E. M. Clarke writes strange and whimsical fantasy and wants to be a pirate when she grows up.
She wrote and produced 46 episodes of short story podcast ‘Can I tell you a story?’, but took a break from that to complete her first novel - The Dead Letter Office.
Writing fantasy is the most fun she’s ever had - she gets to do whatever she wants, and doesn’t even have to pay attention to the laws of physics if she doesn’t want to.
She lives in the tropics in Australia, drinks her coffee black and shares her apartment with two ghost cats and an invisible parrot.
The
Dead
Letter
Office
The Dead Letter Office is my first novel and I have loved every minute of writing it - which I hope you can tell when you read it.
Pirates, oracles, a shapeshifting kraken, a thief who just wants things to be boring, a parrot who talks with an old money accent, hallucinogenic honey... to name just a few of my favourite bits.
I have officially written The End, which was a very satisfying feeling - The Dead Letter Office is now in the revision process.
If you’d like to know more about it and when and where you might be able to read it, sign up at the bottom of this page for sporadic news, updates & Strange Things.
What’s The Dead Letter Office about? Well…
Selvie Arden always longed for an interesting, magical life - yet she's hiding in her friend's spare room, haunted by the voice of her ex-husband criticising everything she does. When she accidentally lands a job at the Dead Letter Office, a chaotic organisation at the junction of inspiration, dreams, and reality, her dreams start to become real - until a shape-shifting kraken starts trashing the place, threatening her fragile hopes.
Struggling to find her footing in a world where reality is optional, Selvie's self-doubt deepens when she's given an unreadable rulebook and a mentor who is confident, competent, and unfazed by chaos - everything Selvie isn’t but wishes she was. In her mind, her ex's voice grows louder with every failure and she worries that despite leaving, she's still stuck with him forever.
To save the Dead Letter Office and evict her ex from her head, Selvie must tame the kraken - but how, when it can't be fought or killed?
Selvie discovers the life she wants will never be found by following the right rules - it comes from letting her daydreams guide the way.
Can I tell you a story?
Can I tell you a story? is a 46 episode podcast of whimsical and very strange short fiction started while I was in the early stages of writing The Dead Letter Office because I wanted to finish something while working on a novel which, at the time, would not be finished any time soon.
This is story time for the dreamers and those who like life to be a bit weird - I often wish the world were stranger in a very particular kind of way, so I write stories where it is.
I hope you like it.
Latest episode:
What’s next
Crossroad
A man stands at a crossroads in the middle of nowhere, unsure of which road to take.
He stands there so long he falls through into a city of ramshackle buildings and tents filled with people who want to use him, love him, ignore him completely…
Will he find his way out, and who will he be if he does?
I’m currently working on the first draft and having a lot of fun with it.
Awards
