Emilie Jane Conroy

I wrote arcade game programs for my Commodore 64 and eventually became one of the original pioneers of Internet communications and digital networking. My education has taken me to graduate school for medieval history, and into the groves and circles of alternative spiritual groups. I had my first international publication in 1996, and I have since steadily worked on articles and projects in a kaleidoscope of areas.After several summers as a tour guide in Philadelphia's historic cemeteries, long visits to the Edgar Allan Poe House, and a passion for the music of Siouxsie and the Banshees, I decided that to be peculiar might be a good thing. I was an active part of the early Goth culture in my high school, promoting emotion, reflection, and solemn beauty. My Gothic short story "The Loa Gate" appeared in an anthology of Gothic tales assembled to raise funds for the victims of Hurricane Katrina. I would call myself a professional pod hopper. That is, instead of having one lone driving profession to supply the drumbeat to my life, I'm involved in several projects which when taken together comprise something like a career. I'm Executive Associate of Stone Bench Associates LLC, a literary and publishing services agency. I specialize in teaching writers how to negotiate the trials and triumphs of the publishing industry. Additionally, I'm teaching advanced placement French to high school juniors and seniors hoping to score well on the AP exam. I'm an experienced secular and spiritual counselor. And if things don't seem weird enough, I'm available for freelance cosmetic mortuary restoration! Crazy, yes. Hectic, most definitely. But I'm having fun and I love my life. Of course I have other interests--all kinds of dog-oriented activities, social activism, belly dancing, historical preservation, languages, oddities, gardening, the occult, chaos, and anything new that gets my attention.