Author Archives: Eugie Foster

1st Dragon*Con 2009 Staff Meeting: Looking for 1 Reporter/Editor

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The first Dragon*Con 2009 all-staff meeting was last weekend. I’m always sort of wide-eyed and sensory-overloaded at these meetings that happen during session. I’m very much an introvert, and I need to marshal energy in order to be sociable around a lot of people. And during session, all my reserves of energy are pretty much tapped out.

I do really enjoy hanging with Dragon*Con folks, but putting myself in the midst of a horde of people—composed of friends, acquaintances, and strangers—isn’t something that comes naturally for me, unlike fosteronfilm, who thrives in crowds and gets energized among throngs of people. So I hope I didn’t seem too weird.

Anyhoo, learned that I’m down one Daily Dragon staffer this year, so I have an opening for a reporter/editor. If anyone’s looking to volunteer at the convention who’s a solid writer and/or an adept copyeditor, drop me a line.

In addition to the other volunteer benefits, my staff get hours worked credit for attending (and reporting on) panels/events, opportunities to get up close and personal in one-on-one interviews with the celebs, and other perks, including press ribbons and all-access backstage passes.

Crossover Day 2009

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It’s crossover day at the capitol, legislative session Day 30, when a bill must pass in the chamber it was introduced in or die. It’s one of the busiest days of the session and so NOT a good day for sleep deprivation-induced brain fogginess.

Guess who wrestled with and lost to Mr. Insomnia last night? Sigh. I can hear the ominous susurrus of the Georgia legislature through the thin walls of my office. More coffee please.

Hobkin and Other Updates

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Taking advantage of a minor lull in bill editing at the capitol to post this.

It’s now been two weeks since Hobkin’s emergency vet visit, and he’s got one more day of amoxicillin to go. He seems to have fully recovered from his UTI (thank all the deities who watch over fuzzy beasties) and is in downright frisky spirits.

Skunks, or at least Hobkin, display a pretty radical personality shift between spring and winter. In winter he’s fat, lazy, and generally laid back. In spring, he becomes frolicsome and downright attitudinous. And apparently, it’s now spring.

On Sunday, I’m reaching down to pet the deceptively mild-mannered plush critter curled up beside me, and he decided it was an invitation to wrestle. He latched all four paws around my forearm, grabbed my index finger with his teeth, and rolled (think crocodile ambushing a deer).

Now, Hobkin knows better than to bite me, but he considers it fair play to grab my forefinger right between his two top canines (which, ’cause my hands are small, is a perfect fit) where there’s a little ridge of front teeth. Not sharp enough to cause damage or break the skin even if he presses down, but enough to make me go “Ow, no bite! Leggo, no bite!” while he drags me about by one finger and gleefully assures me that he’s not biting.

And, once again, 8 lb fuzzy animal wins over stupid human. Yes, I think it’s safe to say that Hobkin’s all better.

   


Writing Stuff

During the times when I wasn’t losing at wrestling matches against the fuzzwit, the weekend was spent editing and burning the limited edition audio MP3 CD of Returning My Sister’s Face and getting the first shipment of autographed books mail-ready (which book Amazon is offering at a juicy discounted price of $21.55 right now). I’ll be sending out email notices shortly to let folks know to expect them. I anticipate the second batch will be going out later this week. Thanks to everyone who ordered during the launch party!

RETURNING MY SISTER’S FACE: Now at Amazon

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Was at work until 10pm last night, so didn’t get home until nearly 11. And today has been a reprise of the madness. But I’m chipper and bouncy for there is much to be chipper and bouncy about:

The fabulous Elizabeth A. Allen (blogofstench) gave Returning My Sister’s Face an amazing review at The Fix:

“Up till now, fans of Eugie Foster’s clever, crystalline fairy tales, drawn from Chinese and Japanese mythology, had to seek out single instances of her stories in various magazines and anthologies. However, with the March publication of Returning My Sister’s Face: And Other Far Eastern Tales of Whimsy and Malice, old aficionados can relish 12 of her tales all in one place. . .I wholeheartedly recommend this collection of tender and well-written stories.”

And more fabulousity, Amazon.com finally has it available:

It’s also available at Amazon UK for £15.20 (currently discounted from its list price of £16.00).

[Edit: As norilana commented, it’d be much appreciated if folks, once you’ve read Returning My Sister’s Face, would give some feedback in the Amazon reviews!]

And a final plug: I’m still selling autographed copies (see my launch party post for details).

RETURNING MY SISTER’S FACE: Prizewinners and freebie info

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Thanks to everyone who attended the virtual launch party of Returning My Sister’s Face: And Other Far Eastern Tales of Whimsy and Malice yesterday!

For LJ users who gave a shout-out to the party and my collection, and/or dropped me a comment on yesterday’s party post, you can get the password and download access to the exclusive pre-release of my reading of “The Archer of the Sun and the Lady of the Moon” at this locked post. Please drop me a comment if you should be able to see it but can’t.

For other shout-out folks who aren’t on LiveJournal, if you’re a member of my Facebook Group, you should be receiving the password/access through Facebook if you haven’t already, and I’ll be sending emails to the ones on neither platform.

If you weren’t able to make the party yesterday, you can still download and listen to my reading. All you have to do is give my collection a shout-out, drop a comment at yesterday’s post, or join my Facebook group anytime during the whole month of March.

Next, announcing the prizewinners from the random drawings. For the limited edition Returning My Sister’s Face audio MP3 CD:

• The LiveJournal/shout-out winner is: flyswatter
• The Facebook Group winner is: time_shark

And finally, announcing the grand prize winner of an autographed copy of Returning My Sister’s Face *drumroll please…*: shadesong!

Congratulations to the three lucky winners! Your prizes should be winging their way to you in the next couple weeks, and thanks again to everyone who came out for the party yesterday!

Returning My Sister’s Face: Virtual Launch Party

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Welcome to the virtual launch party of my debut short story collection, Returning My Sister’s Face: And Other Far Eastern Tales of Whimsy and Malice, co-hosted by Facebook and LiveJournal. Help yourself to a flute of champagne or a cup of sake!

To kick things off, I’ve got a couple announcements:

Returning My Sister’s Face is now available from Barnes & Noble and will be available any day now from Amazon (U.S., UK, France, Germany, and Japan).

I’m also selling autographed copies for $23 USD with free shipping and handling anywhere in the U.S. or Canada (overseas folks, please email me about shipping rates). Paypal payments from your PayPal cash balance may be directed to eugie@eugiefoster.com at the PayPal site: http://www.paypal.com. (For credit card payments, see below*.)

If you order one this month, I’ll include for free a limited edition Returning My Sister’s Face audio MP3 CD containing five of the stories, including one previously unreleased and read by myself, plus a bonus story.

Contents:

• ”The Tiger Fortune Princess” read by Norm Sherman, produced and podcast by Drabblecast (Mar. 2008).
• “The Snow Woman’s Daughter” read by cunning minx, produced and podcast by Escape Pod (Aug. 2007).
• “The Tanuki-Kettle” read by Tina Connolly with an introduction by M. K. Hobson, produced and podcast by Podcastle (Oct. 2008).
• “The Archer of the Sun and the Lady of the Moon” read by me, an original audio production.
• “Returning My Sister’s Face” read by Stephen Eley, produced and podcast by Pseudopod (Sept. 2006).
• Bonus Story: “Souls of Living Wood” read by me, an original audio production.

Next, what’s a party without prizes and party favors?

The grand prize is an autographed copy of Returning My Sister’s Face, which will be awarded by a random drawing at the end of today**. To get your chance to win, either:

• Post a shout-out on your blog for Returning My Sister’s Face with a link to this post***; or
• Join my Eugie Foster: Author Facebook group. This group will provide updates and info about Returning My Sister’s Face, my other publication news, and give folks a chance to give me some feedback and criticism, or ask that niggling question you’ve had about how I ended up with a pet skunk.

If you do both, you double your chance to win!

I’m also doing two additional random drawings for the Returning My Sister’s Face audio CD that I mentioned above, one drawing for shout-out folks and one for folks joining my Facebook group.

Finally, everyone who gives my collection a shout-out, joins my Facebook group, or comments to this post anytime this month will get exclusive access to my original audio reading of “The Archer of the Sun and the Lady of the Moon.” I plan to make it free to the public in April, but until then, it’s password protected.

[Edit: For LJ users, the password is now available at this locked post.]

* For credit card PayPal payments only, please use this address: buy@eugiefoster.com. Otherwise, please use eugie@eugiefoster.com. (Saves me fees.)
** To avoid timezone issues, “today” is based on UTC/GMT -11, so if it’s Sunday, March 1, 2009, anywhere in the world, it counts as today.
*** I’m trying out the new pingback LJ function, but if you’re an LJ user without a paid or permanent account, please drop me a comment to let me know you’ve posted a shout-out so I can enter you in the drawing. If you’re on another blogging platform, as long as you’ve got pings enabled, I should get notice of it—but drop me a comment here if you want to make extra certain.

Announcing: Returning My Sister’s Face – Book Launch Virtual Party

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Date: Sunday, March 1, 2009
Location: Facebook and LiveJournal

My debut short story collection, RETURNING MY SISTER’S FACE: AND OTHER FAR EASTERN TALES OF WHIMSY AND MALICE, with an introduction by Hugo and Nebula Award-winning author Vonda N. McIntyre, premiers in trade hardcover from Norilana Books on March 1, 2009:

Enchantment, peril, and romance pervade the shadowy Far East, from the elegant throne room of the emperor’s palace to the humble teahouse of a peasant village. In these dozen stories of adventure and magic from the Orient, a maiden encounters an oni demon in the forest, a bride discovers her mother-in-law is a fox woman, a samurai must appease his sister’s angry ghost, strange luck is found in a jade locket, and dark and light are two sides of harmony.

Join me in raising a virtual flute of the bubbly to celebrate!


Cover art by Ahyicodae

Praise for RETURNING MY SISTER’S FACE:

“Whimsy and malice—yes—also mystery, a very female sensuality, and wit. An elegant and entertaining book.”
—Ursula K. Le Guin, Hugo, Nebula, Pushcart, and Newbery Award-winning author.

“The tales are beautifully written, elegant, passionate, funny and moving. The entire collection is a delightful, magical bridge across cultures. I hope many readers find their way to it.”
—Patricia A. McKillip, Locus, World Fantasy Best Novel, and World Fantasy Lifetime Achievement Award-winning author.

“Noted short story author Foster offers a dozen enchanting and sometimes chilling tales alive with elegantly sketched characters and sensibilities drawn from Asian folklore…Readers who long for a break from European medieval fantasy will be charmed and entertained by Foster’s tales.”
—Publishers Weekly

212 pages
Hardcover (March 2009)
ISBN-10: 1-60762-010-3
ISBN-13: 978-1-60762-010-5

Trade paperback (July 2009)
ISBN-10: 1-60762-011-1
ISBN-13: 978-1-60762-011-2

Hobkin Update: Lab Test Results In

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fosteronfilm got a urine sample from Hobkin to the vet’s for testing the other day, and the results just came in. Elevated white blood cells and some blood. Also some cells that could be bad if there were more of them, but are normal to see in cases of inflammation.

The vet is now sure Hobkin has an infection. We just need to keep him on the amoxicillin, and all should be well.

Vasty gobs of relief and happiness.