Category Archives: LJ

Skunk in the bathtub

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I want to give a huge “thank you!” to everyone who answered the eleventh hour plea for volunteers and came out to help rescue fifteen pallets of Meisha Merlin books last week! Y’all rawk.

This past weekend was a three-dayer for me, since we Georgia government employees get Confederate Memorial Day off. Yep, Confederate Memorial Day. And how exactly does one celebrate Confederate Memorial Day? By bathing a skunk, of course!

It actually went better than usual. I did not get smacked in the face by a sudsy tail—the first time that hasn’t happened, I might add. And, while Hobkin was obviously displeased at being plunked into a bathtub full of lukewarm water and lathered up with baby shampoo, he put up less of a fuss about it than we know from experience he’s capable of. Also, he did not (this time) go running amok through the house afterwards, collecting dust mice and lint in his still-damp, newly washed fur.

Of course, I was compelled to snap a couple pictures to compound the indignity of his ordeal:


Doesn’t he look piteous?


“Umf. Must escape bathtub!”

   


Writing Stuff

New Words/Editing:
• Back to work on WiP, “Morozko.” A major editing pass to hack out around 500 superfluous words and then hammer out 600 new ones gives me a net gain of 100 words. Making progress.
• 1400 on “Cthulhu Editing.”
• 550 on a new story that I started just to get some words going. It worked, but I’m not sure if I’ve enough enthusiasm to see this one through. Had a bunch of imagery that needed an outlet, but the story’s pretty nebulous.

Published:
• “Daughter of Bòtú” in the August, 2008 issue of Realms of Fantasy. Yay! Actually, I don’t think the issue’s out yet (haven’t received my contrib. copies). But I got to see an e-ARC. Happy shiny.

Strong backs in Atlanta area needed: Free Books for the carting

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To All You Book-loving Atlanta Locals:

I just got a note from Sean Wallace, Publisher/Editor with Prime Books/Wildside Press. It seems that SF/F publisher Meisha Merlin, which declared it was shutting down in November, has a rather large amount of stock (tens of thousands of books) in its Stone Mountain warehouse (1440 Kelton Drive, Stone Mountain) that needs to be rescued or it will all be destroyed/recycled.

Sean is renting a truck which can fit fifteen pallets, single-stacked, or thirty double-stacked, but there’s no forklift available, only a pallet jack. So he has to fill the truck by hand. He’ll be in town Tuesday and Wednesday (4/22 and 4/23) to load up, and he’s asked me to spread the word that he’s desperate for volunteers to help him. Anyone who volunteers can cart off any books they want that don’t fit into the truck.

If you can help out or know of folks who might be able to, email Sean at: seanwallace@comcast.net

Taxes, Dragon*Con, various website updates

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This weekend, we did our taxes. Glargh.

It was tempting to postpone filing them since we’ve got until May 19th due to our county being one of the ones declared as a federal disaster area from the recent tornadoes, but we (mostly fosteronfilm) went ahead and crunched the numbers and signed the forms, and they’re winging their way to the IRS in time to meet the regular deadline.

I continue to be appalled at how much Uncle Sam takes out from my writing income. It’s effectively double taxed—at a higher rate, even, which is supposed to make up the difference for Social Security…except I pay Social Security through my day job. Every year at this time I contemplate whether it would be beneficial to incorporate myself, start delving into the labyrinthine forms and regulations to do so, get confounded and flummoxed, and give up. So this year, I’ve resolved to skip the forms–>frustrated step and go straight to “give up.” But I really wish I knew whether it would be worthwhile. ‘Course, I could hire a tax lawyer to advise me, but I’m sure that would eat up any possible tax benefit and then some. Sigh.

In other news, while I was updating the Daily Dragon website (details below), I went in and overhauled Hobkin’s website, Musta-lay-day Grove, and moved it to my domain server. Comcast, my ISP and the previous host of the site, doesn’t give users admin access to the hosting space it provides (did I mention recently how much I hate Comcast?), and I wanted to upgrade Musta-lay-day Grove to a WordPress platform—which requires admin access in order to create a database and DB user. So I decided to make Musta-lay-day Grove a subdirectory of my eugiefoster.com domain.

Now I’m wondering if I want to go ahead and register a domain for Hobkin’s website. I even went and checked the availability of mustalayday.com and mustalayday.org (unsurprisingly, both are still up for grabs). It’s a silly and tiny hobby site—skunk pictures, a FAQ, and some links—so I’m not sure if I can rationalize the expense. Then again, I’ve maintained the thing for years, and I kind of like Hobkin having his own web presence. Ponder ponder.

   


Writing Stuff

Received my guest acceptance letter from Dragon*Con. I was actually thinking about not applying to be a guest this year. Last year was just so hectic with running the Daily Dragon, I had to cancel out of a lot of my panels (which, among other things, brought on a load of guilt for shirking my responsibility to those track directors) and one of my readings, and I ended up being so overbooked that I enjoyed the convention the least of any year since I started attending it. But in the end, I decided to go ahead and apply.

The thing is, sometimes my panels are the only times I manage to get out of Daily Dragon headquarters, and my guest obligations often help to ground my time sense. Knowing that I have to be at a panel at XX o’clock keeps the days from blurring into convention limbo space-time. Plus, I frequently enjoy doing panels, despite the panic and hyperventilation beforehand. Although I am going to ask the scheduling folks not to slot me for any readings. There’s just way too much prep involved, and I intensely dislike doing solo speaking gigs.

On a related Dragon*Con note, the Daily Dragon website moved to a new .org URL from its old .net address, as D*C is doing an across-the-board upgrade to its website server/hosting/etc. I decided that a site overhaul for the Daily Dragon was long overdue, so I migrated it to a PHP platform, specifically WordPress, which should greatly ease DD website updates during the convention. It’ll also allow my reporters to get me their articles from anywhere they’ve got access to the Internet during the convention. Rah.

New Words:
Zero, nada, zilch. I suck.

I tell myself that I’ve been busy with overhauling and upgrading my various websites, but what I’ve been doing is procrastinating. Going to try to apply words to page this afternoon. I’ve run out of excuses, and I’m getting really pissed at myself for not making some progress, any progress, on the writing.

Writing Season Opens

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It’s been eerily quiet in the office. Many folks are gone for the week, escaping on a much-needed vacation now that session is over. I’m the only editor in residence in the editor’s room today*, although the senior editor is also here in her office. One of the attorneys came in to say “hi” and fell asleep on the couch for half an hour or so—it is, admittedly, quite a comfy couch. Everyone’s in serious depressurization mode.

Beginning to make forays into my to-do list. I’ve also opened up my writing files and have started putting (or rather, trying to put) words on the page.

*Edit: elemess came back after I posted this, so I’m no longer solitary editor in residence. Whew. …Although apparently he’s rusting…

   


Writing Stuff

I was utterly delighted by the wonderful things James Patrick Kelly said ’bout The Fix in his “On the Net: Son of Gallimaufry” article in the June Asimov’s:

“Luckily for fans of the short form, a new site, The Fix, has arrived on the scene. Andy Cox, of TTA Press, publisher of Interzone and Black Static, and Eugie Foster have created a site that is visually pleasing and intellectually stimulating […] The columns are quite astute—I can particularly recommend James Van Pelt’s The Day Job and Scott Danielson’s Audiobook Fix. The Fix is one of the most promising new sites of 2007.”

*squee!*

Received:
• 7-day (reprint) sale of my nonfiction article, “Writing Multicultural Fiction for Children” (Parts 1 and 2), to Absolute Write. Yay! They’re slated to go up the end of April and beginning of May, respectively.
• Payment from Aeon for “Black Swan, White Swan.” Me likie payment on acceptance.

New Words/Editing:
• An editing pass and 300 words on my pre-session WiP, “Morozko.”

Glargh. The words, they are are not coming easily. And the ones that do come, they suck. Was feeling pretty disheartened by the end of the writing session, so I took out one of my completed (and sold) stories to read—one that I’m particularly fond of—to remind me that I am indeed capable of putting together a reasonable sentence and crafting a readable tale. ‘Cause it sure doesn’t feel like it.

My writing muscle’s gone gimpy.
• 300 words on a new story, something light and silly that came about from a conversation fosteronfilm and I had in the car. Working title (and working title only!), “Cthulhu Editing.”

Amazon/BookSurge’s coup de main on POD publishers

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I survived my second legislative session of the Georgia General Assembly. Woke up feeling pretty upbeat and then got an email which thunked me over the head with the realization that I’ve been living in a cocoon of Georgia legislature-induced isolation for the last three months (also an oblique reminder of the huge backlog of catch-up items on my to-do list).

The American Society of Journalists and Authors sent me a press release/position statement which made my jaw drop in disbelief (and check to see whether I’d received it five days late):

“The American Society of Journalists and Authors, the nation’s trade association for freelance nonfiction writers, is disgusted with Amazon’s announced move requiring that all print-on-demand (POD) books sold on Amazon’s site be printed by their own print-on-demand house, BookSurge.

“As of April 1, Amazon is requiring small publishers to sign a contract agreeing to such demands.”
—Read the whole thing on ASJA’s website

I engaged my Google-fu and immediately discovered Angela Hoy’s report of these Amazon/BookSurge doings at Writers Weekly, which has been corroborated by sources including Publisher’s Weekly and The Wall Street Journal:

“Reports had been trickling in from the POD underground that Amazon/BookSurge representatives have been approaching some Lightning Source customers, first by email introduction and then by phone (nobody at BookSurge seems to want to put anything in writing). When Lightning Source customers speak with the BookSurge representative, the reports say, they are basically told they can either have BookSurge start printing their books or the “buy” button on their Amazon.com book pages will be ‘turned off.’

Writers Weekly has also assembled a compilation of the current and burgeoning uproar of the issue that’s flying through writers websites, forums, and the blogosphere.

After I retrieved my jaw from where it had fallen off and bounced under my desk, I find myself trying to figure out whether this is a desperate bid on Amazon’s part to shore itself up in a time of economic decline or if their hubris is such that they believe they can pull this off without suffering a backlash. This will and is already raining down a huge negative PR storm on Amazon, as well it should. It’s monopoly tactics, and it totally screws independent and small press publishers and authors.

I hope that this is just a very stupid decision on the part of some clueless marketing executive and will be tromped down by clearer heads.

Session 2008 Day 40, T minus 4.25 hours: Sine Die and sale to PodCastle

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Feel totally thrashed. This day has been uber grueling, and there’s still over four hours of it to go. But I got my bunny slippers on and am eating some non-sugary food*, and the pace has slowed way down. We’re mostly in waiting mode as the House and Senate bicker and wrangle their way through their remaining agenda items. And I think my second wind is rounding the bend.

*There’s been donuts, cookies, pie, and cake a-plenty to be had all day, but the only food o’substance was very meat-laden. However, one of the attorneys saw me gazing at the chock-o-meat pizzas with disappointment and felt sorry for me. She gave me a salad and then, over my protestations, made me a cheese sandwich and a big bowl of popcorn—have I mentioned recently that I really love working here with all the fabulous people in my office? I really love my job…even during session when it kicks my ass.

Anyhoo, I didn’t think I was particularly hungry, but after snarfing down the salad and sandwich (and I’m snacking on the popcorn now), the bleary haze in my head is beginning to clear.

   


Writing Stuff

Received:
• 55-day pleasant pass from PodCastle on a reprint and
• 255-day reprint sale of “The Tanuki-Kettle” to PodCastle. Woot! It’s been a great week for me for podcasts. Very much looking forward to hearing my story presented by the newest Escape Artists outfit.

Session 2008 Day 39.5: Insomnia, aches and pains, and Matthew on Minnesota Public Radio

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Urg, what a week. Sine die is tomorrow, the end of the 2008 Georgia legislative session, and I am so ready for it to happen. Been having to work a lot of late nights, and by the time I get home, I’m too wired to fall asleep. Last night, when I finally did manage to drop off, I dreamed of editing. Woke at 4AM feeling vaguely distressed about not being able to parse some text. Couldn’t get back to sleep, so I turned on my computer…and commenced doing some editing for The Fix. Sigh.

Also, my immune system has informed me that it is displeased with the liberties I’ve been taking with it. Both knees have ached for the last few days, making it a bit of a chore climbing stairs—which is awkward ’cause the Office of Legislative Counsel spans three floors. We editors are headquartered on the middle floor, and there’s a certain amount of upping and downing required, although we all try to convey each others’ bills to their varied destinations to maximize efficiency and minimize stair slogging.

In other news, fosteronfilm is going to be on Minnesota Public Radio tomorrow! He and another guest speaker, someone from Wired, will be discussing postapocalyptic movies. Haven’t had much chance to talk with the hubby this week ’cause of that whole consumed-by-work thing, so I don’t have any of the details except that it’s slated to air at 11AM (I think). Hope that they podcast or stream it so I can hear it if I can’t listen to it online tomorrow. Shiny coolness.

   


Writing Stuff

Starting to dwell on writing and writing projects for post-session. Went through my submissions and sales logs and sent out some reprint prospects which have been idling on my things-to-do list.

On the words on the page front, I need to finish the Russian fairy tale re-telling for squirrel_monkey‘s anthology that I started back in November, before session began. Fortunately, the deadline got pushed to June as the release date of the first volume in the antho series, Japanese Dreams (which will have my story, “The Tears of My Mother, the Shell of My Father” in it), got postponed until July to coincide with ReaderCon.

I’d also like to come up with a story to send to Cricket. I don’t have anything whatsoever under consideration in their slush pile, and that strikes me as a situation that needs remedying.

And then there’s The Novel. Once again I have set myself the (Sisyphusian) goal of finishing the %&!$#@ thing. I really need to get past this writing hurdle/milestone. It’s turning into one of those fell-off-the-horse-but-didn’t-get-back-on hang-ups.

Session 2008 Day 37: In the homestretch and sale to Pseudopod

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We’re in the final week of Session 2008. The legislature is scheduled to adjourn sine die this Friday, barring something stupid coming up. These next few days promise to be hectic to the extreme, but I’m relieved to be so close to officially surviving my second session. Also, I’m a little nervous now that “writing season” is about to start up again. After being away from it for so long, there’s some performance anxiety about getting back into the habit of putting words on the page. Meep.

   


Writing Stuff

Saw in the Baen’s Universe e-ARC area that “A Thread of Silk” will be in their June 2008 issue. Coolness.

Received:
• Promo copies of Magic in the Mirrorstone to sign. The Mirrorstone Books folks sent several copies that they want to use as promotional giveaways ’round to all of the authors to John Hancock. The instruction letter inside said that they wanted to get the books back before February—the anthology’s release date—but, um, unless their marketing department has a time machine stashed away, that’s not going to happen. Oops. Well, I’m sending them along to the next author tomorrow. At least there are only two stopovers left.
• 60-days to a (reprint) sale of “Caesar’s Ghost” to Pseudopod. Yay!
• Contract from Aeon for “Black Swan, White Swan”…along with a request for an intro. Erg. I have a dickens of a time writing intros or synopses for my stuff. As the author, I want to come off as witty and insightful, but definitely not ostentatious or pretentious, and I want to intrigue the reader with my story’s premise without giving away too much or building false expectations.

Yeah, for my next trick, I’ll turn Kool-Aid into brandy and walk on Jell-O. Much brow furrowed lip-chewing, there. I came up with something and sent it off, but I’d rather write a whole story while aardvarks gnaw on my ankles than a one-paragraph introduction. *twitch*
• Payment from both Drabblecast (for “The Tiger Fortune Princess”) and Pseudopod. Yay²!

Session 2008 Day 34.75: Weird storytellers and Tiger Fortune Princess at Drabblecast

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As part of their 85th anniversary commemoration, Weird Tales conducted a poll to see who their readers considered the weirdest storytellers of the last 85 years, and they posted the Top 85 yesterday on their website*. They specifically asked folks not to limit their nominees to fiction writers, which resulted in such wonderful additions as Jim Henson, the Cirque de Soleil, David Bowie, and M.C. Escher, as well as the writers you’d expect like Tanith Lee, Ray Bradbury, Neil Gaiman, and H.P. Lovecraft.

It’s a great list. And it started me dwelling on other weird artists. Topping my list of weird-storytellers-not-in-WT‘s-85, I’d have to say is Don Hertzfeldt. While he’s a relative newcomer, I don’t think anyone can argue that his works aren’t sufficiently weird. And, of course, he’s brilliant. Billy’s Balloon needs to be shown alongside The Red Balloon to school kids.

*There’s also an “85 Weirdest Storytellers” article in their 85th anniversary issue (#349).

   


Writing Stuff

The audio podcast of “The Tiger Fortune Princess” is now up at Drabblecast, read by Norm Sherman, who did an absolutely fabu job. *squee!* I lubs hearing my stories read aloud. Go listen, yo!