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E. L. Chen *SLASHER SUMMER out now* @elainechen.com · 29/09/2026

Share someone who looks stylish posing with or next to a car

Audrey Hepburn in HOW TO STEAL A MILLION, dressed completely in white, including sunglasses, bell-shaped hat, gloves, purse, and a chic coat, steps out of a tiny red two-seater Italian convertible.

E. L. Chen *SLASHER SUMMER out now* @elainechen.com · 24/09/2026

Psst…I hear you like sprayed edges 👀 Thanks to Lisa Marie Pompilio for the fantastic design! She does a lot of Orbit‘s covers and her work is always amazing. ONE OF US IS ALREADY DEAD comes out Feb 23 next year from Run For It! www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/e-l-c...

The cover of ONE OF US IS ALREADY DEAD, showing a creepy house at night on a glitchy camcorder screen, turned on an angle to reveal stenciled edges with a pattern of bleeding film stock on them.

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E. L. Chen *SLASHER SUMMER out now* @elainechen.com · 20/08/2026

If you're headed to FanExpo next week, I'll be chatting with a bunch of cool local horror writers. Also come visit us in the Book Nook in room 711! I will have postcards and stickers and maaaybe an ARC of ONE OF US IS ALREADY DEAD for grabs and other will have books for sale.

Fan Expo Panels 2026. Fri Aug 28 11am - Horror 101 (Rm 707) w/David J. Thirteen, E. L. Chen, and Monica S. Kuebler. 2pm - Making a Monster (Rm 707) w/Monica S. Kuebler, Andrew F. Sullivan, C.C. Adams, Carolyne Topdjian, and Suzan Palumbo. Sat Aug 29 11am - Monsters All Around Us (Rm 707) w/Andrew Robertson, Andrew F. Sullivan, E. L. Chen, Emily A. Weedon, and Sam Wilket. Sun Aug 30 1pm - I Ship Horror (Rm 707) w/Emily A. Weedon, Andrew Robertson, E. L. Chen, and Sarah Laudenbach. Come visit us in the Book Nook! (Room 711)

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E. L. Chen *SLASHER SUMMER out now* @elainechen.com · 13/08/2026

Happy Augtober! SLASHER SUMMER is now out in the UK from @michaeljbooks.bsky.social, in hardcover with fabulous cover art by Doug Sirois! The perfect book to bring on a getaway with old friends at a remote cabin in the woods. 🪓

Myself holding the hardcover UK version of SLASHER SUMMER. I’m wearing a black Tshirt that says “Final Girls Club” with an illustration of a goalie mask with a lipstick print on the forehead and a machete through the eye holes.

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E. L. Chen *SLASHER SUMMER out now* @elainechen.com · 12/08/2026

Nobody says on their deathbed, “I wish I had been more efficient”

A poem by Abigail Sims. ChatGPT fucks my wife / and I’m really not all that pressed about it. A natural evolution on our path to enlightenment, the fatal flaw made obsolete. She enjoys the median output of the best lovers in history: Alcibiades’ favourite positions, King Edward’s lessons from the sex chair. Cleopatra’s dominating presence, Solomon’s finest poetry, in a package just the right size, delivered how and when she wants it— Work smarter, not harder, right? It sends me an automated email to let me know the labour I’ve conserved in a weekly insights report; Hours logged, achievements reached, orgasms tallied. It saves me on average 15 minutes a day, every day, that I can spend checking my email. But I press my ear against the door, sometimes, and wonder what I’m missing.

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E. L. Chen *SLASHER SUMMER out now* @elainechen.com · 26/07/2026

It is setting my pattern-seeking brain into overdrive though and I'm thinking I need to set up an index 🤔

That meme of Charlie Day in IT'S ALWAYS SUNNY IN PHILADEPHIA, gesturing at a wall plastered with loose papers with red lines drawn between them, a manic gleam in his eyes

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E. L. Chen *SLASHER SUMMER out now* @elainechen.com · 22/07/2026

🚨 @waterstones.bsky.social shoppers! From July 21-24 you can get 25% off upcoming books, including SLASHER SUMMER! See www.waterstones.com/campaign/jul... for details. #WPreorder

A graphic advertising the Waterstones promotion, featuring the UK cover of SLASHER SUMMER. It says “Waterstones, 25% off books coming soon. Pre-order now with code SUMMER26. 21-24 July, online only.”

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E. L. Chen *SLASHER SUMMER out now* @elainechen.com · 12/07/2026

Thank you so much for having me on the podcast! As mentioned on the episode, here is the moment young Elaine learned an important and devastating life lesson that set her on her path to villainy. (If anyone knows how they make character costume tails, please let me know!)

Myself at age 4, a little Asian girl wearing a red jacket, reaching out to touch the striped, protruding tail of a someone in a Tigger costume. My hand is only inches away from the tail. The photo is from the early 1980s, so it has rounded corners and a dull, fuzzy quality.

Myself ducking as the person in the Tigger costume reaches for my head with their orange-mittened hands. Another child looks on in interest.

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E. L. Chen *SLASHER SUMMER out now* @elainechen.com · 01/07/2026

Holy @#$%! My US editor just let me know that SLASHER SUMMER is on the USA Today bestseller list and now I must retire to my fainting couch in utter disbelief. THANK YOU!! so much to those who bought a copy and/or spread the word 🥹

SLASHER SUMMER on the USA Today bestseller list at #118. The listing has a thumbnail of the book and a brief summary.

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E. L. Chen *SLASHER SUMMER out now* @elainechen.com · 23/06/2026

Happy book birthday to SLASHER SUMMER! Go forth into the world (or rather the US and Canada), you’re on your own now. I hope people enjoy reading you as much as I enjoyed writing you. (Thanks to everyone who reviewed ARCs, posted about it, and/or pre-ordered! I appreciate you 🥹 )

Myself, a middle-aged East Asian woman with dark-framed glasses and wearing a black T-shirt, holding a copy of the North American trade paperback of SLASHER SUMMER near my face. I am smiling a little smugly if only because I am not good at smiling on cue.

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E. L. Chen *SLASHER SUMMER out now* @elainechen.com · 20/06/2026

Advertise your Bluesky account with a Simpsons image. (Credit goes to a friend for reminding me of this scene recently 😂 )

Lisa Simpson in a purple towel with her arms raised, declaring, “I am the lizard queen!”

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E. L. Chen *SLASHER SUMMER out now* @elainechen.com · 16/06/2026

🚨 ONE WEEK to SLASHER SUMMER'S US/Canada release! Lord, grant me the confidence of a masked man holding a bloody axe as I do self-promo.

The cover of SLASHER SUMMER against a dark blue landscape background of a lake at night with a full moon. A heading reads, "One week. June 23, Crown."

A quote from the book, set against the same landscape: "The person coming up the steps was very calm, very sure, possessing a confidence that none of Patrick's friends would have under these circumstances. It was the confidence of a masked man holding a bloody axe."

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E. L. Chen *SLASHER SUMMER out now* @elainechen.com · 12/06/2026

⚡️COVER REVEAL⚡️ Presenting the fabulous cover of my Blair Witch Project-inspired novel, ONE OF US IS ALREADY DEAD, out next Feb from Orbit Run For It. Look at the stellar work by Lisa Marie Pompilio. Can't wait for you to read this one!

The cover of my next book, ONE OF US IS ALREADY DEAD. The glitchy screen of a camcorder viewfinder shows an abandoned mansion at night. The title of the book stands out from the dark blue background in bright red letters.

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E. L. Chen *SLASHER SUMMER out now* @elainechen.com · 12/06/2026

Who wants to see the cover of my next book? 👀

The “This is fine” meme of the dog sitting in a burning room, but instead they’re saying “So I have a book coming out.” The caption has been clumsily amended MS Paint-style to read “So I have 2 books coming out.”

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E. L. Chen *SLASHER SUMMER out now* @elainechen.com · 06/06/2026

Yourself, but as a cartoon. (this is my very accurate answer to almost every meme)

Daria from the eponymous animated show, a teenaged girl with long dark hair cut with bangs, glasses, wearing a green jacket over a brown shirt. Her arms are crossed and her expression is perpetually unamused.

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E. L. Chen *SLASHER SUMMER out now* @elainechen.com · 04/06/2026

Come perceive me on Sun July 12 at @littleghostsbooks.bsky.social from 1-3pm, where I'll be signing SLASHER SUMMER! I'm not doing a reading or anything, feel free to drop by any time.

A graphic promoting my author signing at Little Ghosts Books, with a photo of SLASHER SUMMER's cover and one of myself, a middle-aged East Asian woman with long black hair and dark-rimmed glasses. The event will take place at 930 Dundas St W in Toronto, on July 12 at 1-3pm.

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E. L. Chen *SLASHER SUMMER out now* @elainechen.com · 24/05/2026

If you shop at Target, however, you're in for a treat - the Target edition comes in a slipcase and so it's designed to look like a VHS tape! There's a gloss on the clear plastic part of the "tape" and the blood spatter is matte ink (or real blood?) The whole effect is SPECTACULAR. I lucked out.

The Target edition, showing the back of the slipcase with coloured stripes evoking a VHS tape sleeve. The book cover is designed to look like a videotape, with the title and my name on a wrinkled label. The plastic casing is cracked and there is a blood spatter.

The Target edition held on an angle, showing that the book is inside a slipcase. The spine of the book looks like a VHS tape label with the title and my name in a font that looks like handwritten magic marker.

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E. L. Chen *SLASHER SUMMER out now* @elainechen.com · 24/05/2026

As promised, the magnificent Crown editions of SLASHER SUMMER. They all have the stencilled edges, and the Walmart edition comes with a cute bookmark!

A stack of three copies of SLASHER SUMMER. My fingers are visible as they hold the cover down on the top copy.

One of the copies being held at an angle, displaying the red sprayed edges stencilled with illustrations of murder weapons.

The back of the Walmart copy, that has a bookmark attached to an inside page. The bookmark is black with a design of dripping blood at the top, and it reads, "Rewind or die! Slasher Summer."

The back of the Walmart bookmark. It says "Cause of death (check one): Stalker, Zombie, Nightmare Janitor, Evil Tree." Each option has a checkbox and an illustration.

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E. L. Chen *SLASHER SUMMER out now* @elainechen.com · 23/05/2026

🚨 We interrupt your doomscrolling to announce that my fun slasher romp SLASHER SUMMER drops in the US/Canada in ONE MONTH (UK launch will be in Aug.) www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/822948... If Breakfast Club x Scream is your bag, please pre-order from your favourite retailer!

A 3D rendering of the US version of SLASHER SUMMER against a blue-tinted photo of a lake and a full moon. The book is a trade paperback with red stencilled edges with black and white murder weapons running up and down the sides. The cover is a movie poster-style collage of the characters, clustered around a cabin and a masked, hooded man wielding an axe. Text at the bottom of the graphic reads, "Life is better at the lake. June 23, Crown"

A quote from SLASHER SUMMER: "Jen couldn't wrap her head around it. Why were all these weird things happening? Who'd want to target them? They were just a bunch of dumb college kids at an old remote cabin-- Nope, she wasn't going to go there."

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E. L. Chen *SLASHER SUMMER out now* @elainechen.com · 19/05/2026

A great time was had at @tricon-hfx.bsky.social! Don’t miss it next year, put next Victoria Day weekend in your calendar and remember to pack comfortable shoes (I did not expect Halifax to be so hilly 🥵 )

A waterfront boardwalk on a sunny day, with three Adirondack chairs by the edge of the sparkling water

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E. L. Chen *SLASHER SUMMER out now* @elainechen.com · 03/05/2026

Does anyone else on the spectrum find themselves identifying with their Pokopia Ditto character? ie masquerades as a human most of the time, learns by imitating others, natural state is a squishy genderless blob

A still from Pokopia featuring my Ditto character, a pale, dark-haired Ditto-human wearing a dark hoodie. A grassy landscape and Squirtle are in the background.

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E. L. Chen *SLASHER SUMMER out now* @elainechen.com · 02/05/2026

Here's where you can perceive me in a couple weeks at @tricon-hfx.bsky.social 🔱 Looking forward to the jaunt east!

My schedule for TriCon:

SAT MAY 16 12:30 PM
How to Stop Worrying and Start Querying
w/Kurestin Armada (mod), Faith Gladwin, Megan Davies-Ostrom
NSCAD Marginal Road Campus

SAT MAY 16 6:30 PM
Trident Reading Series
w/Jennifer Giesbrecht, Shannon Fay, Toril Orlesky, Aidan Redwing, Aysha U. Farah
Trident Booksellers and Café

SUN MAY 17 9:30 am
BIPOC Identity in Canadian Speculative Fiction
w/Terese Mason Pierre (mod.) Nailah Moon, Tiff Morris
Maritime Room, Westin Nova Scotian

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E. L. Chen *SLASHER SUMMER out now* @elainechen.com · 24/03/2026

Attn B&N shoppers! Now through Thursday 3/26, when you preorder SLASHER SUMMER, Barnes & Noble Rewards and Premium Members get 25% off. Premium Members get an additional 10% off physical books. Coupon code PREORDER25. Some exclusions apply www.barnesandnoble.com/w/slasher-su...

A graphic advertising the B&N preorder sale. March 24-26 only, 25% off for Rewards and Premium Members only with code PREORDER25.

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E. L. Chen *SLASHER SUMMER out now* @elainechen.com · 04/03/2026

The horrors persist but so does book promo. If you're in Toronto, drop by @littleghostsbooks.bsky.social on Sun Mar 29, 1-3pm, where I will be signing my gothic novella SWEETSIDE MOTEL. I also may have stickers.

A graphic advertising my author signing at Little Ghosts Books. It says, "Join us to celebrate the launch of E.L. Chen's latest release, Sweetside Motel." Sunday March 29, 1-3pm, Location: 930 Dundas St W, Toronto, Ontario.

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E. L. Chen *SLASHER SUMMER out now* @elainechen.com · 02/03/2026

My pandemic gothic novella SWEETSIDE MOTEL is now out in the world from @interstellarflight.bsky.social! Perfect for serving to the stranded traveller who has been forced to quarantine in your home.

My novella SWEETSIDE MOTEL sits on a circular wooden tray with a cup of coffee, a tealight in a black lantern, and a black plate with a blueberry muffin and a sharp paring knife on it.

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E. L. Chen *SLASHER SUMMER out now* @elainechen.com · 23/02/2026

Psst...my wintery Hitchockian gothic novella SWEETSIDE MOTEL drops in ONE WEEK from @interstellarflight.bsky.social. Don't forget to lock your door. 🔪 www.interstellarflightpress.com/sweetsidemot...

The cover of my novella Sweetside Motel, showing a motel key overtop a snowy landscape.

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E. L. Chen *SLASHER SUMMER out now* @elainechen.com · 17/02/2026

Also the time of year I can post my favourite meme. This inexplicably makes me laugh every time.

The "women yelling at cat" meme illustrated in a traditional Chinese style, with the women as Chinese opera singers and the cat smugling sitting in front of steamed buns and other treats. Above the women's heads a caption reads, "Gong xi fa cai" and above the cat's head the caption reads, "Gong hei fat choi"

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E. L. Chen *SLASHER SUMMER out now* @elainechen.com · 09/02/2026

Hurrah, the cover for my slasher romp SLASHER SUMMER has finally been officially revealed on Insta! Look at that amazing art by @turksworks.bsky.social, it makes me want to read the book and I already know what happens. 😅 Coming in June from Crown (US/Can) and Michael Joseph (UK).

The cover of SLASHER SUMMER: the characters of the novel clustered together like a movie poster, and in the center a masked figure wearing a hoodie and red buffalo plaid jacket raises an axe. The cover itself is designed to look like a VHS tape.

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E. L. Chen *SLASHER SUMMER out now* @elainechen.com · 09/02/2026

Just warning you all of incoming self-promotion.

The "This is fine" cartoon dog sitting in a burning room, modified so that it says "So I have a book coming out" in his speech bubble. I'm afraid I don't know who to credit the modification to.

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E. L. Chen *SLASHER SUMMER out now* @elainechen.com · 01/02/2026

The world is terrible but Katie Leung is magnificent as a stone cold bitch in BRIDGERTON S4, so there's that

Katie Leung, who you might recognize as having played Cho in the series that shall not be named, an Asian woman in her late 30s with her hair up, wearing a black period costume with a high collar and severely peaked shoulders, an imperious and pinched look on her face.

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E. L. Chen *SLASHER SUMMER out now* @elainechen.com · 11/01/2026

I'd thought my gothic novella SWEETSIDE MOTEL was coming out from @interstellarflight.bsky.social in 3 months but since the pub date is early March, it's actually 2. 😱 Don't forget to lock your door.

A collage showing an old wood-panelled motel room, a motel sigh, a narrow snowy road flanked by tall trees, a small knife, a shearling coat, a white farmhouse, antlers lying on a weathered wooden board.

A quote from SWEETSIDE MOTEL, coming March 2026 from Interstellar Flight Press.
Caleb pauses, as if weighing his thoughts. “Be careful around Elijah,” he says, quietly. “He hasn’t been the same since Dad died.”
“He—” Sarah stops, catching herself. He said the same thing about you.

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E. L. Chen *SLASHER SUMMER out now* @elainechen.com · 28/12/2025

Post a perfect album from the 90s that isn't Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden or Alice in Chains. Absolutely no contest

PJ Harvey's 1995 album TO BRING YOU MY LOVE. The cover shows Harvey, a white woman with black hair, floating on her back in water wearing bright red lipstick and a sleeveless red V-neck satin dress.

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E. L. Chen *SLASHER SUMMER out now* @elainechen.com · 07/12/2025

One of your New Year's resolutions is to read more books, right? RIGHT?? Why not get an early start by discovering some local horror authors? @hwaontario.bsky.social is hosting a New Year's Levee on Jan 6 2026 at the Caledonian, 6:30pm. Put it in your calendar now! 💀🎊

HWA Ontario Chapter presents: New Year's Levee - Raising the Undead. Readings, book table, hang with fellow writers. Jan 6, 2026 6:30pm, The Caledonian, 856 College St, Toronto. MC Andrew Robertson and readings by Monica S Kuebler, Andrew Robertson, Emily A Weedon, Elaine Chen, SJ Shank, Sephera Giron, Suzan Palumbo, Tim McGregor, John Buja.

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E. L. Chen *SLASHER SUMMER out now* @elainechen.com · 02/12/2025

This Giving Tuesday, why not donate to your local wildlife rehab centre? You don't know how needed they are until a pigeon won't budge from your freezing balcony and next thing you know you have a pigeon in a box and you need someone to take it 😬

A dark-coloured pigeon with a few white wing feathers sitting nonchalantly in a cardboard box. An old blue pillowcase is piled beside it.

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E. L. Chen *SLASHER SUMMER out now* @elainechen.com · 28/11/2025

"You'll be visited by three spirits." The three spirits:

Roxy, Pizzazz, and Stormer, the members of rival band The Misfits from 1980s cartoon JEM AND THE HOLOGRAMS. Their songs really were better.

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E. L. Chen *SLASHER SUMMER out now* @elainechen.com · 13/10/2025

I'm beyond thrilled this is going to be published. Inspired by THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT, I steeped this book in late '90s nostalgia as well as all my anxieties as a middle-aged woman. 2/

A collage made in Canva showing: a Victorian house, a round brass-rimmed mirror, a heavy wooden staircase, a penknife, woods at night, a woman holding up a phone, a container of pencils, and a scattering of flies.

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E. L. Chen *SLASHER SUMMER out now* @elainechen.com · 13/10/2025

Kermit flail! Giddy I can finally announce that @orbitbooks.bsky.social's horror imprint, Run For It, has acquired my mid-life crisis found footage horror movie novel ONE OF US IS ALREADY DEAD. 🪰 1/

A graphic from Run For It with a photo of me, a middle-aged Asian woman with long black hair and glasses wearing an olive green bomber jacket. Above is a red banner that reads, "Acquisition Announcement", and below is "One of Us Is Already Dead, E. L. Chen."

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E. L. Chen *SLASHER SUMMER out now* @elainechen.com · 12/10/2025

Heh, I confess I based the drawing on my cheap but trusty store-brand kitchen knife 😅

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E. L. Chen *SLASHER SUMMER out now* @elainechen.com · 11/10/2025

If you're coming to @canconsffh.bsky.social next weekend, I hope you like stickers! I'll be leaving some on the freebies table and will have them on me to give out too. Really happy with how these turned out.

A glossy sticker showing an illustration of a hand with red-painted nails, holding a bloody kitchen knife. A red ribbon beneath it reads, "SOCIETY OF FINAL GIRLS", and the slogan "THE HORRORS PERSIST BUT SO DO WE" sits around the hand in a circle.

A glossy sticker of an illustrated key with a red old-school diamond-shaped motel tag. The tag reads, "LOCK YOUR DOOR" and is spattered with blood.

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E. L. Chen *SLASHER SUMMER out now* @elainechen.com · 10/10/2025

Thinking abt On Spec has sent me down a memory rabbithole. Almost 20 years since I did this painting! On a real canvas! I'd forgotten I was nominated for an Aurora for artistic achievement that yr, my only Aurora nom 😢

The cover of On Spec summer 2006, showing a painting of a stylish girl wearing a black dress, fishnet stockings and heels sitting cross-legged on a sofa. She holds a leash with a collared frog at the end, which sits on the floorboards by her feet.

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E. L. Chen *SLASHER SUMMER out now* @elainechen.com · 09/10/2025

I got this twice in a row, so I guess it must be true 🤷‍♀️

A graphic with a red and black blood-spatter pattern with the words "THE KILLER" written in large white block letters.

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E. L. Chen *SLASHER SUMMER out now* @elainechen.com · 29/09/2025

I have just finished talking to four different customer service reps (for three separate issues) and I fear my face may be frozen like this for the rest of the day (ironically I was also texting friends about autistic masking at the same time)

Mia Goth as Pearl in the eponymous 2022 movie, her face frozen in a wide, strained smile as she stares at the camera.

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E. L. Chen *SLASHER SUMMER out now* @elainechen.com · 24/09/2025

I need a pimple patch, but in the shape of my whole face. Like a sheet mask made of pimple patch material. Someone please make this.

The "is this a pigeon meme", i.e. a frame from an anime showing an earnest, bespectacled young man with his hand outstretched toward a butterfly, with the caption, "Is this perimenopause?"

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E. L. Chen *SLASHER SUMMER out now* @elainechen.com · 19/09/2025

But I don't want to get started, Microsoft 365 😒 No close button and clicking outside the modal doesn't dismiss it. Not cool. The links open in new tabs. But the button does nothing but close the modal? So it was just an awareness msg? That's bad CTA copy then, maybe Copilot wrote it 🤔

A Microsoft 365 pop-up modal that says "Your subscription just got smarter. Experience the latest AI features in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and the Copilot app! Ask Copilot for help with any tasks or questions." At the bottom is button that says, "Get started."

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E. L. Chen *SLASHER SUMMER out now* @elainechen.com · 09/09/2025

Heads up, looks like my contemporary gothic novella SWEETSIDE MOTEL will be out from @interstellarflight.bsky.social next March. Don't forget to lock your door.

A graphic with a quote from SWEETSIDE MOTEL over top a photo of a gloomy neon motel sign at night: "I'd lock your door," he says quietly, and then he's gone.

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E. L. Chen *SLASHER SUMMER out now* @elainechen.com · 08/08/2025

Late to the party, as it's just been announced. I have a fun slasher tribute coming out next summer!

A Publishers Marketplace Deal Report: E. L. Chen's SLASHER SUMMER, pitched as a love letter to the campy horror movies of the 1980s, in which a group of friends reunite at the cabin where a cult film was filmed, only to discover a real life killer waiting for them, to Peter Joseph at Crown, for publication in summer 2026, by Dorian Maffei at Kimberley Cameron & Associates (NA). Rights to Jorgie Bain at Michael Joseph (world).

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