E.C. Myers: Reading Between the Lines

I'm so excited to be joining the League of Extraordinary Writers! I feel like Bad Horse (the Thoroughbred of Sin) has just invited me to join the Evil League of Evil, only this group seems relatively low in the evil department so far. So maybe it's more like joining the Justice League of YA specfic.

I always have a hard time with introductions, mostly because I hate talking about myself. I mean, everything you need to know about me is in the bio on my website, right? But I didn't want to just copy that, and then I realized there's actually a lot of stuff that didn't make it into that bio. So I decided to read between the lines a little and share some more personal stuff that my "official" bio merely alludes to.

E(ugene).C. Myers is the author of Fair Coin and Quantum Coin, young adult science fiction novels published by Pyr.

Yes, this is true! (Thanks again, Pyr!) The reason I decided to use my initials for fiction publications is because when I first started writing short stories, I Googled “Eugene Myers” and “science fiction” and came up with this. I didn’t want to get mixed up with that, so pseudonym! Plus, I’ve never really been fond of the name Eugene (at least, until I saw Tangled), but I definitely am one. Occasionally I still publish non-fiction work under my real name though. What’s my middle name, you might wonder? Charles. To make matters worse, I inherited this name from my father, so when I want to be pretentious, I go by Eugene Charles Myers, II.

He was assembled in the U.S. from Korean and German parts

This is probably the best thing I have ever written, or ever will write. (Well, I hope that isn’t true.) My mom is from South Korea, my dad had German heritage, and well, you can figure out the rest, especially if you read YA.

Alternate explanation: I am an android.

and raised by a single mother and a public library in Yonkers, NY

I owe so much to the influence of my awesome mother, who raised me and my older sister on her own, and the Yonkers Public Library system is more responsible for me becoming a writer than anything else. Sadly, the local library I grew up with (the Getty Square Branch, in the dodgy part of town) closed and relocated to a shiny new building, but I sometimes look for some of the books I remember at its new incarnation as the Riverfront Branch, which is fortunate to have a terrific YA librarian. The first science fiction book I remember reading and loving is Interstellar Pig by William Sleator.

where he survived an improbable number of life-threatening experiences—most miraculously, high school—with ample scars as proof.

If only I were exaggerating! How many times have I nearly died and/or suffered egregious harm? In order: I spilled boiling hot water all over myself (age 3), my family was supposed to be on a plane to Korea that was shot down, (age 5), I burned myself with fireworks (age 5), I was hit by a car (age 8), I nearly drowned (ages 9 and 11), high school (age 14-17), and my arm briefly caught fire (age 33). There are probably many other brushes with death that I’m not even aware of, as if this weren't enough. Really, there are probably very few alternate universes where I’m around, so I like this one a lot.

After a year in software development on Wall Street, he began a career in cable television and helped deliver quality women’s programming for nine-and-a-half years.

Yup. I worked at Lifetime Television, first as a tape librarian, then as a digital media manager. My favorite movie title there was Mother, May I Sleep With Danger?, with My Stepson, My Lover in a close second. I have also been a doorman, worked in the dining hall, worked as a communications specialist fixing people’s phones, designed and maintained websites, managed an office, and edited videos. Writing is by far the best job ever.

He attended the Clarion West Writers Workshop in 2005 and is a member of the professional writing group Altered Fluid.

Two of the best decisions I’ve ever made.

He currently lives with his wife, two doofy cats, and a mild-mannered dog in Philadelphia.

Marrying my wife was the best decision I’ve ever made. And then I didn’t have much of a choice on the rest… :)

In his increasingly scarce free time, he blogs Star Trek Re-watch reviews with Torie Atkinson at TheViewscreen.com, reads slush for Nightmare Magazine... ...reads constantly, lurks on the internet, plays video games, and pursues other extracurricular activities that prevent him from getting enough sleep.

Free time? What’s free time, precious? I do love watching movies (some of my favorites: Superman, Donnie Darko, Dark City, Pleasantville): and TV (The Twilight Zone, Fringe, Darkwing Duck) and playing video games, but those are low in my priorities these days. Still, I’m slowly working my way through a bunch of games, including The Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time, but my favorite genre is platform games like Super Mario Bros. I get about five or six hours of sleep a night.