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My heart is charged
from their full-range 
fire,
a desolate prairie
sparked into flame
like the moment
You blinked
and the world
was alight.

But how do I take
their combative
energy combusting
cellularly within
a body not made
to sustain this
ever-present age?

It's evil, like breath
on a neck,
knife to a vein.

But then again,
You slow and steady,
out of time
and removed
from my heartache–
sure beacon,
sure hydrant–
overflowing 
and extinguishing
all I can't
handle.

Hydrant

17th Birthday

Read my testimony.

Ericka Clay is a traditionally published novelist and poet, formerly represented by Robyn Russell.

She graduated from the University of Arkansas Creative Writing department and is the author of several books, including her latest novel, A Bird Alone.

﻿Ericka has been awarded several times by Writer's Digest for various short fiction pieces. She has written four novels (one of which placed as a quarter-finalist in the 2010 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award contest) and has had her work featured in literary journals like Ruminate and Rock and Sling.

As an amateur photographer, Ericka enjoys capturing moments with those she loves most.

Ericka lives in Arkansas with her husband, daughter, two rats (yes, you read that correctly) and an insatiable need to push buttons, both figuratively and literally.

About Me

Ever view The Ten Commandments as just some antiquated set of rules that has nothing to do with real life in the 21st century? Think again. This book breaks down each of God's holy commands, shares how they've been fulfilled through Jesus, and provides moments of prayer and reflection to help you apply them in your everyday life.


The Perfect 10

Ever feel like you have a hard time hearing God's voice? This study will help you evaluate the places in your life that could be keeping you from truly living free in Jesus. Learn how to cut distractions from your life, actively listen to our Lord, and choose to follow His will, not your own, according to Paul's directive in Romans 12:2 to renew our minds.

The Art of Renewing Your Mind

We all have a story to tell, one that points to God's glory even (and most certainly) through our hardships. This Bible study will help you put pen to paper, creating a final testimony that you can share with family, friends, or even strangers, leading them back to the One who desires their hearts.

Write Your Story!

How I love you.
Let me count 
the ways,
doubling 
my cells
of devotion,
forgetting
that division
and subtraction
exist.
And then you falter,
disappoint,
and I'm dealing
in negatives,
in awe of the abundance
He provides
for deficits
like us.

Math

I drink 
the poison
hoping to die,
only to get clapped
on the back
and watch the wide
berth I create
growing deeper,
wider,
until here I am,
all
alone on my little
island,
sick with sin
and the bottle
dripped
dry.

Sick

Baby Girl

Get my latest book!

I'm currently working on a book that shares my personal mental health journey and how God's Word has illuminated my path in the midst of my pain. 

Pray, please, as I sit with Him and share a story that will hopefully help others see His goodness even as they're faced with their own mental health challenges. 

Additionally, I'm also hard at work on another collection of poetry that will also be available around the same time.

Hopefully, I'll have these books ready for you by the end of 2026!


- Ericka

Update

Finding the Way is a reflective journey through the book of Acts that combines personal insight and poetry to highlight what the Church actually is versus what it sometimes becomes.

Finding the Way

A husband and wife are set to the edge, battling alcoholism, infidelity, and parenting their young daughter. But is it too late for them to rekindle the friendship they had when they were young?

Dear Hearts

A family saga that follows the lives of three female family members after a traumatic experience involving the man in their lives.

A Violent Hope

Told through the perspectives of a combative mother and daughter and the people who love them, A Bird Alone shows how God's grace seeps through the cracks of even the most hardened circumstances and how His hand steers life's outcome, not our own.

A Bird Alone

Poems

Favorite Pets

This book is funny sometimes and sometimes not. It’s sad sometimes, and sometimes not.  It teaches a little (God willing) and reflects on a ton. It’s many different flavors of feeling because I think that’s what it’s like to be human–to put everything in the tub at once, the colors bleeding into one another and then watching as the soap cleans and the bleach whitens, thankful that eventually, it all comes out in the wash.

It All Comes Out in the Wash

A poetic and transparent look at humanity and the way its selfish nature often conflicts with the beautiful promises of God.

The Way We Bare Our Teeth

An ode to motherhood and the many losses and struggles encountered on the journey. It meditates on the hard parts of raising a daughter and being a woman, but it also reveals the hope-lined possibilities when one perseveres.

The Rule Book for Mothers

A book of poetry inspired by reading God’s Word as a woman and living life as an imperfect follower of Christ.

Songs About God

A compilation of poems and essays from the point of view of a forty-something mother living life for Jesus.

I Can No Longer Hear The Music

A collection of memories in verse that reveals the love and imperfections of earthly family and the beautiful gift we have in being part of the family of God.

Family Tree

A collection of poetry that reflects one woman's current season of life, relying on God through every chaotic second.

Face-to-Face

The journaled thoughts and poetry of one woman as she processes leaving her church, becoming even closer to the God who never gives up on her.

The Crosses We Bear

A compilation of poetry, testimonies, and internal struggles shared to show the perseverance of human life and the beautifully overwhelming glory of God.

Set Free

A compilation of poetry that reflects God's hand through the hard. 

Even So

A book of personal essays and poetry reflecting on one woman’s memories, the family who raised her, the daughter she loves, and the God who has never left her side.

A Book of Memories, Poetry, Thoughts

I Guess This Is All to Say

A compilation of poetry and essays that meditates on “cultural Christianity,” raising an ADHD child, dealing with body dysmorphia, being a former atheist, and working through the roles of mother, wife, and writer, all while seeking the goodness of God.

Between You and Me

Free Books

A book of bare bones and often sorrowful worship to the one and only God, Yahweh.

Wilder Than the Heart Within Us

A collection of letters from current believers to the people they used to be, giving insight into the one true God who redeems the hardest of circumstances and the hardest of hearts.

Letters To Our Former Selves

So You Wanna Be a Christian? is a compilation of four individual resources compiled to help those who want to follow Jesus count the cost and stay committed to Him. This book includes a list of sound biblical resources to help you know Him better, a breakdown of mental health terms and how to view them biblically to keep your mind and heart focused on Him, a list of ten things to know before starting your journey with Jesus, and a "checklist" that breaks down how we can share the message of Jesus with others.

So You Wanna Be a Christian?

A short poetry collection about the refining act of pruning we experience when in relationship with God, the ultimate Gardener.

Watch How We Grow

A short book of poetry from the perspectives of twelve women who desire to be set free from their current circumstances.

Snapped

A collection of essays that explores what it means to be a follower of Christ, canvassing and deeply exploring the current cultural climate.

The Colors We Could Be Missing

A book of essays reflecting a wife and mother’s personal journey as she moves through God’s sanctifying light and further away from spiritual darkness.

Light at the End of the Tunnel

Two former grade school enemies are brought together during the planning of a funeral, only to make a jarring discovery about the man they both love.

Unkept

A collection of laments in verse paying homage to the One who hears our sorrows.

Unanswered: Laments in Verse

A small collection of poems that center on the word "the," digging deeper into the human head and heart.

Poems in the Key of "The"

A collection of poetry studying the intricacies of loving and knowing a God that cannot be tamed.

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