Why I Write as The Clerk

Hello Readers,

My name is Sylvia Petro. My stories are inspired by many things I have experienced, observed, and meditated on in my life thus far. For my current series, after years of consideration (Vanguardian itself is over ten years old), I decided to publish under “The Clerk,” a pseudonym I first chose around 2016. There are three reasons I write as The Clerk.

Reason One

The first is obvious: The Clerk is a cosmic scribe who has studied and chronicled the warriors who are featured in each book in my astral warrior series. Like a monk in a medieval scriptorium, hunched over a table, quill in hand, The Clerk chronicles history. In this case, the histories are not of the usual: monarchs and religious scripture—although they play their role in the series; instead, the chronicles are of the astral warriors who enable our worlds to live on as if not influenced by their efforts. The Clerk records the early years and exploits of the astral warriors who protect worlds like our own. What are they protecting us from, and how do they do it? You’ll have to read the series to find out.

Reason Two

While on my writing and publishing journey, I faced so much skepticism about my ability to write, especially science fiction. Let’s say, when people look at me, they don’t associate my appearance with an interest in science fiction, much less anything intellectual, like writing. Of course, by sight alone, they also don’t know I have an English degree. Too many people rely heavily on sensory information, particularly sight, to interpret and interact with the world. Sadly, this behavior mirrors how animals in the wild understand their surroundings. Humans are supposed to be sapient and capable of taking in more data before forming judgments, but, in my experience, the “sapien” in Homo sapien is more theory than fact. I don’t lie to myself about this; I work within the limitations.

I won’t leave to chance a snap judgment about my ability to write science fiction, or assumptions about how my work might be skewed in a particular way. Hence, I came up with something digestible for the masses: The Clerk. Ambiguous and genderless = fair chance. Simple fix—no, really, it’s that simple. The skeptics have become crickets.

Reason Three

A two- or three-part name using just my first or middle initial(s) is not an option I’m too keen on. First, it seems overdone. I’m not sure how many writers actually need that ambiguity. Maybe many writers really want to hide their full names from their work, or maybe it is simply in vogue or adds an air of cool mystery. In any case, using my real last name isn’t an appealing option for me.

Years ago, I decided to separate from my natal family for reasons I won’t write here. I don’t wish to attach my surname to my stories. That might change in the future for works outside of my astral warrior series, but for now, I will not associate “Petro” with any of my written works.

Why Share My Real Name on My Blog?

I’ve shared my name on this blog for two reasons: (1) I, like many writers, fear someone attempting to claim my work as theirs. So, I link my work to my real name here and there, like on my book(s)’ copyright page(s). I’ve heard enough BookTok horror stories. (2) In the future, I might be comfortable enough to write under my natural name, but only after enough of my work is out there for readers to look beyond a name and gender. I know some will say we are past all those surface-level judgments, but believe me, that’s not the case.

There you have it, why I write as The Clerk—in case anyone was wondering.

Thanks for reading. Feel free to drop your comments and thoughts below.