Author Archives: Eugie Foster

Writing stats for the weekend:

700 words on the magic realism piece. I just can’t seem to hit “flow” on this one, although I like what I’ve got so far. I even know how I want it to end, but I’m struggling with the getting there part. If I ever finish this story, I think it’ll be a good one. Big if, though.

Five queries to markets that have held manuscripts of mine for 16 months (query #3 to this one), 10 months, 7 months, 6 months, and 5 months, respectively. I’ve been putting these off because I hate querying, but once I started, I got all of them out of the way.

And I did a lot of reorganizing and clean-up of my writing files, both virtual and hard-copy. Had a lot of duplicate files with different names, previous drafts in my final draft folders, and other clutter and messiness. Neatened everything up, made back-ups, and filed away all my USPS receipts.

So, despite the rather piddly word countage, I was productive. But I would have liked to have cranked out more words this weekend.

Yesterday was fun. Fairly mundane and domestic, but nice and a bit silly. We decided that we should get out of the house for a bit, but weren’t sure what to do. Office Max had sent us a coupon ($10 off on a purchase of $20 or more), so we decided to make that our entertainment. In the hallowed halls of the office supply store, we giggled like children and tickled each other, made silly noises, and overall had a blast. And we ended up buying a box of #10 envelopes (’cause I was running low for SASEs), 250 sheets of heavy matte paper, an 8-pack of AAA batteries, and a large container of gummy bears. Then we went to the grocery store and bought some frozen pizzas and chips, and came home and vegged in front of the television with Hobkin, snacking on junk food and watching Fierce Creatures and Blood: the Last Vampire (because it is Halloween season, after all).

Matthew’s re-filled the hot tub, and it’s all primed for use. Think we’ll a nice, long soak in it today. I do love Fall in Georgia.

The SFWA approved Phobos Books as a qualifying sale! I’ve now officially made enough qualifying professional sales for Active membership! As soon as Cricket sends me the contract, I’m upgrading.

Another writing milestone!

Actually, I wonder if the letter of acceptance would work as proof of sale? Cricket can have up to a two year lead time, and I know from my previous sale with that publisher that they won’t send the contract out until after I approve the edits. And I’m pretty sure they don’t do the edits until they’ve got the story scheduled for an issue. Hmm. I’ll ask the folks at the Rumor Mill. But I suspect I’ll have to wait for the contract.

*twitch* But in a good way.

Heard from the editor of In the Outposts of Beyond, the anthology that will have my novelette, “A Little Soul Music,” in it. He expects the book to be out third week of October and payment will be upon publication. Hurray!

Here’s what the cover looks like:

It’ll be a trade paperback, $14.95 + $2.00 S&H ($3.00 S&H to Canada/$5.00 International). Currently, it can be pre-ordered directly from the editor who will also sign it if so requested:

Tyree Campbell
P.O. Box 782
Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52406

It should be available from online outlets like Amazon.com in a few weeks.

Haven’t been writing much recently. Been too drained after work to do more than veg and slump on the couch. These next couple weeks are going to be pretty hectic. Maybe I’ll be able to crank out some new word countage when they’re over.

The USPS has restorative powers, yes it does. At least when it’s responsible for delivering my contributor’s copy of Asylum 3: The Quiet Ward!

It’s beautiful! And it says I’m a “master of the macabre”! Well, it says that about all the writers in the anthology: “A collection of never before published short horror stories written by masters of the macabre, including some of the top new voices in horror fiction today.” But still, woo!

My library of published fiction continues to grow. And I feel much better now. *wobble* Well, better. Think I’ll go lie down again . . .

Me sick. Blargh. Staying home.

It’s the Autumnal Equinox! Happy Mabon!

Had a very hard time waking up and getting going this morning. Brain felt like it was stuck in a haze of peat moss. Needed coffee to get past the stare-blankly-at-monitor phase of my workaday. And I could still barely function on any sort of reasonable level.

Fortunately, it was a slow day at work. No fires to put out; no emergencies hurtling my way.

New word count: 0 Dammit.

Hobkin is shedding. There’s fur everywhere. Everywhere! I guess he’s getting ready to put on his winter coat. He’s already gained some winter weight, which worries me as we’re trying to get him to lose a pound or so. Skunks are notoriously prone to obesity and Hobkin is looking a bit more bottom heavy these days than is healthy.

He was quite restless yesterday. I think he was bored or didn’t know what to do with himself. He’d hop onto the couch to cuddle next to me for a few minutes, and just as I thought he was nodding off, he’d jump up, leap off the couch, and go trundling around the living room. Then after a minute or so of that, he’d hop back up on the couch with me. Silly fuzzwit.

I often worry about his general happiness. Matthew and I decided to have only one skunk so we could focus our attention on him and he would bond with us. There are complications to having multiple pets, not the least of which is introducing them to each other and the possibility of incompatible personalities, fighting, jealousy, etc. Plus there are times when it’s all we can do to keep Hobkin out of mischief. Doubling the number of rambling skunks would be overwhelming and might result in them being locked away for periods of time. As it is now, we spend a lot of time at home and most of that time Hobkin is with us. He’s usually being cuddled in my lap or arms, or sleeping curled up at my side, so he gets plenty of human attention. But I still wonder if he’d like a skunk playmate.

I dunno. We’re sticking with our one pet resolution, but I really hope Hobkin isn’t lonely. We’re taking him to a skunk show next month. We’ll see how he handles that experience. I’m already more than a little trepidatious about it.

Hobkin woke me up this morning at 7am demanding his breakfast. Grumble. Now he’s slumbering under his hutch and Matthew’s dead asleep, and I’m wide awake. Typical.

Had a lovely evening last night with britzkrieg and her fiancé. We went to see The Merry Wives of Windsor at the Shakespeare Tavern. Matthew and I have seen them do this play before and greatly enjoyed it, and they excelled with repetition. Laughed ourselves silly we did. And I think last night’s was better than the previous performance, if that’s possible. Got to meet britzkrieg‘s pride of felines. Quite a houseful of glowing eyes and velvet paws! Absolutely adorable. I greatly enjoy our get-togethers with them. We need to hang out again soon.

Also got a surprise email from gannet (waves), who found me via LJ. We know each other from high school but had lost contact. Delighted to have a chance to catch up with some of the old crowd. Nostalgia nostalgia nostalgia. Ain’t the Internet grand?

In less happy news, got a rejection from Argosy and Glimmer Train. At least the Argosy one had a scribbled note on it: “Not for us, but nice. Thanks & good luck.” So the editor seems to have read the whole story and thought well enough of it to put encouraging pen to page. But I didn’t even get a note from Glimmer Train. I just thought “hmm, they’re taking longer than usual” and went to their website to check the status of my submission. I was displeased to see that it had been marked “complete” (i.e. rejected). Don’t know for how long it had been processed without me getting word. But at least I know now.

These two rejected stories I consider two of my best and are a couple of my favorites. Sigh. Out they go again on Monday. They will find homes, dammit.

Stolen from dire_ephiphany

Psychological Nightmare

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