Clay Bohle Offers Literary Skills to Budding Authors

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A Hero’s Journey. A Selfless Pursuit. A Japanese Sanctuary

by ROSS SMITH

ALTHOUGH CLAY BOHLE NOW LIVES IN JAPAN, HE IS A native son of Paducah where he developed a love for video games. This exposed him to Japanese games and properties such as Final Fantasy and Zelda. “These (games) captured my imagination in a way that just blew the doors open,” Clay mused. Thus was the beginning of a lifelong admiration for

Japanese culture which included studying martial arts, listening to J-pop, and reading about Japanese feudal history just for kicks. This love initially led to a summer homestay in Okayama at the age of sixteen. He traveled to the other side of the planet by himself and thrived.

“The freedom, the self-reliance, the raw excitement of exploring something completely new—it was my own version of the hero’s journey I enjoyed in the video games I played,” said Clay. “After that, I truly believed I was capable of anything.”

Clay knew Japan would always be a part of his life, so he pursued the

Japanese language and literature as one of his majors in college, spending his junior year abroad in Nagoya, and even working for a manga company for a couple of years after graduate school.

A thoughtful individual, Clay has an authentic curiosity and a natural ease of connection. These traits are integral to his work as a Developmental Editor for the Creator Institute program, a partner of the publisher New Degree

Press. He often works with fledgling authors on their maiden writing voyage, guiding them from conception to completion of their first drafts. “What I love most is the opportunity to work with young talent and help them develop and hone their (writing) voice and skills,” Clay said.

The first editing project he worked on from start to finish was Haley Newlin’s Not Another Sarah Halls. Newlin initially conceived it as a mystery. However, after reading the first chapter, Clay “sensed something darker underneath.” Newlin admitted that horror was her favorite genre, yet she was afraid to tackle something she loved so dearly. Enter the author whisperer. He suggested changing it to horror. That was all Newlin needed to hear. Clay has since edited her second novel (another horror), a short story to be included in Kandisha Press’s SLASH-HER anthology, a collection of slasher short stories from some of the leading women in horror, and is currently working with her on her third novel, The Nowhere Man.

Clay’s work in genre fiction doesn’t stop there. In the summer of 2020, Duncan Swan published Monstre, the first in an apocalyptic, science fiction trilogy edited by Clay. Swann originally conceived it as two books, but, with Clay’s guidance and suggestion, they turned it into three books. He is currently working on the second novel in the series.

Clay taught English at his alma mater Paducah Tilghman High School for two years, most of that tenure occurring during the Covid-19 pandemic. He was a favorite among students, quickly garnering respect for his ability to connect with them. He had a deft hand, earning a reputation for being tough but fair. In November 2021, a lifelong dream came to fruition and he once again packed up to move to Japan. This time it was to be an Assistant Language Teacher for the JET Initiative. The program is an initiative by the Japanese government to provide all classrooms, no matter how small or remote, with access to a native English speaker in the English classroom. The interview process was rigorous and took months of video interviews and, perhaps worse, waiting. Finally, out of 5,000 applicants he was one of the 800 accepted. He moved to Hokuto, Yamanashi at the foot of Mount Fuji.

Clay’s job as an ALT teacher is to assist the Japanese English teacher with English lessons by demonstrating and coaching natural pronunciation, offering insight into common phrases and popular slang, and introducing and demonstrating cultural differences. He works full-time at an elementary and junior high school within the same district. The junior high work is focused on grammar. But working with the young kids in elementary revolves around playing games with them in English. “It’s hard to complain about getting paid to play with kids and laugh a lot,” Clay admitted.

His tenure with the JET Program could be anywhere from two to five years. Continuing to teach and edit from Japan is in his near future. Throughout his editing career, he’s worked on fifteen published novels and five are on the slate at New Degree Press for publication this year.

“It feels great to help both students and authors achieve their dreams,” said Clay.

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