Category Archives: Blog

fosteronfilm decided at the last minute to attend one of the Image free salons last night: “Meet the Press”. I decided to stay home and try to write. (Also to see the season premiers of Bones and House. What can I say, I likes my vacuous, passive entertainment.)

So what happens as soon as my hubby is out of the garage? I got hewn down by a throbbing sinus headache. Ouch. Downed some Extra Strength Excedrin and coffee in the hopes of nipping it before it became blinding. In any case I reasoned, once the caffeine kicks in, it should stoke the ole muse. I’ve written in the midst of an agonizing headache before. I can do it again.

Nope nope. It makes me nauseous. “I hope it’s a funny aneurysm.” I’m still feeling disjointed and fragile from last night.

Hobkin, however, was excellent company. He seemed to sense my misery and came to flop beside me all night. It was a warm night, so having a hot, furry animal curled against my leg was a bit on the sweltering side, but I appreciated the sentiment. And no matter how miserable I feel, it’s always better having the silly beastie with me.

In less “Eugie whines” news, check out shadesong‘s 8 Hunks of Hanukkah, a parallel and complement to the 12 Babes of Christmas. Personally, I’m tickled and delighted at the idea of seeing some seasonal beefcake along with the cheesecake. So yes, I accepted my “babe” nomination, and yes, I nominated hunks. Expect vote pimping to commence in October.

   

Writing Stuff
New Words: 100
Not many words, but I’m pleased with them. Through the miasma of headache anguish, the plot of the Red Riding Hood fairy tale re-telling coalesced and I scribbled out an outline. See? Suffering is good for creativity. Ow.

1,000 / 6,500 (15.0%)

Club 100 For Writers
      2

Patricia Kirby pointed me to this really silly bit of Monday morning diversion: Poke a Penguin.

Keep on poking, keep on poking . . .

   

   

Writing Stuff
My writing muscle is floopy. Started on a new fairy tale re-telling and it was like my brain was sludge. The words just would not come. Plan for today: caffeine and sugar. I’ve already started on the “sugar” part. Leftover Pixie Stix from Dragon*Con. For breakfast. Whee!

phoenix_born pointed this out in her blog: “Hurricane Katrina – Our Experiences” written by Larry Bradshaw and Lorrie Beth Slonsky.

It needs to be read and passed on. The sort of corruption and cavalier disregard for suffering exhibited by the official relief effort cannot and should not be tolerated.

About the authors: Bradshaw and Slonsky are paramedics from California that were attending the EMS conference in New Orleans. Larry Bradshaw is the chief shop steward, Paramedic Chapter, SEIU Local 790; and Lorrie Beth Slonsky is steward, Paramedic Chapter, SEIU Local 790 and Editor of the Gurney Gazette [California].

“Two days after Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans, the Walgreen’s store at the corner of Royal and Iberville streets remained locked. The dairy display case was clearly visible through the widows. It was now 48 hours without electricity, running water, plumbing. The milk, yogurt, and cheeses were beginning to spoil in the 90-degree heat. The owners and managers had locked up the food, water, pampers, and prescriptions and fled the City. Outside Walgreen’s windows, residents and tourists grew increasingly thirsty and hungry.

“The much-promised federal, state and local aid never materialized and the windows at Walgreen’s gave way to the looters. There was an alternative. The cops could have broken one small window and distributed the nuts, fruit juices, and bottle water in an organized and systematic manner. But they did not. Instead they spent hours playing cat and mouse, temporarily chasing away the looters.”

Read the whole thing. Spread the word.

Huh, I’ve been nominated to be a Babe of Xmas. Awww. I’m touched! I guess voting doesn’t begin until October, but I’m flattered someone nominated me. . For folks who want to partake of the nomination process, you can do so HERE.

A big “thank you” goes to dsnight for being the one to help me fix my laptop hibernation issue. And thanks to everyone who participated in my poll. If I hadn’t gotten it shipshape again, I was all set to pack it up and send it to HP for maintenance. Good reminder to refresh my backups too.

   

Writing Stuff
I got emailed a request from an agent for a partial on my middle-grade novel. Already sent back a “thank you but I’m taken” response. I had to pass, of course, but it does make me happy knowing that other agents out there would have been interested in seeing what I had to offer.

First and foremost, we got a call from Patrick. He’s fine! Holed up with good people, sitting out the repair and recovery efforts safely and in good spirits. Whew. Cannot express the magnitude of my relief.

Picked up Hobkin from his godmother on Monday; he’s currently curled up happily at my side. Spent most of yesterday in a coma-like sleep except when we drove dude_the to the airport.

Dragon*Con rundown: I did my talk for Ann Crispin’s beginners writers workshop and it went well. Not fantastic, but well. I went into it cold, where last time I’d run it through out loud a couple times right before going in, and the difference showed. I stumbled several times, and my pacing and delivery were off. Nevertheless, it was well received. Ann took me out for lunch after, and we had a nice chance to catch up. We had our annual DC2K writers group meeting on Saturday and I asked Jason Sizemore, the editor of Apex, to come along. Jason very graciously paid for my meal, so I have now officially been feted by an editor. Woo! It’s always a great time hooking up with my DC2K folks. And I actually stayed for the whole meal instead of running off quick as a bunny back to the Daily Dragon office. But orig_ladycat couldn’t stick around because she was busy winning her Magic: TG tournament!

My panels went well. On Friday I was on “Censorship: Who decides what is appropriate for kids and teens to read” with Todd McCaffrey, Kathleen O’Shea, and Josepha Sherman. It was a good panel, although, as I had predicted beforehand, it was something of a one-sided discussion, which can be summed up thusly: “We’re against censorship.” The audience was comprised of librarians, teachers, and writers, so it turned into a rant-fest. Saturday I did “So You Want to Write a Kid’s Book” with Kathleen and Josepha again, as well as Donita Paul and a couple other writers who hopped on last minute. Now that panel was an absolute blast. So much to talk about it spilled over after the panel ended. I had a really lively and fun conversation with a few of the audience for about twenty minutes after. On Sunday I did “Urban Fantasy and Faeries” with Phil Brucato–who I knew from previous conventions and got a chance to gab with after–Josepha again, and err, someone whose name I can’t remember. Urk. There was a tendency to compare and contrast classic folktales with modern urban fantasy, which I found absolutely fascinating. Josepha is a folklorist (did I mention how much I adore Josepha?) and a fellow Cricket-published author, and we established a really nice rapport. We exchanged cards, and she suggested I contact her regarding work on the encyclopedia of storytelling she’s editing. Woo. bevlovesbooks ran an excellent track.

Managed to catch the Serenity panel on Saturday. Hooked up arkhamrefugee with an interview with Jewel Staite and stuck around after to make sure the transition to the interview site went well. I couldn’t help being all fangirl and took a picture of Jewel as we were waiting for the service elevator. But I was good, and once I was assured they were comfortably set up, I excused myself and went back to the DD office.

A big shout out goes to my Daily Dragon staff: dude_the, arkhamrefugee, lord_darkseid, vomikronnoxis, reddherring1955, and LJ-less folks: Nicholas Cottrell, Laura Ingram, Matt Schafer, Samantha Wallace, Tonya (whose last name currently escapes me), and Liana Thompson. They absolutely rawked, pulling through for me despite the bevy of technical difficulties that plagued us this year. We lost power several times during set-up on Thursday. The computers didn’t get delivered until Thursday (again). The copier kept jamming and the support number on it which was supposed to be 24/7 wasn’t even standard business hours, and then it ran out of toner late Sunday night. We had to print out Monday’s edition on the laser printer. Blah. Not a happy Eugie. Also, the hotel wanted to charge us a @#$*& $500/day for Internet access in the office. Suffice it to say, we went without Internet access. Instead, I paid for WiFi access in my room and ran back and forth between the office and my room with my laptop to do website updates.

Also a huge “thank you” to dire_epiphany and astralfire who, while no longer my senior directors, were on hand throughout the convention so I could go to them with my copier and Internet woes. As well as sara1221, the director of Signage, who helped keep me sane.

Went to fosteronfilm‘s Film Festival awards on Monday, which went smoothly. Good thing, considering all the prep we (Matthew, dude_the, and myself) put into it.

Other highlights: tk0667 proposing to Barrie on stage during the Masquerade (of course she said “yes”), getting a chance to gab with fingerman, squeeze hugs, seeing dean13 who flew out from California and actually stealing a couple hours to catch up with him, getting a chance to wave at and chat with glenn5, jackzodiac and pyanfar, palmerwriter, pleroma and his lovely lady, Tina, reudaly, and wicked_wish. (If I forgot anyone, sorry!)

My throat is still raw from all the talking I did.

Continue reading →

Dragon*Con is great. Having a fantastic time. Too much sugar and caffeine; not enough sleep. Technical and unforeseen difficulties abound–no Internet access in the Daily Dragon room, the 24-hour service for the copier not being 24-hour and running out of toner and having the @#$!^$ device perpetually jamming itself, one of my staff being stranded in Athens until Saturday due to the gas panic, voice torn to shreds from overuse, the hotel being obnoxious and wanting us to check out at noon sharp–but we managed. How? It’s a mystery. Had a wonderful time with Ann Crispin and my DC2K writers group, hanging out with Jason Sizemore, editor of Apex (and he bought me dinner!), meeting and greeting a slew of folks, and doing my panels. Saw a Serenity panel and got to meet Jewel Staite. Had a late night giddy-fest fueled by Pixie Stix and not much else. It’s all a blur, but wanted to get the highlights and lowlights down. Details and pictures to follow.

Still no word from Patrick. He was supposed to come here for both the convention and as one of fosteronfilm‘s staff, but he never showed up. I keep trying to push it to the back of my mind, because there’s nothing I can do about anything. But the worry is there, and periodically, I become incredibly anxious and terrified for him.

So tired. Just a few more hours, then it’s the Dead Dog party. Sleep will follow. Much sleep.