Droids & Dragons Author, E.J. LeRoy

E.J. LeRoy's Favorite Place to Write

Meet E.J. LeRoy, one of the new authors at Pub 518. E.J. has wanted to become a writer since they were 4 years old.

"My inspiration was the picture books of Jan Brett, whom I had the pleasure of meeting at two book signings, one during early childhood and one as an adult."

LeRoy is a well-established author and has more than forty pieces published or forthcoming, not counting poetry. Credits and accolades can be found on LeRoy's website.

"My first published speculative fiction piece was a 6,100-word unsolved mystery fantasy titled “The DeVore Incident.” It is out of print, but I will always be grateful to the editors at the defunct Transmundane Press for giving me my first credit in addition to helping me hone my craft."

E.J.'s short story in Droids & Dragons is “(De)activating Love”, a standalone spinoff of a previously published science fiction short story “Troubleshooting in 2200,” which was published in After the Storm Magazine.

“Troubleshooting in 2200” was my entry for Grist’s first cli-fi (climate science fiction) contest “Imagine 2200.” Even though my piece wasn’t chosen, I sent it to various markets until After the Storm accepted it. At some point, I had an idea for a follow-up piece showing a window into Gabe and Nico’s home life. Thus, '(De)activating Love' was born.

LeRoy doesn't have a favorite snippet of '(De)activating Love', but the opening lines draw you in and starts the reader off on an adventure.

Gabe Oliveira’s garage workbench had been an absolute mess for the past two years.

Nico had no trouble telling him so. This morning, he said, “I thought your resolution for 2200 was to clean up that absolute mess on your garage workbench.”

Overall, E.J.'s favorite part throughout “(De)activating Love” was the ambiguity in certain elements of Gabe and Nico’s relationship. "They both care for each other, of course. The fact that they bicker at times, like a lot of couples, isn’t that problematic in and of itself. But, as a human, Gabe still has some paternalistic attitudes to work through when it comes to respecting Nico’s autonomy."

E.J. doesn't have a single favorite book or author but have enjoyed Shogun and Taipan by James Clavell, Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice, Hawaii by James Michener, several works by Elmore Leonard, and some of the historical romances by Lotte R. James, among other authors.

"My taste could be described as “eclectic but picky,” although I tend to gravitate toward historical fiction, sagas, science fiction, and comedy."

For more information on E.J. LeRoy's writings, check out E. J. LEROY - Home

Droids & Dragons is available for preorder. The drop date is 9/25/2026.