Hope Clark spends her days aiding writers through her FundsforWriters.com website and her evenings writing mysteries, with an emphasis on South Carolina settings. She is author of three mystery series (15 books) set in her home state: Carolina Slade Mysteries, The Edisto Island Mysteries, both award-winning, and most recently The Craven County Mysteries, using the original county history of the state to create a fictional county in contemporary times, right where it used to be. She speaks widely to writers, book clubs, and libraries nationally, and sometimes internationally, about the craft, business, and motivational aspects of writing, in hope of inspiring others to find the thrill in reading and writing. Her website, FundsforWriters.com was selected by Writer’s Digest for its 101 Best Websites for Writers for each of the past 21 years. Her writing newsletters reach 25,000 subscribers each Friday. She’s published in Writer’s Digest, The Writer, Writer’s Market, Guide to Literary Agents, Guide to Self-Publishing, SC Wildlife Magazine, and more. Her novels are known up and down coastal SC, with a special interest by the tourists and natives of the Edisto/Lowcountry area. Hope is a member of Mystery Writers of America, Southeastern Writers Association, International Thriller Writers, and MENSA. When she’s not researching Edisto, she’s writing along the banks of Lake Murray.
Click here for the application to have C. Hope Clark speak in your community.
History, Climate, Politics, Scandal Presented by C. Hope Clark. Yes, this topic makes for an active open discussion, with more audience participation than most. Not only learn how authors utilize setting almost as character, but also learn from others what stories, especially SC stories, might be worth adding to your nightstand for future reading. Click … Read more
Setting as Character Presented by C. Hope Clark. People love stories set in the South, and many adore the South Carolina setting. Pat Conroy, Dorothea Benton Frank, and Mary Alice Monroe have capitalized on our state in their fictional stories. What is it about South Carolina that makes for a good backdrop? What part of … Read more
Write Your Memoir… Like It’s a Novel Presented by C. Hope Clark. So many people want to write their life’s story. But where does one start, and how much is intriguing enough to engage readers? Learn how not to start when you were born, and how to identify the aspects of your history that merit … Read more
Why Edisto? Why Any Setting? Presented by C. Hope Clark. Setting matters, and Hope Clark’s Edisto Mystery Series clears the shelves of the Edisto Bookstore as fast as they appear. There’s something about the jungle setting, about crossing the McKinley Washington Bridge to that island, that makes for an intriguing, suspenseful setting for mystery. Learn … Read more
Never Thought I’d Be a Writer Presented by C. Hope Clark. How a bribe led to a book deal. Hope Clark always wrote but never thought that writing could be a career. But after being offered a bribe, and finding herself in the midst of a federal investigation, she quickly realized that life made for … Read more
Too Shy to Write Presented by C. Hope Clark. Most writers are introverts, meaning they not only find it difficult to take their ideas from thought to paper, but they fear submitting, publishing, and speaking. Using tricks and tools from her book The Shy Writer Reborn, C. Hope Clark walks potential writers through the landmines of … Read more
Writing the Series Presented by C. Hope Clark. Readers adore investing in characters over a series of books, and the mystery genre is ripe with such series. But what makes for an intriguing series? How does a writer keep the momentum going book after book so readers beg for more? As a reader or writer, … Read more
How a Character Becomes 3-D Presented by C. Hope Clark. Using examples from well-known books, movies and television shows, and whatever example the audience wants to dissect, learn the art of taking a character from basic hair and eye color into a quirky, charismatic, loveable, respectable, enticing, intense, or demonic contributor to a tale. Whether … Read more
Turning Your Ideas into Stories Presented by C. Hope Clark. Most of us wish we could flesh our thoughts, experiences, and make-believe dreams into stories on paper. The art of theme, plotting and characterization come from understanding what makes for an intriguing read: tension, active voice, creative dialog. Learning how to mold a story concept, … Read more
PO Box 5287
Columbia SC 29250
2711 Middleburg Drive
Suite 203
Columbia SC 29204
803-771-2477
