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. 

Oichi's Playlist (With Links!)

If you've read Medusa Uploaded, you've noticed that Oichi is a bit obsessed with music. I created a playlist for the annotated version of the book, but I thought some people might appreciate one with links. I've also included links to sites where good recordings can be purchased. 

The list is probably not comprehensive. It may not even be entirely accurate. For the past several months I've been up to my eyeballs in the sequel, Medusa in the Graveyard, so most of my brain power has been hijacked. But I hope this list will provide a good jumping-off point for curious readers (who are also listeners).

Ralph Vaughan Williams – “Fantasia on a theme of Thomas Tallis,” London Symphony(no.2) (the EMI recording of John Barbirolli conducting the London Symphony Orchestra blows everyone else out of the water), and Pastoral Symphony(no.3) (Sir Adrian Boult's EMI recordings are gorgeous) 

Claude Debussy – Nocturnes, for orchestra (the best recording I've heard is on the Cala label, conducted by Geoffrey Simon with the Philharmonia Orchestra)

Gamelan music (try the album, Music from the Morning of the World)

If you've never heard Japanese Nō music, find some on Youtube. If you've watched Japanese period movies (stories about samurais filmed by Kurosawa, etc.), you've probably heard the instruments used in the film scores.

Pachelbel's “Canon in D” (Lady Sheba's Theme Music)

Beethoven's 7^thSymphony, 2^ndmovement (Allegretto – though it has a lot more emotional impact when played slowly, like a dirge)

Gustav Holst – “Saturn, the Bringer of Old Age (my Default Majesty Music),” “Jupiter, bringer of Joviality,” and “Neptune the Mystic”

Alan Hovhannes – “Mysterious Mountain”

After you've checked out the Japanese Nō music on Youtube, look for The White-Haired Girl Ballet. 

You may have heard Leopold Stokowsky's excellent arrangement of The Rite of Spring in the film score of Fantasia (the segment with the dinosaurs), but the original arrangement is pretty mind-blowing. 

Tōru Takemitsu – Kwaidan score

Yasushi Akutagawa – Gate of Hell score

Billy Ray Cyrus – “Achy Breaky Heart”

Anatol Liadov – “The Enchanted Lake,” “Baba Yaga,” and Eight Russian Folk Songs for Orchestra (I think of “Sacred Verse” (no.1) as Gennady's Theme Song)

Duke Ellington – “Take the A Train” and “The Mooch”

I think I may have mentioned the main theme from the film score for Around the World in Eighty Days, composed by Victor Young. If I didn't mention it in this book, I definitely mentioned it in the sequel.

Irving Berlin – “There's No Business Like Show Business” (another piece that plays a big part in the sequel).

Benjamin Britten's Simple Symphony, “Playful Pizzicato”

Sergei Prokofiev – scores from Alexander Nevsky and Ivan the Terrible

Rimsky-Korsakov – “Hindu Song”

Franz Waxman – Rear Window(opening credits)

Rogers & Hammerstein – South Pacific (Kitten's favorite musical)

Johann Sebastian Bach – “Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring”

Cab Calloway – “Mini the Moocher”

George Butterworth, “The Banks of Green Willow” (George died in the trenches in WWI, the same war that had such a profound effect on J.R.R. Tolkien)

Antônio Carlos Jobim – “The Girl from Ipanema” (pick your favorite elevator-music version)

I hope this list doesn't seem too long, and that you haven't gone cross-eyed trying to follow it. My ambition is to let people discover some new music or revisit old favorites. Once Medusa in the Graveyard is released (summer 2019), I'll do another one . . .

That Moment When You Realize Success Just Makes More Work . . .

Writers have a lot of delusions when we start out. Time and experience should clear them up, but some of them persist. For me, the biggest of these is the idea that more success is going to equate to less work.

Stop laughing. I'm not the only fool who has thought more money and exposure would land her on Easy Street (or, if I'm going to be honest, Easier Street, since the more expensive version shall remain forever out of reach). But you would think I would at least remember that any endeavor that involves the creative process is just going to generate more work. For one thing, I should have noticed how long it's been since I posted anything on this blog that wasn't an announcement of Michael Levy's latest creative doings. 

A few years ago, I had nothing but time. I hadn't begun to write stories again, and I had no sci-fi extravaganza in the works. I was studying geology (there's something that'll hijack your brain), snapping photos on hikes, and cheerfully blogging about a variety of topics. In fact, that's pretty much how I picture my retirement (okay, seriously, stop laughing – it could sort of happen that way). Somehow I can't help projecting myself into this life where mornings are spent on a comfy porch, sipping coffee and watching wildlife. That also seems like a good spot for the afternoon and evening. 

So yes, the idea of being a happy, lazy bum REALLY appeals to me. And yet I keep generating more work for myself.

In my defense, back when my earlier books were published, there wasn't a whole lot I could do to help promote them. The internet was in its infancy, blogs were not a thing, podcasts were also not a thing, and Amazon was a brand, new thing. Now that Medusa Uploaded has been released, I'm doing interviews, writing guest posts, even traveling to a few signings and conventions. This, on top of my full-time job and my household upkeep. I'm feeling just a tad incompetent, these days.

I'm really happy about the book, though. I've still got a big stack of writing to do, and probably that will generate more work. Maybe I'll wise up and go back to writing about geology and saguaros.

Happy Trails, my friends. We've still got time to plan that retirement. 

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.  : )

We Interrupt this Used Book Store Crawl for an Announcement About EM'S NEW BOOK!

I'd love to tell you my book is coming out next month. But it's coming out May 1.

Still – looka the gorgeous cover! It's mind-blowingly fabulous!

And besides, you can reserve it. Here are some lovely links to help you do that.

Amazon

Barnes& Noble 

Apple 

or use the Macmillan links 

And here's a link to the web page of Sam Weber, the wonderful artist who did the cover . . .

The Servant (and Co.)

If you've worked in the book biz (or the movie or music biz, for that matter) you feel cautious about announcing deals to the public. Those deals sometimes evaporate like fairy gold in the light of day. But I've signed and returned the contracts, and my editor has made an announcement about the deal to professional trade publications, so I think I can go out on a limb and announce that I've sold two books to Tor, both based on the novelette that was published in Clarkesworld, “The Servant.” The first book (titled Medusa Uploaded) is complete, and is in the editing stage now – the second one is in progress. Tentatively, the first should appear in Spring 2018 (watch this space, because that could change). As soon as I get a file of the cover art, I'll post it here.

I'm very grateful to Neil Clark for publishing that original story. Without, it would have been a lot harder to sell two novels. So it really is worthwhile to write short stories and send them out (try ralan.com for SF/F/Horror market reports).  

Ernest Hogan Illustrated this post.  He drew a picture of a nightmare I had about being chased by a spider monkey.  I'm thinking maybe that spider represents new responsibilities . . .