From an early age, American author Clare T. Walker had two main passions: books and animal science. She pursued the science as a career and became a veterinarian, and has now come full circle as a pioneer in the new sub-genre of the veterinary medical thriller — exciting stories of action, suspense, and a touch of horror, with a veterinarian in the starring role! She also writes paranormal stories, where the laws of science go sideways!
Walker combines entertainment with edification, mystery with meaning, and a fast pace with deep feeling. These stories will stay with you long after you’ve closed the book or powered down your e-reader. They may even keep you awake at night…
“When I get a little money I buy books, and if any is left I buy food and clothes.” (Desiderius Erasmus)
If you can relate to the quote above, you’ve come to the right place!
My claim to fame as an author is that in fifth grade I received a 4 out of a possible 3 on a creative writing assignment, a school record. Ignoring this auspicious beginning to a career as a world-famous author, I made the obvious move and went to veterinary school. I have been a practicing veterinarian (with a ten-year hiatus to raise three children) since 1991. However, as living proof that all things work together for the good, I’ve returned to writing fiction, often incorporating veterinary medicine into it. My first story collection, Startling Figures, contains a veterinary paranormal thriller:
Startling Figures Kindle edition
Startling Figures paperback edition
If you’d rather not take the plunge into a whole book and prefer to dip your toe in, one of the stories in the Startling Figures collection is available as a stand-alone novelette-sized e-book. What the heck is a novelette? It’s a long short story — it would be a little book of about 50 pages:
My novel, The Keys of Death, is also veterinary medical thriller.
I write a lot of non-fiction, too: articles, essays, and book reviews. I’ve also published one — count it, one! — poem!
I am too verbose. When I run the Hemingway app on my own writing, I am an epic failure. 
I’m pretty sure this intractable verbosity is a British thing: I grew up in America but I was raised by English parents. My brothers and I ate a steady diet of Charles Dickens, P.G. Wodehouse, Monty Python, Dr. Who, Fawlty Towers, and the rest of that lot. I sometimes have trouble talking like a normal American.
Other random things about me:
- I was born with a congenital heart defect that required thoracic surgery when I was three.
- I was born with only one kidney.
- And I was also born without any sense of smell whatsoever.
Despite this trifecta of apparently inherited abnormalities, I am on speaking terms with both my parents.
The medical term for having no sense of smell is anosmia. To demonstrate what this is like, please find (below) a handy scratch ‘n’ sniff. Scratch the screen of your computer or handheld device, get close and sniff.
What did you smell? Nothing? Welcome to the world of anosmia! This is why you will never find a cheerfully burning candle on my coffee table, why I’m paranoid about natural gas leaks and deodorant failures, and why I sometimes ask people to come over and smell my house.
As a “shy extrovert,” I enjoy people and love spending time with friends and family in conversation and activity, but at large gatherings I become a shrinking wallflower and usually end up walking around, overwhelmed, talking to nobody, not even people I know. My daughter sometimes encourages me to go out and meet new people, but that often backfires on me: see point #1 in this article: Six Things Every Extrovert Secretly Has to Deal With.
Wow! You have shown great persistence in reading this far! You deserve a little reward!
Want to keep in touch?
Are you a voracious reader? Do you like all sorts of genres?
Yeah?
Then you’re in luck!
Get a copy of Clare’s Exclusive, Massive, Sort-of Annotated Popular Fiction Book List! It includes Science Fiction, Fantasy, Detective Mysteries, Horror, Suspense Thrillers, Westerns (yes! that’s a thing!) and Romance.
PLUS:
a list of books for learning the conventions and tropes of the major genres
If you love to read, you will love this list!!
Once you’re signed up, you’ll get a brief updates from me! I’ll let you know when a new article or review is up on the website, give you progress reports on upcoming books, and point you toward the latest episodes of my nerdy podcast, Splanchnics!
I’ve told you a lot of random stuff about me, but I’d also love to hear from you! As an author, it would be fun to get to know my readers! If you have a moment or two, leave a comment below and tell me about yourself.
If you’re shy or don’t know what to say, here are a few “conversation starters:”
What were your favorite books growing up?
What are you reading now?
Has a story ever changed your life?
Welcome, and thanks for stopping by my website!
Clare
I tried and failed your anosmiac demo. The scratch and sniff sticker smells mildly of burning dust. What is wrong with me?! (Beg your pardon a moment as I spray canned air into my monitor vents.)
As an anosmiac, it would never occur to me that one could smell anything — not even burning dust — on something as inert as a sheet of glass. Shows you what I know! 🙂
I see a lot of interesting articles here. You have to spend a lot of time writing, i know how to
save you a lot of time, there is an online tool that
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Thanks, but I think I’ll continue to spend the time to generate my own original content. Somehow, I don’t think my real personality would come through in copy generated in seconds by a machine.
Hi Dr. Walker,
You’ve seen a couple of my dogs at the office (Nora & Meadow). Just finished your book.
Loved it. My favorite was the veterinary thriller. Look forward to future books. My favorite types of books are cozy mysteries. I go thru about 3 a week.
Hi Monica!
Thanks so much for your kind words about Startling Figures! I’m really glad you enjoyed it! I’m working on a second volume of Startling Figures stories, and I’m doing the final revision of a full-length novel (a medical thriller with a veterinary twist). I’ll be sending out news of future books to my mailing list, so if you sign up you can be one of the first to know when the new stuff is released:
Thanks again for your comments! I really appreciate the feedback! Give Nora and Meadow a biscuit from me! 🙂
Hello Dr. Walker! I just read about your new novel in the July 2016 issue of Veterinary Practice News. I am a veterinarian and writer myself and write a monthly column featuring vets who explore their creative outlets (e.g. writing, art, music, etc.). I was wondering if I could interview you for my blog. Thanks for your time and consideration!
-Anna
Do you have book club questions anywhere for The Keys of Death? I am a practicing small animal/exotic veterinarian and plan on picking your book for my book club when it’s my turn next, so I can torture my poor friends with veterinary medical information and it looks exciting and got awesome reviews on Amazon! But then I’ll be responsible for bringing the discussion questions and I couldn’t find any online, and I’m hoping to not have to write my own. I’m a huge reader, but not a fan of writing! Thanks
Hi Shari! Thanks for your question re: book club questions. I’m currently doing maintenance on the manuscript in preparation for re-uploading it to the various online sellers. Including book club questions is a good idea!
Meanwhile, here are a few conversation starters for your group:
1) What images or motifs (visual or otherwise) are repeated throughout the story? What is the symbolic significance of these image or motifs?
2) The author makes extensive use of “flashback” — scenes that take place prior to the events unfolding during the “real time” of the story. What is the purpose of taking the reader on these “deep dives” into the pasts of the various characters?
3) People with flaws, wounds and “broken places” make the most interesting fictional characters. How are the characters in The Keys of Death flawed, wounded, or broken?
4) An “arc” is the journey a character undertakes during the course of a story. Ideally the character moves from a state of ignorance, woundedness, or unhappiness to a state of at least partial improvement, enlightenment, or healing. Which characters in The Keys of Death undergo such a journey, and which remain stuck in a deeply flawed and unhappy state?
5) How many “zombies” are there in the story?
I read the article about “Keys of Death” in the recent DVM360 magazine. It so intrigued me, I immediately purchased the Kindle edition on Amazon. I couldn’t put it down! It was quite exciting to read a novel which included so many things from my own life as a small animal general practitioner… such as stress, sadness, frustration with all the holiday euthanasias every year. The storyline was great… the characters were very well-drawn with many touching interactions. The twists and turns of the plot kept me on the edge of my seat.
Personal take away: I am no longer sarcastic. Going forward, I am now acerbic. ;-))
Keep ‘me coming!!!
Thanks, Dr. Heckman! So glad you enjoyed the book! A lot of people appreciated the “inside baseball” of what it’s like to be a veterinarian. Acerbic — right on!