The Clerk

Category: General

  • Update on S.N. Petro’s Book Series

    Why is The Warrior’s Seed no longer on Wattpad? What’s up with the S.N. Petro series? Who is S.N. Petro? The video below has all the answers, and just might be the most boring video you’ll watch all 2016. Believe me, I tried to redo this video many times. This is the best I could do →

  • Go Ahead, Finish College — Please

    The average degree holder can earn 84% more over a lifetime than someone with only a high school diploma or GED. →

  • Yes, I’m Still on a Break — but I’m Not Gone!

    I’m dedicating my time to furthering my education in writing. I’ve learned a lot from completing my first book, The Warrior’s Seed. My mission now is to reduce the amount of time I spend editing my works and worrying about what my audience or family may think if I say what I really want to →

  • My 2015 Blog in Review

    Here are my blog stats for this past year. Not bad, but I hope for better in 2016! Here’s an excerpt: A San Francisco cable car holds 60 people. This blog was viewed about 1,600 times in 2015. If it were a cable car, it would take about 27 trips to carry that many people. →

  • Writers, If You Beta Read, Read Before You Comment

    After completing my first manuscript in 2014, I joined a writer’s group via MeetUp.com. A book by public speaker and writer, Brian Tracy, motivated me to find a writer’s group as a means to network with, support, and learn from other writers. That’s not a bad idea at all. However, I learned that many fellow →

  • My Newest Query Letter Version

    I’ve been grinding away at my query letter for over a year, but more intensely over the past month. I think I’ve achieved the goal of giving a general idea of the story, while managing to sprinkle some life into the sentences. I’m not really sure, but I hope so. Read on. The Warrior from Monde, complete →

  • Audio Interview – The Warrior from Monde (Vanguardian)

      Host James Flannigan interviews author Sylvia Petro, pen name The Clerk, about how she came up with the plot for her speculative historical science fiction novel The Warrior from Monde (now titled Vanguardian). We also discuss my tips for other first-time writers. Now available online and at bookstores. Original recording date: September 9, 2015 →

  • Fresh Link to Free Chapters – WFM

    This post is now outdated. The Warrior from Monde is now named Vanguardian and published on July 11, 2025. Some changes were made to the story. The most notable changes from the excerpt below are: Fabien is now a Duke and his last name is de Vistré, not Chevalier, and Rima’s name has been changed →

  • My Liebster Award Nomination

    I’d like to thank Lucia, from Reading With Lucia, for my Liebster Award nomination. Thank you for acknowledging my existence! I have been a blogger since 2007, but I recently began engaging in social media. I’ll tell ya, blogging and utilizing social media at the same time is more fun (less crickets). I’m actually connecting with →

  • What is the Infantry? (Part III)

    ” The love of war stems from the union, deep in the core of our being between sex and destruction, beauty and horror, love and death.” I understood this without being a man or going to war. Funny, because in my book about a warrior, I said a very similar thing. I joined the military →