About the Author

Emilie Autumn grew up by the sea in California where she mastered the classical violin before going on to travel the world as a singing theatrical performer and author. Globally known for her genre-bending album Fight Like A Girl, Emilie has also appeared as an actress, starring in Darren Lynn Bousman’s musical fantasy films The Devil’s Carnival and Alleluia! The Devil’s Carnival.

Emilie’s academic career ended abruptly at the age of ten when she was removed from school to allow her the time to perfect her musical craft, yet, despite her near-complete absence of formal education, her debut self-published novel (the early editions of The Asylum for Wayward Victorian Girls) seems to demonstrate some understanding of proper spelling and grammar, and has been cited in text-books used as part of the psychology curriculum at Oxford University in London.

Upon the release of her 2007 Shakespearean-themed concept album, Opheliac, Emilie found herself an overnight star in Germany’s industrial rock scene, and began touring extensively. With her Victorian burlesque-themed stage show and signature heart painted on her cheek (a unifying symbol devotedly replicated by her international followers known as “Plague Rats"), Emilie fast became a sensation throughout Europe and the United Kingdom before touring in America, South America, Canada, and Russia.

Diagnosed first with major depression in her early 20s and later with bipolar disorder, Emilie’s first novel (The Asylum…) was culled from the very real pages of the secret journal she kept whilst incarcerated in a mental hospital. She hopes that her future writings will not require such dramatic circumstances in order to be published.

Since its fully-illustrated first edition release in 2008, The Asylum... continues to increase in popularity as Plague Rats around the globe cover themselves in tattoos from its elaborate art, cosplay as its eccentric characters (both human and animal), write their own fan-fiction, put on their own stage plays taking place in the “Asylum” world, arrange group tea party meet-ups, and incorporate Emilie’s story into their own lives in virtually every imaginable way, beginning with the understanding that what makes them different makes them magical and ought to be celebrated, not concealed.

Emilie is presently composing and developing the Broadway musical and film versions of The Asylum for Wayward Victorian Girls. To follow her progress, join her on Twitter as @emilieautumn, on Instagram and Facebook as @emilieautumnofficial, and at her websites www.emilieautumn.com, www.theasylumforwaywardvictoriangirls.com, and www.theasylumemporium.com.