Author Archives: Eugie Foster

Mobicon Part I

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I’m at Mobicon! There’s free wifi throughout the hotel. Much happiness.

The drive was pretty easy, thanks in large part to Escape Pod and Pseudopod. Their podcast storytelling goodness is the the best for long car trips.

The convention folks are absolute darlings. I feel feted and catered to. They gave me spiced rum punch. Hooked up with jackzodiac, got my guest schedule (woo, they’re really working me; in addition to my panels, I’m also slated to be a judge at the costume contest, do the Vanna White thing to jackzodiac‘s Pat Sajak for the charity auction, and, erm, the slave auction–not sure at this point if I’m supposed to help conduct it or offer up my person for bidding . . . um), and went out to dinner at the Macaroni Grill with the convention organizers and some guests. And, I’ve already got into a disagreement with Sharon Green on the merits of keeping track of daily word counts in the writing process. Hee!

Busy day ahead of me. Must pour vast quantities of caffeine into my system. Charge!

   


Writing Stuff

I’m bummed that Bash Down the Door and Slice Open the Badguy didn’t make it in time for me to pimp at the convention. I have a guest table and everything to hawk stuff from. Pook.

Received:
– Email from Strange Horizons with edits to approve and a question change query for the interview lynnejamneck conducted with me. I got it while I was a bit tipsy last night so decided to hold off on looking over their questions until my brain was clearer. But they assure me that the interview will go up soon. Yippee skippy!

New Words:
– 500 on the Fox Princess novel. I’m not expecting to get much (any) writing done while I’m at Mobicon.

Zokutou word meterZokutou word meter
9,689 / 40,000
(24.2%)

Club 100 for Writers: 7

Skunk transportation apprehension

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This afternoon, fosteronfilm is having to take Hobkin to his godmom’s (for skunksitting) while I’m at work. Hobkin is not a fan of car rides, and normally skunk transport is a two-human enterprise. Matthew drives, and I hold Hobkin, murmuring reassurances and providing comforting ear skritches. This time, Hobkin will have to be locked away in a carrier.

I’m envisioning a Tasmanian Devil mini-tornado a la Looney Tunes. I’m not sure who to feel sorrier for, husband or skunk!

   


Writing Stuff

The editor I was interviewing for my Writing for Young Readers column, Mark Justice of Story Station, got me his responses lightning-fast, in time to send the interview in before the deadline for my June column and therefore letting me bump the piece I was working on to July. Hurray! That’s a great help in alleviating my May timetable crunch.

Y’know, I thought after the legislative session I’d have so much free time I could put my feet up and chill. So not happening. As fosteronfilm admonished me (with a touch of exasperation), I need to stop deluding myself that I’ll ever have free time again.

Well, at least I’m not bored.

Received:
– Email from IGMS letting me know that the contract and check for “Beauty’s Folly” (slated for their next issue) will be going out next week. Coolness.

New Words:
– 460 on the Fox Princess novel.

It should’ve been more, but I got sidetracked on a tangential research spree. I needed one snippet of detail, but that snippet snowballed into several hours of information gathering and fascinated reading. I’ll undoubtedly use some of what I discovered later in the novel, but I really need to work on curtailing my inquisitiveness so it doesn’t interfere with my productivity quite so much. Agh.

Zokutou word meterZokutou word meter
9,191 / 40,000
(23.0%)

Club 100 for Writers: 6

Need more time!

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I’m a bit flabbergasted that Mobicon is in just two days. I haven’t done any prep or packing yet. Don’t know what to wear, don’t know what to bring, don’t know what to say on my panels. Eek!

   


Writing Stuff

Received:
– A short story request for an anthology that I couldn’t, simply could not turn down. Due date August-ish. Not sure what the secrecy status of this project is, so I’ll leave it at that. I dunno how I’m going to wedge writing a new short story into my schedule, as it will also require some research, but I’m determined to find a way. (Sleep? Who needs sleep?)
– 43-day “The writing in this piece was just lovely, very rich and lush, but . . .” from Strange Horizons with a “looking forward to your next submission.” Snartleblast. A lot.

New Words:
– 300 or so on my June Writing for Young Readers column.
– 275 on the Fox Princess novel. Not a good day for words-on-the-page productivity. But at least those numbers include a chunk of wordage I cut out upon realizing the timing was wrong for that scene.

Zokutou word meterZokutou word meter
8,731 / 40,000
(21.8%)

Club 100 for Writers: 5

Sheepfrog and Writing

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Busy with the writing, but here’s a picture fosteronfilm found online that made me giggle:

   


Writing Stuff

Received:
– Payment from Pseudopod for “Wanting to Want.”
– Galley proofs for “Body and Soul Art” from the ASIM Best of Horror anthology.

Published:
– The anthology Bash Down the Door and Slice Open the Badguy with “Mistress Fortune Favors the Unlucky” is now out! I’ve been looking forward to this one for a while. I anticipate many belly laughs and chuckles. Will commence staking out the mailbox for my contrib. copy . . .

New Words:
– 900 on the Fox Princess novel. And it’s a mini-milestone; I’m past “short story” length!

I’ve noticed myself doing something anomalous, writing-wise, with this novel. I’m putting down the dialogue and using it as a sort of place holder, skimming over scene, setting, and action with the intention of going back to fill those in later. I’ve never done this before.

It keeps the story moving, both in my head and on the page, but it makes for a somewhat Spartan and dialogue-heavy initial draft. I suspect that may change in my next chapter, which will involve far more action than the previous ones, which were indeed a lot of talk-talk scenes.

Makes me think, though. I’ve been asked before about my writing “style,” whether I outline, how much research I do, if I write chronologically, etc. And the more I write, the more I’m certain that I don’t have a set method, per se. I put words on the page in whatever manner I can get them down.

Are other writers more structured than I am?

Zokutou word meterZokutou word meter
8,455 / 40,000
(21.1%)

Club 100 for Writers: 4

Weekend in Review

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Weekend was hectic. Had a photo shoot on Saturday for the Dragon*Con Breast Cancer Research charity calendar (I believe the consensus is to now call the calendar “Volunteer Vixens of Dragon*Con”) at the Mindspace Tea Bar and Lounge. The venue was great. In addition to fabu tea, they also had a gorgeous Japanese garden out back with a koi pond and live bamboo wall. Looking forward to seeing how those pix turned out.

Sunday was the second Dragon*Con all-staff meeting, and we dragged Patrick along to it. fosteronfilm picked up a box of submissions for the Film Festival. Waved and chatted to several folks, and did a bit of pre-convention coordinating. Things are ramping up. And my Daily Dragon staff roster is set . . . I think.

Via the blogosphere (and especially through the efforts of frankwu), the identities of five of my Launchpad classmates has been revealed:

Samantha Henderson (samhenderson)
Michael Livingston
K. Tempest Bradford (ktempest)
Lori Ann White (shaolingrrl)
Frank Wu (frankwu)

So that’s half of us. Can’t wait to find out who the other six will be!

   


Writing Stuff

The postal rate change goes into effect today. Ugh. Have you signed the Stamp Out Postal Rate Hikes petition?

From the website :

Save Small and Independent Publishers

Postal regulators have accepted a proposal from media giant Time Warner that would stifle small and independent publishers in America. The plan unfairly burdens smaller publishers with higher postage rates while locking in special privileges for bigger media companies.

In establishing the U.S. postal system, the nation’s founders wanted to ensure that a diversity of viewpoints were available to “the whole mass of the people.” Time Warner’s rate increase reverses this egalitarian ideal and threatens the marketplace of ideas on which our democracy depends.

Received:
– 40-day form nope from Glimmer Train. Not a surprise.

Reminder:
I’m conducting an online workshop Worldbuilding for Writers: Transporting Readers Beyond the Ordinary.

Register (Deadline, May 27.)

New Words:
– 450 on the Fox Princess novel.

Zokutou word meterZokutou word meter
7,551 / 40,000
(18.9%)

Club 100 for Writers: 3

Launch Pad: I’m going to Laramie, Wyoming, in July!

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I got notice that I’ve been accepted into the Launch Pad Astronomy Workshop! It’s a one-week “NASA-funded workshop for established writers held in beautiful high-altitude Laramie, Wyoming. Launch Pad aims to provide a ‘crash course’ for twelve attendees in modern astronomy science through workshops, guest lectures, and observation through the University of Wyoming’s two large telescopes.”

It’s in mid-July, and in addition to NASA covering my room and meals (and tuition), they’re also giving me a travel stipend to cover my roundtrip flight! I’m verily jazzed, although also somewhat anxious. I don’t travel well alone, tending to get lost and thereby flustered. May there be many large signs to point my way.

teflaime is a Wyoming native, and he’s informed me that I should bring cold weather clothes and also that the air is thin, so I should take it easy. Both sage pieces of advice that I will be most diligent about adhering to. Although I don’t think there’ll be that many opportunities to exert myself. I anticipate much sitting, listening, and looking up.

I’m taking my camera and laptop, of course. Hope I’ll have WiFi access . . .

   


Writing Stuff

I checked the Mobicon website and saw that they’ve got their panel schedule up. I’m slotted to do three panels, all on Saturday:

– 10:30AM – Writers for Relief II with Davey Beauchamp in Magnolia 1.
– 4PM – Worldbuilding in Sci-Fi and Fantasy with Davey Beauchamp, Sharon Green, Chris Jackson, Debbora Wiles, & Linda Baker in Magnolia 1 & 2.
– 6PM – Editors: The Other Side of Writing with Davey Beauchamp in Panel Room 5.

I’m especially jazzed about the editors panel; I’ve never been on the talking side of the table for one of those before.

Received:
– Payment from French ‘zine, Faeries, for “Of Two Minds in Lanais.” Hurray!

New Words:
– 1750 on the Fox Princess novel in the last couple days after losing the beginning of the week to that freelance gig. I somehow managed not to fall behind this week, assuming I can crank out 500 words between today and Monday.

Zokutou word meterZokutou word meter
7,100 / 40,000
(17.8%)

I did, however, lose my Club 100 place. Sigh.

Club 100 for Writers: 2

Movie and 3M Sticky Bears

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fosteronfilm and I have a date tonight. We’re going to an advance screening of Knocked Up (not either of our first choice of movies, but free passes are free passes). And I overextended myself on the time commitment front (again!), so I’ve been a bit hectic these last couple days.

Therefore, here’s linkie goodness of the “what were they thinking??” variety, with attribution to dude_the for forwarding it: 3M’s Sticky Bear is VERY Pleased to See You.

It’s mostly work safe if your co-workers and boss have a sense of humor and/or whimsy.

   


Writing Stuff

A freelance editing gig sort of plopped in my lap. Even though I don’t really have the time for it, I took it on, ’cause, I mean, freelance editing jobs are pretty rare. But it’s taking a bit more time than I expected, and as such, I didn’t get any writing done. Argh. I should be able to finish it by today, at least.

Received:
– 40-day reprint SALE of “Wanting to Want” to Pseudopod. I lubs these folks. This’ll be my third sale to Pseudopod and my sixth to the Escape Artists Inc. podcast mags. Hurray! I love hearing my stories read aloud.
– 2-day SALE of “The Conviction of Praxis” to Spacesuits & Sixguns. This and my recent sale to Shiny does greatly mitigate the near miss ouches from two weeks ago. And also, it further reinforces the principle that when an editor says “please try us again,” to TRY THEM AGAIN.

Adventures in being a skunk mommy: Metoclopramide

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Hobkin’s tummy has been iffy this week. He sicked up his dinner on Wednesday and exhibited troubled tummy symptoms on Thursday. Last night, he sort of coughed-gagged before dinner, so we dosed him with his anti-nausea med, Metoclopramide, before feeding him.

Dinner gobbled, Hobkin crawled up beside me and was out, skunkie snores and all-four-paws-in-the-air out, and fosteronfilm and I put on a DVD to watch. Hobkin woke up in the middle of it to hop down to use the litter box. I kept an eye on him to make sure he wasn’t going to sick up–I continue to be VERY thankful that our little one is obliging enough to sick up in his area and not on me, the carpet, or the furniture–and noticed that he was staggering as he exited his bathroom. He couldn’t seem to walk a straight line, wobbling and stumbling drunkenly. He headed back to me and the couch, but he couldn’t seem to make it, flopping instead on the floor in “flat skunk” mode. So I went and picked him up and set him on the couch beside me, whereupon he rolled onto his back and began snoring again.

Now, I freely admit that I’m an overprotective skunk mommy, and the staggering, wobbling, and stumbling were worrisome. Skunks are prone to seizures, a concern perpetually at the back of my mind, so I checked him over:

– Rigid limbs? Nope, limp as a rag skunk.
– Irregular breathing patterns? No, he’s snoring regularly.
– Body or muscle twisting, spasming, shaking, or thrashing? Nope, see above re: rag skunk.
– Pupil dilation? Hard to tell since his eyes are burgundy-black. But probably not.
– Any prior odd activity like drooling, uncontrollable bodily fluids, trembling? Nope, nope, and nope. Plus he got up to use the bathroom on his own.
– Any post seizure activity like temporary blindness, disorientation, pacing, restlessness? Nope again. After his bathroom break, he knew he was coming back to the couch and where the couch was, but he just sort of ran out of pep halfway.

Okay, probably not a seizure. But as I was looking him over, I also noticed how extremely out of it he was. I could pull back his lips and rub his gums (no excess salivation or tongue twitches, check) without waking him. Normally the fastest way to get him up and scampering away in a huff is to try to mess with his teeth or gums. Very unusual.

It was like he was . . . drugged!

Scrambling to get his anti-nausea medicine bottle revealed there, on the side, the warning sticker: “MEDICATION MAY CAUSE DROWSINESS OR DIZZINESS.”

Ah hah!

Yep, our skunk was drugged. We’ve never observed this degree of side effect before, but it’s also possible that he wasn’t actually sicking up before dinner, that he just had fur in his throat (since it is shedding season), and without symptoms to mitigate, the side effects were more pronounced.

So, after reassuring myself as to the cause of Hobkin’s extreme sleepies, I took advantage of it and used a q-tip to brush his teeth and gums. La!

   


Writing Stuff

New Words:
– 355 on the Fox Princess novel. Didn’t get as much writing done yesterday as I wanted. Still, progress is progress.

Zokutou word meterZokutou word meter
5,350 / 40,000
(13.4%)

Club 100 for Writers: 9

Adventures in Health Care

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Yesterday’s doctor visit was . . . vexing.

The drive took far less time than I’d expected, resulting in me showing up forty-five minutes early. Initially, I stood around in reception for a few minutes, thinking I’d get checked in and then I could plunk down in the waiting room and spend the rest of the time writing, as I had my VAIO with me. But the desk was deserted.

So okay, the receptionist is off doing something and will be back in a bit. I’m due for my routine bloodwork in a few days; I’ll go down to the lab and have them poke me and save myself another trip. Alas, the phlebotomist I got wasn’t as skilled or gentle as the one at the Alpharetta location–how I miss her–and I’ve got the bruise in the crook of my elbow to prove it. Owch.

Pricked and bleeding, I headed back to the reception area. Still no one at the desk. So I stood there. And stood there. And stood there. Half an hour later, a doctor comes through and asks, “have you been helped?” After my emphatic “No!” she went off to find someone. Then the receptionist comes out. Did she apologize for making me wait or express regret for my wasted time? Course not. She snapped, “we break between 12:30 and 1:30.” (A fact which is not indicated by any signage, let me add.)

At my appointment, the nurse checks my blood pressure. “Hmm,” she says, “your blood pressure is a little higher than usual.” She checks my wrist. “And your pulse is kind of fast.”

“. . . yes, I know.”

However, the doctor, as always, was great. He’s the sole reason I’m still with this HMO, which is the most expensive one my employer offers. My rheumatologist got me out of a two-month long flare-up and has kept my lupus/MCTD stable for years.

But, when I went down to the pharmacy to fill my Imuran prescription, they didn’t have enough for my three-month supply. However, I could come back for the remainder, if I liked. Bloody effing no, I don’t like. So I asked them to transfer it to the Alpharetta pharmacy where I was going next anyway to pick up my Adderall refill from last week. It occurs to me to ask them to make sure Alpharetta has the hard copy of my prescription–since it’s a controlled substance, they can’t just fax it or enter it in the computer; they need the paper.

Glad I thought to verify, because Alpharetta doesn’t have it.

You’d think I would be inured to their bungling by this point. And yet.

No one knows where it is, so off I go to Behavioral Health to talk to the nurse from last week. She’s not there, nor is the doctor who signed my ‘scrip; they’re both in another office. But the receptionist sends the nurse an email. Would I like to wait for her reply?

If this can get taken care of now, I think, I can be off to the Alpharetta pharmacy, pick up both my meds, and the world will be shiny again. So I sit. Twenty minutes later, I realize that traffic is building on 285 with every passing second, and that I’m thoroughly fed up with my adventures in health care. I tell the receptionist I’m leaving and ask her to call me at home when she hears back from nurse or doctor. Thus, I do not depart for the Alpharetta pharmacy, nor do I pass Go or do anything else that would have resulted in some minor sense of accomplishment yesterday.

And, she didn’t called back. I’m relieved I decided to leave when I did.

The ultimate irony: Peppered throughout the medical center are framed “Our commitment to excellent service for you” signs.

   


Writing Stuff

Received:
– Galley proofs from DAW for “Honor is a Game Mortals Play” and a sample of the cover sheet of the Heroes In Training anthology. Yay!


– Hold request from Andromeda Spaceways Inflight Magazine. My last submission passed their second round of reading and is shortlisted. Waiting is.

New Words:
– 700 on the Fox Princess novel.

Zokutou word meterZokutou word meter
4,995 / 40,000
(12.5%)

Club 100 for Writers: 8

Politics, photoshopping, and panda porn

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Woke up early this morning (5AM!) due to a restless skunk. Since I have a follow-up doctor’s appointment this afternoon, I decided to go ahead and head on in to work so I could beat the rush hour traffic, have my car, and drive to my appointment instead of having to go through the work–>MARTA–>car–>doctor’s office headache that I went through last week. But I’m verily muzzy-headed and heavy-eyed now.

Therefore, linkage:

– The Pew Research Center conducted a recent national survey to determine how well informed on politics/current events Americans are today versus in 1989. (You can take the quiz yourself.) And here’s an interesting breakdown of the poll results.

– A freaky website elemess found on photo touch-ups (click on the “More Samples” link towards the bottom of the page to see further examples of the scariness). Children’s beauty pageants squick me out.

– And finally, panda porn. And it’s even work safe–unless your co-workers/boss are particularly offended by mating pandas . . .

   


Writing Stuff

Published:
– “The End of the Universe” in issue #3 of Darker Matter. Free fiction. Go read, yo!

New Words:
– 600 on the Fox Princess novel.

Zokutou word meterZokutou word meter
4,288 / 40,000
(10.7%)

Club 100 for Writers: 7