Emma Mieko Candon - THE ARCHIVE UNDYING out now!

@emcandon.bsky.social

2118 Followers 460 Following

THE ARCHIVE UNDYING (June, 2023) Wrote a Star War (RONIN, 2021) escaped academic 4 mediocre robot she/they

A photo of a Buddha-like statue wearing a gold mask and gripping its chest, muscles strained, peeling back the skin of its stomach to reveal a gated cage within its torso.
Mood board representing the character Veyadi from The Downworld Sequence. It evokes metaphysical migraines and power crackling within, seething to escape.
a screenshot of the Tumblr dashboard as of 8.31.23, with advertisement for the live action adaptation of One Piece, featuring a horrible clown that i want to fucking eat.
Excerpt from the Star Wars short story "When Fire Marked the Sky" by Emma Mieko Candon From the moment the forest moon of Endor came into view, everything that could go wrong went wrong. The battle was what battles always were--dark, desperate, and sweat, then light and then dark, screeching electronics and yelling people--but it was worse. When they wheeled away from the Death Star's active shield only to face the Imperial fleet, Wedge Antilles had the thought he never, ever let himself have: Ah. We're going to die.
The cover of Star Wars: Ronin. A ronin in a black robe leaps out of the fog of war, wielding a red lightsaber.
What was the initial inspiration for The Archive Undying, and what were some of the most significant changes from concept and first draft to final product? Okay, so I watched Pacific Rim in the near aftermath of being released from six months in the hospital and loved it for reasons that are clearer in retrospect. (It’s a movie about the absolute destruction of the self, which can only be rebuilt in the context of other people. Oh! It’s about recovery! Oh! Oh!) But I also expected things like “Kaiju Blue” to play a way larger role—and I wanted the Jaegers to be creepier! So I went home and wrote my wife a Pacific Rim AU of a story we were working on together; in the AU, the main characters were unwillingly bound to each other and their mech because the kaiju that the mech was built out of had also infected them with its blood. So, you know. That’s The Archive Undying. [Continued at https://clarkesworldmagazine.com/candon_interview/]
"When Fire Marked the Sky" by Emma Mieko Candon From the moment the forest moon of Endor came into view, everything that could go wrong went wrong. The battle was what battles always were--dark, desperate, and sweaty, then light and then dark, screeching electronics and yelling people--but it was worse. When they wheeled away from the Death Star's active shield only to face the Imperial fleet, Wedge Antilles had the thought he never, ever let himself have: Ah. We're going to die.
A person in black clothes with a cane excitedly presents R2-D2 in front of a mural of the Ghost crew from Star Wars Rebels.
Fifth and final slide Title: DOES THE GIANT ROBOT PUNCH ANYTHING? Subtitle: You bet your bottom dollar! Text: And it's REAL FUCKING SAD.
Fourth slide Title: THEMES! Subtitle: It's got 'em! Text: * The terrible grief of the faithful! * murder is difficult, actually! * The mind is the body is the mind is the body * Sometimes, forgiveness is dumb!
Third slide Title: hey sunai Text: Stop putting your mouth on that!
Second slide Title: starring! Text: * that guy who was throwing up in the stall next to you at the gay bar at 3am then gave you life changing advice and some really dubious weed * your totally insufferable lab partner who was tragically never actually wrong until that one time you got to watch him try to parallel park * That Kid. You know, That Kid. Who poured salt on slugs and owned three ipods but also once bit the tip of your bully's finger just clean the fuck off. * The solemn and melancholy bartender who breaks your heart every Tuesday. And every Tuesday she also shows you her photo album of her fifteen beloved huskies. * 'First do no harm' says whaaaaat * A variety of Mother Fuckers.
First slide Title: the archive undying Subtitle: a bunch of assholes slapfight over a robot & sometimes kiss
The cover of STAR WARS: RONIN. A man in black robes wields a red lightsaber as he leaps through smoke. The art style is reminiscent of Japanese "flat" art, which uses layers instead of shading to depict depth.
The cover of THE ARCHIVE UNDYING, a sci-fi book. A beautiful giant robot of white and silver metal strides through crashing waves and a stormy sky. The book title is bold maroon outlined in neon yellow.
A promotional image for the book The Archive Undying by Emma Mieko Candon. The cover of the book depicts a large, beautiful robot striding through a stormy sea. The cover overlays commissioned art for the book. The caption at the bottom reads "COME GET IN THE ROBOT..."