Michael L. Clark is a new and upcoming author. Although his writing credits are few, his life experience more than makes up for it. He has worked as a farmhand, elephant handler, zookeeper, restaurant manager and owner, musician, and cake artist. He gained inspiration for The Shimmering from his vast trips down the Natchez Trace with his family, while using the Trace as a teaching tool for his two daughters, whom he and his wife homeschooled. The stops along the Trace told stories about the people who lived along the trail but gave limited information. Clark began to wonder about how the people really lived and how it would feel to go back in time to live among them. He has worked for the United States Postal Service as a rural carrier for over twenty years.

His time there has provided him with inspiration and motivation to finally put his dreams to paper.