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The Chroma Books

Dark fantasy novels by Emory Glass

Book Catalogue
Updates & News
About Emory

"Emory is an incredible writer and editor with distinct natural attention to detail... the sense of painted-picture clarity she gives the reader is another standout feature from the thousands of others... it's like watching magic take its first breath as anything she touches turns to metaphorical gold."

- Sean Fallon, Owner of Smunchy Games

"Great worldbuilding, excellent characters, and gorgeous prose lend a hand in telling deliciously dark [stories] of ambition, duty, and betrayal across...brilliantly realized geopolitical landscapes. If you're not keeping your eyes on Emory, you’re looking the wrong way."

- Taylor F., Editor in Chief Emeritus of Worldbuilding Magazine

"One of the most delightful aspects of Glass' work is how deeply it runs. The story exists in a much wider world than what we see, [and] you can feel that in every page...you don't need to understand all of these little details to enjoy the story, but they help to make it feel like nothing else I've ever read.

- Adam Bassett, Editor in Chief Emeritus of Worldbuilding Magazine

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Fall, Sacred Apple

October 2024

The 30 Years’ War meets vampiric warrior nuns and blood magic with a side of eldritch botanical horror.

An image of the book cover for Fall, Sacred Apple on a tablet.

The pact is bleeding.What started as a bountiful covenant between a Republic and the goddess who sustains it now suffers a drought of faith. Should a famine of devotees follow, the Blood Mother will uproot the pact. Civilisation will collapse.In the midst of these uncertain times, Corbha, a warrior-nun of steadfast faith, eagerly awaits her brother's birth. He will be the first child born at Madhcha Abbey in twenty-four years. If his delivery suggests divine favour, Corbha and her siblings are to punish a trio of disobedient senators. They have propagated the Republic's growing disregard for the Blood Mother and Her Eightfold Orchard. That cannot stand.For Einaid, a doomsday cultist in hiding, the child's birth raises questions about the abbey and its inhabitants. The answers are scandalous enough to spark widespread dissent should they fall into the wrong hands—and nothing would please Einaid more than igniting the flame that makes Her Orchard burn.Fall, Sacred Apple is a tragic dark fantasy drama washed in insidious and eldritch botanical horror.

Thirty-Three Tales of War

October 2023

The Canterbury Tales, but make it Dark Fantasy.

An image of the book cover for Thirty-Three Tales of War on a tablet.

Seventeen years. That's all it took, seventeen measly years, for the glory of a thousand-year-old nation to fade.A thief weighs betraying an old friend in her time of need. An armorer returns to her husband to find their marriage ended the day she walked out the door. A priestess blesses the dead in the aftermath of a battle. A warrior mourns dead comrades: brother in arms, brother in blood, brother in spirit. A dyer wishes for a grinding war, knowing peace will be his ruin.Countless others cling to survival as leaders make them fodder for oblivion over and over and over again. Can there be inner peace in a world wracked with turmoil? Can one muster ambition when every grueling day is a hair's breadth from being the end? Will they succumb to despondency and carelessness as their homeland marches solemnly closer to a fate from which there is no salvation?These are the lives of ordinary citizens whose only hope lay in memories: that by telling their stories they may be remembered, even when the Void lays final claim to their shattered soul.

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Beta & ARC Reader Sign-Ups

Welcome! Thank you for for your interest in becoming a part of my Beta & ARC Reader team. I'm so excited to work with you!

Upcoming Opportunities

A banner image teasing MARROW. It depicts golden dahlia flowers against a black background with purple butterflies floating amidst them.

Beta Reading Session sign-ups projected to open in early 2025.

What is a Beta Reader?

Beta readers receive a free copy of a book when it is finished but not yet ready to publish. After they read, they give feedback to the author. Think of beta reading like testing an unreleased video game. It may not have all the bells and whistles available and still needs to be refined before it can be published, but it has all its core mechanics and "big picture" features about which players can give feedback. Game devs will often release "beta" versions of their games to get feedback from the community and improve their game. Beta reading is very similar to this process.I tend to accept fewer Beta Readers than ARC readers per session to lessen the risk of having "too many cooks," since beta reading is focused on providing feedback to the author rather than reviews for other readers to peruse. Typically, I can accomodate up to five beta readers. If you're interested in beta reading a specific book, please sign up as soon as slots become available! You can opt-in on the sign-up form to be contacted when that book has an ARC available if you don't make it into the beta.

What Is An ARC Reader?

"ARC" stands for Advanced Review Copy (or Advanced Reader Copy).ARC readers receive a free copy of a book before it's officially published to read and (ideally) review on sites such as Storygraph, Amazon, and Goodreads. You aren't required to leave a review, but I would greatly appreciate you doing so.While ARC editions are complete, publication-ready copies of a book, finding a couple minor typographical or formatting errors here and there is normal. Please just let me know if you see one and I'll take care of it!

What Will I Do as a Beta or ARC Reader?

If you're selected for my Beta Reader & ARC team, you'll receive a confirmation email and a link to my Discord server (not required, but much faster than email). Closer to the start date for either session, you'll get another email with a link to download the book (currently handled through StoryOrigin), its release date, and a feedback deadline (or launch date for ARCs). The week before the deadline or launch date, I'll send a reminder, and another reminder the day of.Beta-Specific Process
I include Beta Reader Instructions for all beta reading sessions I offer—if you've never done one before, no worries! Beta Instructions always include the following information:

A summary of the book that's open for beta reading and any miscellaneous notes beta readers should be aware of (length, POV, intended themes, etc).
Content Advisories.
Instructions for opting in to be included in the published version's Acknowledgements.
My intended goals for story, prose, characters, and worldbuilding.
Available formats and expected timelines.
A list of questions about your reading experience (available as a Google Form and/or plain, text-based list).
A Reference Guide, which is essentially the same as the usual Dramatis Personæ (Cast Lists) and Glossaries in my published books.

ARC-Specific Process
How you review is up to you; its length or level of detail should follow whatever you're comfortable with. My only ask is that your review is honest, reflects your true opinions, and does not contain spoilers.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Please be careful wording reviews on Amazon if you plan to leave one there. They have a history of nitpicking reviewer language and have been known to lock customer's accounts with no explanation. Please see their Community Guidelines for more information on their expectations. Per their own words under the Exceptions subeading in Compensated Reviews: "It’s OK to review a free or discounted book (advanced reader copy) that you received from an author or publisher. However, they can’t require a review in exchange or try to influence the review." (retrieved 30/08/2024)

In either case,
If, while reading, you find that the story isn't your vibe, that's totally fine! As far as ARCs go, your thoughts might help other readers decide if the book is for them, and negative feedback from beta readers only helps me improve the story.If you happen to DNF (Do/Did Not Finish) for whatever reason (time, interest, etc) please just shoot me an email to let me know, no questions asked.You're still more than welcome on the team. ^_<

Sign-Ups Coming Soon

MARROW Beta Reading Session sign-ups projected to open in early 2025.

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A Word on Content Warnings

While I've done my best to list potentially uncomfortable content for each of my books below, I'm not trying to scare anyone away!The way I personally describe my work is "Neutraldark Fantasy." While I go into more detail about what that means in this blog post, the simplest way to put it is "the characters' circumstances are neither easy nor difficult to change, and said circumstances denote an often hellish way of life and a world wracked with dire or oppressive circumstances."These same content warnings for each of my books can be found within the books themselves. I generally add them to a separate section at the end of the story to avoid spoilers for those who would rather not have them while providing fair warning for those who would rather know in advance.If you feel I'm missing something, please give me a shout and I'll do my best to update the list on my site.