just a scary book.  

 

Steve: Bonus Question! If you were transported back in time, which Pop Band/Hit Band would you hope to find yourself a member of?

LS: I have absolutely no musical ability whatsoever, so I’d be a detriment to any band. That said, probably Ednaswap. They flew under the radar in the 90’s but their lead singer, Anne Preven, was the coolest person I’ve ever been in close-ish proximity to. Being part of that would have been incredible. Now I’m going to go find one of their CDs and listen to it very loudly. You heard me. CDs.

You know what? I don’t believe I’ve ever heard them! I’ll go take a look now and see if I have!

Thank you so much for doing this Lora!

To follow along and find more of her work, check the links!

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B09JN39VQV/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Lora013

Website: https://lorasenf.com/