The Em Report (2019)

Every once in a while, I remember that I have a blog and that I'm supposed to keep people posted about my stories and books that have been published in the past year or so. If I had more marketing savvy (not to mention more success), I would be doing this every month, but at this point I'm lucky if I remember to comb my hair before reporting to my day job. So I'll have to make do with this annual(ish) report.

I've got two new novels to crow about: Medusa Uploaded came out from Tor in 2018; the sequel, Medusa in the Graveyard was published July 2019. Joel Cunningham, at the Barnes & Noble Sci-Fi and Fantasy Blog, says, “Book Two of the Medusa Cycle is just as dark, daring, and propulsive as the first.” That should be all you need to hear! Run right out to your favorite indie book store (or click on one of my links to the Evil Empire) and buy them today . . .

I had to think harder about which of my stories has been published, but I've got a pretty comprehensive list, here: 

"10,432 Serial Killers (in Hell)” appeared in the May/June 2018 edition of Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine, and was nominated for the 2019 Thriller Award. Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine will also be publishing “Not My Circus, but They Are My Monkeys,” on sale August 14.

I managed to make it into two Apocalypse-themed anthologies in 2018/2019: “Cruddy,” a kaiju story, is in Enter the Aftermath, edited by Thomas Gandolfi, and “Appetite,” my riff on zombies/mummies is in Enter the Rebirth, edited by Thomas Gandolfi.

"Wraith” was published in Longshot Island no. 6.  In fact, editor Daniel Scott White did more than his fair share of Em publishing: “Alternate Universe Ernies” is in Unfit Magazine, vol. 1; “Destry” is in Unreal Magazine, vol. 1, and “The Hitter” is in the forthcoming Unfit Magazine vol. 4.

And last but not least, “Jumpers For Jesus” will be published by Mystery Weekly Magazine, (publishing date to be announced, but I've provided a link to the magazine so you can check them out, maybe subscribe). How can you live without weekly mystery? I need mine daily . . .

I hope I have good stuff to report next year, but if not, there's always hiking, geology, ghost stories, music, movies, book reviews, whatever I can come up with. So please watch this space. 

Watch This Space (but not Too Critically)

If you have read any of my science fiction novels, you may get the impression that I'm on the cutting edge of technology and science. I work very hard to give that impression. But the illusion falls apart in real life. Especially when I try to work on this blog. My most recent challenge is trying to figure out how to update the little bio blurb that runs along the top right portion of this page (just below the photo of me with the Mongolian Death Worm).

I can't do it. I have hurled myself at the problem multiple times, and I am foiled. This should come as no surprise, since every year I have to jump through multiple (technical) hoops just to figure out how to pay for this space.

I hope this is not my fault. I like to imagine that these public sites struggle to be user-friendly by a wide range of yahoos (like myself) who try to do more with the sites than they were designed for (on more platforms and operating systems than most sites have to cope with). Surely an army of programmers and designers toil long hours, every day, trying to keep up with the demand. And eventually they'll fix the glitches that frustrate my attempts to update my own biography.

So anyway – here's my update. I sold two novels to Tor, and the first one, Medusa Uploaded is due out in May 2018. It will be released in quality paperback, ebook, and audio formats. The second novel is still untitled, and in progress, and is a sequel to the first.

I've also got a few short stories due out: “Wraith” will be published by Longshot Island; “Cruddy” will appear in Enter the Aftermath, and “Appetite” will be in Enter the Rebirth. 

UPDATE:  Many thanks to John Cardoso, who read about my plight and figured out how I could fix it.  From John's letter: "1. Go to your Google Profile.  2. Click ABOUT, which is next to the edit profile button in the upper right.  3. Under about Emily there should be an introduction text section; click the pencil icon to edit that.  4. Click OK once changes are complete."

There was a 24-hour delay while the whole shebang updated, and my changes were reflected on the blog.  Yay!  Bazinga!  Success!  John is da bomb.  : )