“A superb collection—full of wit and surprise and sparkle. Skaftun’s su-perpower is to reliably conjure from a variety of familiar elements some-thing unexpected and unsettling. There is magic in these stories. She might be a witch; she’s most definitely a writer. Hugely enjoyable and highly recommended.

Karen Joy Fowler, author of Wit's End

“Who can resist murderous garden gnomes on a sacrilegious crusade, or zombie tourism in L.A., or the troubled life of a sentient message? Not me! Emily Skaftun’s collection of stories is a delight, inspired zaniness with a knife hidden in the middle. Read it, and you will never view—as just one example—Teddy bears the same way again.”

Nancy Kress, author of The Eleventh Gate and Sea Change

“Each of the 18 disquieting pieces in Skaftun’s debut collection twist reality into absurdity and are united in their exploration of death and the afterlife. Skaftun’s stories set up everyday objects and events, and spin them into the realm of the surreal . . . thoughtful explorations of wildly unusual con-cepts will keep fans of literary chills hooked. Eerie, unsettling, and occa-sionally zany, this philosophically minded collection offers a delightful di-version.”

Publishers weekly

“Surreal dreaming on the fly. Killer garden gnomes, roller-derby, frozen heads, sex in the snow. Fresh, sinister, fey, punk. In a note on one literary, feelings-based story, Skaftun remarks, ‘It needed dinosaurs.’ She brings on the dinos and more. The most fun you’ll have this year.”

Rudy Rucker, author of The Ware Tetralogy

“These are lively, fun stories, full of vivid characters and brain- twisting ideas. Many of these pieces are very short, but they pack a punch bigger than their size. Skaftun is especially adept at combining genre tropes, as in the haunting last story, which translates a beloved folk tale into a dark cyberpunk future.”

Susan Palwick, author of All Worlds Are Real

“Emily C. Skaftun’s Living Forever & Other Terrible Ideas contains some pretty damn good ideas after all. Plus intriguing human characters, and some who are not so human . . . in stories that will make you smile and make you think and make you feel.”

John Kessel, author of Pride and Prometheus