Clifton Brown | Updates

Award Tally et. al.

Clifton Brown — Thu, 4 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Hey all! I've been a ghost lately because of some family celebrations and a few tragedies. Through it all, I have been very busy. Here's some of what I've been up to:

So far, here's the Award Tally (to say I'm proud of these achievements would be an understatement):

In the Ghost's Shadow: International Impact Book Awards - Science Fiction; Global Book Awards - Silver Medal - Science Fiction-Genetic Engineering Category; Storytrade Awards - Finalist - Romance-Fantasy/Science Fiction Category with an opportunity for higher placement TBD.

Wicked Shadow Whispers Anthology Volume 1: Beyond the Veil: Global Book Awards - Bronze Medal - Short Stories Category; Page Turner Awards - Culture Award Finalist; Featured Listing for American Book Fest: https://www.americanbookfest.com/general.../anthologies.html

Beyond the Nile: Gods and Legends from the Heart of Africa: Global Book Awards - Finalist - Politics and Social Sciences Category

And I'm still waiting to hear from other award judge panels.

If you like Dark Fiction with a twist, and genre-blending Romance, I'm your guy.

Check out the website for two free short stories from 'The Z-Word' series in Wicked Shadow Whispers.

For my final offering, by invite only, my latest short story, the first in a series I'm calling the "The Asé-Born" and this is the first in the Convergence Arc, 'The Third Gate'. The series will be based on non-Kemetic African mythology, primarily from the West African pantheon and mythos.

Here's a link to my YouTube audio narration of the story: https://youtu.be/J3-_xw1H5OA

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The Shadow Core Saga Continues

Clifton Brown — Tue, 29 Jul 2025 00:00:00 +0000

For all who are interested, I've been working on book 2 of the Shadow Core Saga along with continuations of some of my other works.

My working title is "Ghosts Through a Mirror, Darkly." The great thing about Quantum Physics is its flexiblity, and its explanation of how certain things could actually happen if the right circumstances were to occur.

To explain, I was a math major and physics minor in my first attempt at higher education, so my interest has always been there. I have kept up with progress in quantum science over the years and when John Carpenter used the concept in his movie, Prince of Darkness, to explain how supernatural events could actually happen... Well, I took it a few steps further. Many years later, of course, but the opening in that movie sparked my curiosity.

Then I found Carlo Rovelli, a physicist who held the capability to explain that aspect of science in a way most could understand. I devoured three of his books in less than a week. 1) Seven Brief Lessons on Physics; 2) Reality is Not What it Seems, and; 3) The Order of Time.

His books expanded my knowledge on the subject and I'm working my way through his other books, though at a slower pace.

Okay, back to the book. I'm about a third of the way through book 2 even though I've worked on it off and on for two years now. I blame Brick and Tish.

I had a plan for a certain part of the book, but they would have none of it and fought me every inch of the way. They simply would not do what I asked, so I gave in... finally. Now the story is moving along more smoothly and I hope to have the first draft finished before Thanksgiving... I hope.

For those of you who anxiously await Tish and Brick's next adventure, it's coming.

Thanks for reading!

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Ok, Ok, I give in!

Clifton Brown — Sat, 26 Jul 2025 00:00:00 +0000

I've been trying to identify what kind of writer I am, and what my specialty genre is. Do I write sci-fi? Check. Do I write fantasy? Check. Do I write paranormal? Check. Do I write romance? Also, check. The thing is, more likely than not, all the above will exist in some form or another in most, if not all of my stories.

Well, as my life has gone, so has my craft. I must consider myself a jack of all trades in both and, through it all, a hopeless romantic. Or as Kathleen Turner put it in one of my favorite RomComs before they were called such... "A Hopeful romantic."

That reminds me. It's been a while since I've seen Romancing the Stone. Time to dredge it up again.

After some very amazing and pointed reviews from several sources, I guess I'm a Romance writer. I just don't use the typical tropes seen in most stories of that ilk. I also don't believe that the romance should be the point of the story. It should be an important motivation for the characters, however. This lends to some unique plot points.

I write this way because I feel that there should be some form of romance. Otherwise, what's the point of going through Hell if there's nothing to look forward to?

So, fine. I'm a Romance writer, just not a typical one... with a twist and a dark one at that.

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Romance or Love Story?

Clifton Brown — Sun, 20 Oct 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Even at this late date, I'm struggling to lock in the primary genre of my upcoming book. Though it contains elements of dark science fiction and fantasy, at its core is the growing relationship between my two main characters, Brick and Tish, making it, in essence, a romance. The story begins and ends with them.

According to the Romance Writers of America, my novel is a romance. For a year, I was a member of RWA and worked to include a story in the anthology for the Sci-Fi, Fantasy, and Paranormal branch.

However, as we swapped stories for first edits and critiques, I found that the stories I wrote used very few of the tropes I found in theirs. This led me to the conclusion that while my tales adhered to the requirements for romance stories, the essence of my works diverged from the likely expectations of potential readers.

At the time, we just lost our furbabies and I lost my motivation to participate in the anthology, so I dropped out.

When I created this ad for Bublish, it drove home for me the fact that while my novel may not be a classic romance, it may appeal to some of those readers because it is definitely a love story. Now, the question remains: What is the difference between a romance novel and a book that centers around a love story?

https://bubli.sh/fKs91Sq

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