I am a retired equestrian journalist and photographer, who used to be a regular contributor of articles and photos to Eventing Magazine and other equestrian media including eQuest, Riding, and Carriage Driving.  Sadly Multiple Sclerosis clipped my wings and I was unable to meet deadlines so easily and found it increasingly hard to get to equestrian events.

Once retired I was unable to abandon the scribbling and so I found time to complete my first novel, Spiral of Hooves, which is of course set against the world of eventing.  It took 12 years to complete mainly due to the rewrites because of the comments people made, often suggesting I change characters or the setting or the period it was set it, and so on.  Thanks to the support of my wife Juanita, I settled on a story-line and then completed a draft that I’m happy with.  ‘Spiral of Hooves‘ was my first completed novel, and published on December 9th 2013.

My second attempt was the beginning of a cyber crime series and I completed the first draft of Wyrm Bait and its sequel Wyrm Blood – simmering on the back burner. The Last Leaf, a fantasy mystery became part of my Gossamer Flames saga, along with Storms Compass, which is in its final revision. The first draft of my current project, Fates Maelstrom, a psychological mystery is being redrafted and relocated from Dartmoor to Snowdonia – and transformed into a police procedural with quirks. I’m working on some short stories that explore the main protagonist’s backstory – stories that might be released first.

I’m also researching an alternative history for Viking Kanata.

At last, I feel that my scribbling art is evolving, albeit haphazardly. Perhaps I will earn my writing wings.

My wife Juanita and I moved from Harlech, Wales with our two dogs, Quetzal & Treeky, to Boise, Idaho in the Fall of 2016. Our beloved cat Whisper’s ashes are on the mantle alongside Juanita’s daughter Carrie’s ashes and those of my old cat Oliver.  Our lives are captured on our website at The Duskweald which tells more about our worlds.

I was educated at Eton, Rendcomb and then for two years at Bransons College in Quebec, Canada. After a brief stint as a sub-editor on The Field, I enrolled in a journalism course at Humber College in Toronto but dropped out and returned to England again, setting up an equestrian photographic business.  I’ve since spent time marketing organic fruit & vegetables, then making short films and videos before becoming an equestrian journalist and eventually retiring.

And I usually call myself The Silver Scribbler….

Many thanks to the following for their interviews:

Laura Wolfe interviewed me for Suspense with a Twist on May 12th 2020: https://suspensewithatwist.com/2020/05/12/mystery-author-spotlight-roland-clarke/

Jeri Walker interviewed me for her Word Bank on December 17th 2017: https://jeriwb.com/author-interview-roland-clarke-58447/

Tasha’s Thinkings interviewed me on February 17th 2016: http://tashasthinkings.blogspot.co.uk/2016/02/rolandclarkewriterlywednesdays-23.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed:+TashasThinkings+(Tasha%27s+Thinkings)

Fiona Mcvie interviewed me on October 26th 2014: https://authorsinterviews.wordpress.com/2014/10/26/here-is-my-interview-with-roland-clarke/

Ashleigh Galvin interviewed me on July 30th  2014: http://ashleighgalvin.wordpress.com/2014/07/30/interview-with-author-roland-clarke/

Gina McKnight interviewed me on February 3 2014: http://ginamc.blogspot.co.uk/2014/02/roland-clarke.html

Kyle Robinson interviewed me in June 2012: http://inthedemonshead.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/in-demons-head-interview-with-roland.html

And her is a dated but informative interview from when I was an equestrian journalist: http://horseytalk.net/HorseyInterviews/RolandClarke.html