Author Archives: Eugie Foster

So. Insomnia last night. A lot. I suspect this is the universe’s way of telling me I’m overdoing it on the uppers. Apparently 20mg of Adderall, 2 (large) cups of coffee, and a can of Diet Coke is not a good way to ensure a night of restful slumber. So today, no coffee. And going to try to keep it down to one can of Diet Coke.

Bring on the headaches and twitches!

   

Writing Stuff
Mega congrats to my fellow DC2Ker, canadiansuzanne, for breaking into Cicada! She sold them her story, “Storm Child.” I’m so happy for her!

oldcharliebrown posted the cover of the Japanese Dreams anthology on his blog. And I see it’s already available for pre-order from Amazon.com. Shiny!

“The first volume in a series of anthologies offering short stories drawn from the storehouse of world mythology, Japanese Dreams takes the reader to the islands of fire and smoke—where shape-shifters, demons, and lovers all populate a landscape blossoming with story. Contributions by such authors as Richard Parks, Catherynne Valente, Jeannette Westwood, Eugie Foster, Ekaterina Sedia, Erzebet YellowBoy, Yoon Ha Lee, Jenn Reese, Sarah Prineas, Jim C. Hines, and Steve Berman all offer us a glimpse of a silken sleeve or the red fur of the fox as she slips between the rushes, daring us to follow.”

Editing:
– Negative 200 (or so) words on “Sinner, Baker, Fabulist, Priest; Red Mask, Black Mask, Gentleman, Beast” in several editing passes. And it’s a first draft! Uploaded it to Critters.org. It should go up next week.

Things I’ve learned on the MARTA:

– Someone will kill any cockroach which dares to show so much as an antennae in a passenger car. I’m pretty untroubled by cockroaches. I don’t want them in my house, but they don’t freak me out, and I try to adhere to a live and let live philosophy in general. So when I saw a cockroach scuttling by the other day on my commute, I just scooted over to the empty seat next to me–’cause tolerance notwithstanding, I didn’t want it invading my personal space–and turned back to my VAIO. But, as it cleared my row and continued along its way, I heard behind me, “Cockroach!!” followed by an unmistakable *crunch*. Now how is smushed cockroach on the train wall an improvement, I ask you?

– It is a cosmic truth that the more work I need to do, the greater the likelihood that the person who sits next to me on the train will strike up a conversation and keep talking to me, no matter how laconic or terse my response.

– The MARTA is timed to promote hurrying. If I scamper–bolting for the platform and briskly striding up the escalator rather than lazily letting it carry me along–there will be a minimal (or no) wait until my train arrives. If I lollygag or get trapped behind folks progressing in a more leisurely fashion, I will arrive at the platform just in time to see my train pulling away. @#%^!!

   

Writing Stuff
Publishers Weekly gave Best New Fantasy a starred review and included me among the writers to give a kudos to:

“. . . Wallace also showcases newcomers with stories that indicate abundant promise: Yoon Ha Lee’s mystical fable, “Eating Hearts”; M. Rickert’s homage to Stephen King, “A Very Little Madness Goes a Long Way”; and Eugie Foster’s haunting “Returning My Sister’s Face,” a retelling of a Japanese Edo tale. . .”

I’m a newcomer with abundant promise! *Squee!*

New Words/Editing:
– Negative 800 words on “Sinner, Baker, Fabulist, Priest; Red Mask, Black Mask, Gentleman, Beast” in a rewrite/editing pass after feedback from fosteronfilm. I did a complete overhaul on the ending, which pulls the theme of the story together in a more meaningful manner. I think. And the hubby gave me good suggestions on pulling out big ole chunks of unnecessary exposition. Going to give it a few more passes before declaring it a first draft and ready for the rigors of critique.

Hope everyone had a fabu Thanksgiving!

yukinooruoni swung by on Thursday with spicy mashed sweet potatoes (yum!) and ice cream, and I made a veggie pot pie. Feasting was had, and vacuous entertainment was enjoyed a la The Incredibles and The Emperor’s New Groove, with a couple episodes of The Gummi Bears to start things off. Yep, Thanksgiving was all about the Disney.

fosteronfilm and I ventured forth on Black Friday to The Mall, and although the parking situation was conducive to trepidation and alarm, the shopping thoroughfares within weren’t that crowded. I guess those rows upon rows of SUVs and minivans only transported single passengers to the Mecca-o-buying-stuff? And we even made some progress on our shopping list.

   

Writing Stuff
Did much Tangent work, a smattering of outstanding The Town Drunk undertakings, and a dollop of writing. A productive weekend, all-in-all. Not as productive as I’d hoped, but they never are.

New Words/Editing:
– 1000 words on my December Writing for Young Readers column: “Writing Talking Animal Tales.” I wanted something I could rattle off fairly quickly, and anthropomorphic critters hold a special spot in my writer’s heart. I just like ’em. Several editing passes, and it’s sent off. I really need to plan out the next three months’ column installments so I don’t gak myself during the legislative session.
– A bridging paragraph on “Sinner, Baker, Fabulist, Priest; Red Mask, Black Mask, Gentleman, Beast” and I’m at zero draft. Yay! It clocked in at 8900 words, solidly novelette-length, but at least I kept it under 9K. Going to run it by fosteronfilm to first reader and then probably toss it up on critters.org.

Woke up this morning at 4AM, jolted awake by a cold panic from all the work outstanding on my plate. Insomnia from deadline anxiety, blah. But I did get some to-do items crossed off my list during the couple hours before my alarm went off. Hoping to get lots done over the 4-day Thanksgiving weekend, but for some reason, I never get as much accomplished during holidays as I plan to.

Go figure.

Also, my extra early morning is catching up with me now. Zombie Eugie need more coffee.

   

Writing Stuff
Flinging Tangent review material out to reviewers as fast as I can. Must remember next year that November is a mad-crazy month and try to plan accordingly. Gah!

New Words/Editing:
– Several editing passes on the rewrite for lynnejamneck‘s anthology, and I declare it done. Sent off and awaiting editorial feedback.
– 500 words on “Sinner, Baker, Fabulist, Priest; Red Mask, Black Mask, Gentleman, Beast.” Climax scene done except for one or two bridging paragraphs. I’m so close to zero draft I can taste it.

8,822 / 9,000 (98.0%)

Feeling a bit overwhelmed, but this made me grin. If you need some validation or a pick-me-up, stick in your name and clickie. And don’t forget to turn up your speakers!

   

Writing Stuff

Too. Many. Hamsters.

New Words:
– 150 on the rewrite of “Beauty’s Folly,” several editing passes for continuity, clarity, and cleanliness, and I lobbed it back to the IGMS editor for perusal. Nail biting to commenceth.
– 100 in and 100 (different ones) out on the rewrite for lynnejamneck‘s Supernatural Sleuths anthology. Think I’m close to wrap-up on this one. Editing passes up next.
– 300 on “Sinner, Baker, Fabulist, Priest; Red Mask, Black Mask, Gentleman, Beast.” I feel better about this being a novelette after getting the solidly-tentative rewrite request/probably-want-it from IGMS. “Beauty’s Folly” clocked in at over 10K, and this one’s probably not going to top 9K. Probably.

8,335 / 9,000 (92.6%)

Received:
– 126-day YFoP from RoF with a personal scribble from Shawna at the bottom. Good writing, but no.
– 9-day personal “liked it but . . . ” from Trabuco Road with invite to send more.
– 1-day whiplash-inducing “not what we’re looking for” from Spacesuits and Sixguns with invite to keep trying.
– Note from jasonbsizemore that the two Best of Apex 2005 chapbooks are being combined into a gorgeous, perfect bound edition. If you haven’t picked up the chapbooks, here’s your chance to get all eight stories for only $7.95:

Contents:
“Accountant: Life on the Streets” by Bryn Sparks
“Crucifixation” by Lavie Tidhar
“Erasure” by Jennifer Pelland
“Trees of Bone” by Daliso Chaponda
“Big Sister/Little Sister” by Jennifer Pelland
“Layers” by Mike Simon
“An Odd Day in I-Forgot” by Athea Workman
“Oranges, Lemons, and Thou Beside Me” by Eugie Foster

– Contrib. copies of Best New Fantasy. Keep an eye out for these beauties at your local Barnes & Nobles. Makes a great gift!

Contents:
“My Father’s Mask” by Joe Hill
“Pip and the Fairies” by Theodora Goss
“The Language of Moths” by Christopher Barzak
“At the End of the Hall” by Nick Mamatas
“Heads Down, Thumbs Up” by Gavin Grant
“Monster” by Kelly Link
“The Dybbuk in Love” by Sonya Taaffe
“Gulls” by Tim Pratt
“Summer Ice” by Holly Phillips
“The Maiden Tree” by Catherynne M. Valente
“The Farmer’s Cat” by Jeff VanderMeer
“A Little Madness Goes a Long Way” by M. Rickert
“Proboscis” by Laird Barron
“Dancing in the Light of Giants” by Jay Lake
“Eating Hearts” by Yoon Ha Lee
“Returning My Sister’s Face” by Eugie Foster

The Great Caffeine Weaning didn’t happen. I’m weak and addicted, and I don’t want to talk about it.

Now that the election’s over, things have started to ramp up at work as legislators gear up for the session in January. Something that made me go *squee* as I was driving to the MARTA station this morning: our local NPR news was reporting on some of the Georgia bills that have been pre-filled for this upcoming session, and one of the ones they mentioned is one I edited. Made me feel all official.

   

Writing Stuff
I’ve lost reviewers this month to NaNoWriMo (argh), and it seems like every publisher and his brother is sending me review copies of their anthology now and that every single ‘zine out there puts out an issue in October or November, so things are a wee bit swamped-like on the Tangent front. Also, the brief detour my muse dragged me off to write has exploded into a novelette, I still have to finish the urban fantasy I committed to do before the December deadline, and I haven’t even begun pondering what to write for my Writing for Young Readers column next month. (I’d welcome suggestions!)

I thought this month would be more laid back compared to the others in 2006. I was mistaken. A lot. I’m beginning to think I’m deluding myself, and that there will be no more laid back months for me. Ever.

I need me some hamster-stomping boots.

New Words:
– 3100 on “Sinner, Baker, Fabulist, Priest; Red Mask, Black Mask, Gentleman, Beast.”

Yup, it’s a novelette. Sigh. Worse, it’s not done yet, although I’ve only got one more scene to go. But it’s a doozie of one: the reveal and climax. I’ve already got down the denouement and conclusion, so I know what needs to happen, but the set-up is quasi-stream of consciousness. The trick will be to keep it coherent without muffing the pacing and ending up with a big ole gob of infodump. If I can pull it off, it should be good.

I’m rather excited about this one. It’s my very first dystopia.

7,948 / 7,000 (113.5%)

Received:
– 22-day SALE of “The Tears of My Mother, the Shell of My Father” to oldcharliebrown‘s anthology, Japanese Dreams. Woohoo!
– 52-day rewrite request from lynnejamneck on my submission to her Supernatural Sleuths anthology.
– Also a note from her that the interview she did with me is going to be published in Strange Horizons. Yay! At this rate, it’s looking like that interview might be the only way I’ll get to appear within their hallowed virtual pages.
– Note from W.H. Horner that the Bash Down the Door and Slice Open the Badguy anthology now has cover art and is slated for publication April of ’07. It promises to be big with the fun:

And lo there was much clapping and cheering, although Georgia is a blight of red in the swath of post-election-day blueness. Still, add no more Rumsfeld as secretary of defense to the pot, and it’s definitely time to break out the confetti!

To celebrate, actually, more like to see if it was better than the ever-increasing amount of caffeine I’ve been slamming, I took an extra 10mg of Adderall today and skipped my morning coffee. The higher dose ye verily gave me a kick–caught up on some outstanding Tangent work and cranked out 1700 new words on the WiP–but now I’ve got a caffeine withdrawal headache. Agh.

I get Veteran’s Day off from work (!) this Friday. Think I’ll do some cold turkey/intensive caffeine weaning this long, holiday weekend. Also, woohoo, I get Veteran’s Day off!

   

Writing Stuff

New Words:
– 1700 on “Sinner, Baker, Fabulist, Priest; Red Mask, Black Mask, Gentleman, Beast.” I think my original estimate of 5K might’ve been somewhat . . . low. Trying now to keep this under novelette-sized, but it looks to be tight. Another hard-to-sell-length story. Sigh.

What’s with the novelettes, musie? Gimme short or gimme a novel, but this novelette thing we’ve been doing blows goats.

4,852 / 7,000 (69.3%)

Remember to vote, yo! I am cautiously optimistic this election, but I have had my hopes dashed before, so I’m waiting to do any clapping or cheering until/if the ballot tallies come back favorably.

I’ll be doing my civic duty after work, although I’m underwhelmed by my choices, especially the ones for the new John’s Creek council. They all seem like right-wing nut jobs, but then, what sane person would want to be on a city council? Meh. Oftentimes, doing my civic duty comes down to selecting the least of many evils.

terracinque seduced me with shiny comic books. She introduced me to the Fables series put out by Vertigo. Fairy tales in modern day and pretty pictures, ooo. So yah, I’ve been reading them when I should’ve been writing . . . or editing . . . or reviewing. (I need another whole brain just to do all the reading I want to, dammit.) But I’ve read all the issues from years one through four now, so I’m hoping to get caught up on the work I’ve let slide.

   

Writing Stuff

New Words:
– 2300 on “Sinner, Baker, Fabulist, Priest; Red Mask, Black Mask, Gentleman, Beast.” Good progress, but it could’ve been better. The muse is willing, but the writer is weak. Bad writer, no cookie.

3,135 / 5,000 (62.7%)

Published:
– My November Writing for Young Readers column is now up: “An Interview with Gisele LeBlanc of Dragonfly Spirit“.

Although there’s one inaccuracy. It says that Dragonfly Spirit is closed to poetry submission until 2008. That’s supposed to be 2007. Oops. I’ve got a note in with the editor to have that rectified.