about the authors … surprise!

Are you ready for the big reveal … the plot twist that’s going to rock your world? Okay, so here’s the thing. I write under two different pen names: one for sci-fi and one for crime fiction. It’s easier for marketing purposes to keep them separate. But I’m still just me – a sarcastic, loud-mouthed prick on a mission to destroy that old myth about Canadians being polite.

  • Portrait of the author with blond and sunset-coloured hair wearing glasses with blue-green frames. T-shirt says 'I came to make Conservatives uncomfortable'.

    Si Clarke

    Si (she/her) is a Canadian misanthrope who lives in Deptford, sarf ees London.

    Sci-fi without the pew-pew 
  • Illustrated B&W image of the author with short blond hair and glasses

    Elliott Hay

    Elliott (two Ts and any pronouns) dreams of a world where nice little old ladies don’t have to <ahem> take matters into their own hands.

    Women who kill 

Whatever you call her, she shares her home with her partner and an assortment of waifs and strays. When not writing convoluted, inefficient stories, she spends her time telling financial services firms to behave more efficiently. When not doing either of those things, she can be found in the pub or shouting at people online — occasionally practising efficiency by doing both at once.

As someone who’s neurodivergent, an immigrant, and the proud owner of an invisible disability, she strives to present a realistically diverse array of characters in her stories.

She’s also a reader, mainly of science fiction and mysteries – though she's been exploring more nonfiction lately too. She begs you not to make her pick favourites or else we'll be here all day. But since you're so insistent… Some of her recent favourites have included:

  • Murderbot (the whole series) by Martha Wells
  • The Haunting of Tram Car 015 by P. Djèlí Clark
  • The Loneliness of the Deep Space Cargoist by J.S. Carter Gilson
  • Civil Resistance by Erica Chenoweth
  • The Light and Shade of Ellen Swithin by DG Coutinho
  • Bury Your Gays by Chuck Tingle
  • A Beginner's Guide to Murder by Rosalind Stopps
  • The Galaxy, and the Ground Within by Becky Chambers
  • The Kaiju Preservation Society by John Scalzi
  • Are Prisons Obsolete? by Angela Y. Davis

I told you not to let her get started.