Elaine Clark

I am a retired community college mathematics professor with an interest in quantum physics, unified field theories, aliens, and great stories. I’ve been an avid reader of speculative fiction ever since I read A Wrinkle in Time when I was a kid. For the past many years (uh hm, we won’t put a number), I’ve made attempts at writing my own great stories, with mixed results. In his book Writing Fantasy & Science Fiction, Orson Scott Card describes four types of stories: the Milieu Story, the Idea Story, the Character Story, and the Event Story. Though all four of these concepts are important to a well-crafted tale, I find myself writing primarily Character stories. I enjoy exploring how characters develop with changing circumstances and how we can view social paradigms through a different lens. I also like to  challenge myself to select a well-worn trope – young person going to magic school, first encounter of aliens and humans, etc. – and see if I can come up with a fresh take. Since joining the Speculative Fiction Writers Association, my writing has improved greatly. I’ve had two short stories published: “A Tea Story” in the e-zine Punk Noir, and “In the Dark” in the anthology Madam, Don’t Forget Your Sword: Tales of Companions, Sidekicks, and Minions edited by Helen Davis and Elizabeth Davis. I’ve served as Secretary for SpecFicWriters since January 2025.