Emily Wagner | Updates

Philcon

Emily Wagner — Wed, 22 Oct 2025 00:00:00 +0000

I'll be in Cherry Hill, NJ at the oldert Sci-Fi convention, Philcon, in November.

Not sure if I will be in the dealer's room or on any panels, but I will keep you posted.

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Baltimore Book Festival

Emily Wagner — Tue, 2 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0000

I will be vending on 31st street at the Baltimore Book Festival.

It is Saturday and Sunday September 13-14

10 am - 6 pm

Come by and say HI!

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Seattle Worldcon

Emily Wagner — Tue, 29 Jul 2025 00:00:00 +0000

I will be with my publisher, Water Dragon, at Seattle Worldcon from August 13 - 16. Stop by the table and say "hi."

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24Authorsin12Hours

Emily Wagner — Mon, 4 Aug 2025 00:00:00 +0000

I will be a part of a virtual book fair/interview series with other Speculative, Dystopian, Apocalyptic, Futuristic, Sci-Fi authors. I'll be talking about the craft of writing and other fun stuff about me. The live casts will be on Facebook and YouTube. It will also be placed on Spotify.

Click here for more details.

Facebook

Youtube

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What IS success anyway?

Emily Wagner — Thu, 7 Aug 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Yesterday, I kept refreshing my email waiting for confirmation that I got accepted into the Baltimore Book Festival. They said they'd email by close of business, so when I didn't see an email by the time I went to bed, I figured I didn't get accepted. Then this morning, I opened my email and, sure enough, I got a confirmation email! Yay! I'm in! But then that got me thinking. What if I hadn't gotten in? Does that make me a failure? What is success anyway?

Last night I checked my Amazon sales of my book. From what I can tell, I THINK I sold 5 books last month. At that moment I felt like a failure! Every day I see authors with tons of reviews, book tours, their book in every store, etc. etc. I tried to entice readers with a chance to win a gift card in exchange for reviews, but NADA. But you know what, you have to start somewhere. I may have NO reviews, and my book is not in stores everywhere, but it's in TWO stores, and I did write a book. I'm putting myself out there by going to cons, festivals, contacting bookstores, and advertising. It's been my full time job this summer.

Success is relative. I've had people tell me "But you wrote a book!" To that I say, yeah. Then others say "But you are published!" Then I'll say, but I have no reviews, and no one knows who I am. But life isn't a competition, and none of it really matters.

What does matter is I stay true to myself and just keep going. I think I am going to set some tangible goals. That way I can be the one to decide.

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In stores NOW!

Emily Wagner — Wed, 30 Jul 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Go Back is in select Baltimore-area independent bookstores.

One is the wonderful, Ivy Bookshop on Falls Road. If you haven't been there, GO! They are fabulous. Their events are great, too. Check it out.

https://www.theivybookshop.com/

One more bookshop is in Carroll County. Rudolph Girls books. It's female owned and really progressive and showcases local artists. Check it out.

https://rudolphgirls.com/

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Welcome to my Author Journey

Emily Wagner — Tue, 29 Jul 2025 00:00:00 +0000

So you want to be a writer? Well, so have I since I was about 4 or 5 years old. Ever since then I've been churning out stories, my first being The Pepper, about a little girl who finds herself caught in a storm of black pepper swirling around her neighborhood. She goes from place to place trying to get away, and finally escapes to her bubble bath. I guess I've always preferred sci-fi/fantasy.

Life went on and I continued writing, mostly for school, but I didn't really write for pleasure. I wrote for my high school and college newspapers, then went on to become a television news producer. I liked writing every day, but I didn't like the cut throat nature. I got laid off and became a teacher.

In 2017, I threw myself into writing after two sudden and tragic deaths, my father and Chris Cornell. I had already been taking local writing classes and attending conferences, and had begun my first novel. I churned out what would become my recently released speculative fiction book, Go Back.

It took 8 years to hold it in real book form.

It may have happened sooner if I had tried harder, but I stopped querying agents after about 20 or 25. I had a couple of small presses express interest, but after one closed up shop unexpectedly after swindling authors of their manuscripts I became skeptical.

Then, in 2023 at the online Flights of Foundry conference, I pitched the book to Stephen Radeki at Water Dragon publishing, and here we are.

Now the book is out and I'm hoping people will read it. That's the purpose of writing fiction, right? For entertainment? Right now my goals are to gain followers who are interested in what I am!

If you like....

speculative fiction
music (mostly rock)
writing
teaching
nature
plants/gardening
travel
parenting
current events

...then follow me. I look forward to getting to know you on this journey of life.

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