Ruthanna Emrys

On a warm March night in 2083, Judy Wallach-Stevens wakes to a warning of unknown pollutants in the Chesapeake Bay. She heads out to check what she expects to be a false alarm—and stumbles upon the first alien visitors to Earth. These aliens have crossed the galaxy to save humanity, convinced that the people of Earth must leave their ecologically-ravaged planet behind and join them among the stars. And if humanity doesn't agree, they may need to be saved by force. The watershed networks aren't ready to give up on Earth. Decades ago, they rose up to exile the last corporations to a few artificial islands, escape the dominance of nation-states, and reorganize humanity around the hope of keeping their world liveable. By sharing the burden of decision-making, they've started to heal the wounded planet. But now corporations, nation-states, and networks all vie to represent humanity to these powerful new beings, and if any one accepts the aliens' offer, Earth may be lost. With everyone’s eyes turned skyward, everything hinges on the success of Judy's effort to create understanding, both within and beyond her own species. A literary descendent of Ursula K. Le Guin, Emrys crafts a novel of extraterrestrial diplomacy and urgent climate repair bursting with quiet, tenuous hope and an underlying warmth. A Half-Built Garden depicts a world worth building towards, a humanity worth saving from itself, and an alien community worth entering with open arms. It's not the easiest future to build, but it's one that just might be in reach.

Ruthanna Emrys Innsmouth Legacy, which began with Winter Tide and continues with Deep Roots, confronts H. P. Lovecraft’s Cthulhu mythos head-on, boldly upturning his fear of the unknown with a heartwarming story of found family, acceptance, and perseverance in the face of human cruelty and the cosmic apathy of the universe. Emrys brings together a family of outsiders, bridging the gaps between the many people marginalised by the homogenising pressure of 1940s America. Aphra Marsh, descendant of the People of the Water, has survived Deep One internment camps and made a grudging peace with the government that destroyed her home and exterminated her people on land. Deep Roots continues Aphra’s journey to rebuild her life and family on land, as she tracks down long-lost relatives. She must repopulate Innsmouth or risk seeing it torn down by greedy developers, but as she searches she discovers that people have been going missing. She will have to unravel the mystery, or risk seeing her way of life slip away.

Two decades ago the U. S. government rounded up the people of Innsmouth and took them to a desert prison, far from their ocean, their Deep One ancestors, and their sleeping god, Cthulhu. Only Aphra and Caleb Marsh survived the camps, emerging without a past or a future. Now it's 1949, and the government that stole Aphra's life needs her help. FBI Agent Ron Spector believes that Communist spies have stolen dangerous magical secrets from Miskatonic University, secrets that could turn the Cold War hot in an instant and hasten the end of the human race. Aphra must return to the ruins of her home, gather the scraps of her stolen history, and assemble a new family to face the darkest of human politics and the wildest dangers of an uncaring universe.

One of NPR's Best Books of 2017 Finalist for the RT Award for Best Fantasy Novel"Winter Tide is a weird, lyrical mystery -- truly strange and compellingly grim. It's an innovative gem that turns Lovecraft on his head with cleverness and heart" --Cherie PriestAfter attacking Devil's Reef in 1928, the U. S. government rounded up the people of Innsmouth and took them to the desert, far from their ocean, their Deep One ancestors, and their sleeping god Cthulhu. Only Aphra and Caleb Marsh survived the camps, and they emerged without a past or a future. The government that stole Aphra's life now needs her help. FBI agent Ron Spector believes that Communist spies have stolen dangerous magical secrets from Miskatonic University, secrets that could turn the Cold War hot in an instant, and hasten the end of the human race. Aphra must return to the ruins of her home, gather scraps of her stolen history, and assemble a new family to face the darkness of human nature. Winter Tide is the debut novel from Ruthanna Emrys. It is the first book in the Innsmouth Legacy series. THE INNSMOUTH LEGACYBook 1: Winter TideBook 2: Deep Roots

August 1st, 1883, a Great Old One rose out of the Pacific Ocean and armies of cultists, half breeds, hybrid monstrosities and creatures built from the stuff of nightmares pulled off their disguises and prepared to herald in the coming age of their Master. Ultimately the Old One and the hordes of "Aeonists," as they called themselves, were defeated. Unfortunately your kind were on the side of the Great Old One. You are an Aeonist, one of the Leftovers of the Apocalypse, and for the last decade you and your people have been hunted down, imprisoned, or worse. Your religious beliefs misunderstood, your people mocked and hated for their differences, and your history and your culture banned or destroyed. The year is now 1893. The camps are closing, Aeonists are rebuilding their lives, and sunlight has returned to the fields and farms. You may choose to move closer to the Higher Powers you know are out there, or deny their existence. You may attempt to renounce your heritage, or to serve it faithfully, to avenge your people or to help rebuild civilization. The one certainty is that there is no going back.