Hi there. You’re here, so I guess you want to know more about me. Okay then! You can choose to just learn a little, or learn a lot. (I like to give people choices.) I won’t be offended either way.
My name is E. Marie Robertson. I live in South Carolina with my husband and our 9 cats. (Yes, that’s a lot of cats. No, it’s not a problem. No, we didn’t intend to have 9 cats, it just sort of happened. Yes, I’m always covered in cat hair.)
Short Version: I have degrees in Journalism (BS) and Studio Arts (MFA). I’ve published lots of journalistic articles in various places, and some short stories in small literary magazines. My debut novel, Nothing Larger Than These Stars, was published in June 2024. The second book in the duology, Beyond This Dark Horizon, is scheduled for publication in November 2024. Both books are best described as science fiction mystery/adventure, no matter what Amazon wants you to believe.
Long Version: I’m a writer of both fiction and nonfiction. I wrote my first short story when I was in the third grade, I think. I vaguely remember it had something to do with spelunking, and ghosts, and two kids exploring a cave and a magical ham sandwich. (I mean come on, I was little. My main influence was Scooby-Doo.) A teacher dubbed me “the writer” and after that, it was on. I decided I was going to be a writer.
Along the way I was somehow convinced that “being a writer” wasn’t a real thing, and instead wound up with a degree in journalism. So that’s what I did after college. It was great from a writing standpoint, because I got to do a lot of writing that was actually published, and from a people standpoint, because I got to meet a lot of really interesting people. But not so great from the standpoint of the fact that I kind of hated being a journalist. The introvert part of my “extroverted introvert” didn’t like pestering people for comments, or bringing up unpleasant things. (I’ve also recently realized that I like being the expert, and when you’re a journalist, you always have to quote someone else as the expert, even when it’s an area in which you really do have expertise.)
I went on to become a corporate communications specialist, a magazine editor, a newsletter editor, a video production manager, a communications planning strategist, a web developer/designer, a print project manager, a digital project manager, a digital marketing consultant, a fine art photographer/videographer/installation artist, a painter, a hands-on art teacher, a web development/object oriented programming professor, a virtual reality build hobbyist, an art appreciation/art history professor, and a media arts/web design professor (again). All great experiences. None of them the kind of thing I’d had in mind when I was in the third grade.
At some point, I again remembered wanting to be a writer and I decided it wasn’t too late to do something I’d meant to do for basically forever, and here we are. I started my first novel as part of NaNoWriMo in 2018. I didn’t “win” NaNoWriMo, but I finished the novel in May 2019. The next several years were spent revising, editing, querying agents, revising again, abandoning hope, rewriting, re-editing, and finally, independently publishing in June 2024. The conclusion to the duology will be out in the late Fall of 2024. Next up is a sci-fi novelette, which should publish in July or August. I’m in the middle of writing a speculative time-travel historical, and a romantic comedy, but have so many ideas I’ll never run short of stories to work on.
You made it all the way to the end! Wow, you’re a real fan. If you want more, please check out my Instagram or Facebook. If you’re also a writer (or just interested in the business and process of writing/publishing, you might want to subscribe to my podcast , Read Write Geek, for writing/publishing/querying tips, personal rants, and the occasional Story Hour. Either way, you’ll want to sign up for my decidedly non-spammy newsletter for life updates, free fiction, sneak peeks, and cat pictures. Lots of cat pictures.