Tag Archives: returning my sister’s face

Returning My Sister’s Face E-book Due Nov. 25 and Locus Review of the Dragon and the Stars

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Got an email from Vera of Norilana. Looks like we’re aiming for November 25th as the release date of Returning My Sister’s Face in e-book format. Just in time for Christmas shopping :).

Also saw that The Dragon and the Stars was reviewed in Locus by Gardner Dozois:

[T]he fact that all the stories draw upon “the rich cultural heritage of China” to tell stories of the fantastic makes it interesting, and gives us some milieus not commonly used, making almost all the stories worth reading…The best stories here are by Tony Pi, Emily Mah, Brenda Clough, Eugie Foster, Shelly Li, and Eric Choi

Finished the last zero draft editing pass on Taijiya and it’s now being first-readered by Matthew. Commencing nail biting.

And heard from the editor of the DAW anthology I was invited to submit to. Seems the publication date got bumped up by a month and therefore so did the deadline. I love deadlines, the way they stress me out and make me sweat. Sad thing, I actually mean that.

E-books and Returning My Sister’s Face

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A few folks have asked me about the availability of an e-book version of Returning My Sister’s Face.  I’ve actually been thinking about that and e-books in general for a while.  It’s hard to avoid all the industry fuss and furor about e-books, their pricing, and electronic rights in general.

Until I got my Droid, e-books hadn’t made much of an impression on me as a reader.  I had my laptop and have been reading a lot of fiction, primarily short stories, in various formats for years now: PDF, Word/RTF, HTML, and epub mostly.   And while I d0 prefer the convenience and portability of electronic files, I wasn’t sold on it as the evolution of printed books.  It was just a convenient medium that had its advantages and disadvantages–the primary disadvantage being that even though my VAIO is teeny (11.1″ screen, 2.8lbs, less than an inch thick), I couldn’t just pop it out of my purse or backpack and flip it open like I could a good ole paperback. I had to be somewhere where I could set it down and boot it, a process that took a minute or so.  And it was too awkward to juggle while standing.  While its size made standing use possible, unlike my behemoth of an HP laptop which is clunky as an anvil and nearly as heavy,  I was always too afraid it would get jostled out of my hands or I’d fumble and drop it.

And then I got my Droid.  Continue reading →

Quiet Weekend & Reviews and recommendations for Returning My Sister’s Face and “Sinner, Baker…”

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This weekend was a hard one for Matthew and me, punctuated by attempts to distract ourselves from the sense of too-quiet at home and a celebration of the memory of Hobkin’s life. We were hit-and-miss with the former but I think we did okay with the latter. We made stew (the kind we always threatened to put Hobkin in when he’d been particularly naughty) and beer bread (which Hobkin was quite fond of), shared memories of Hobkin that made us laugh and smile, took down the rover gates in his area, and put up a couple fairy doors.

Big thank yous and hugs to kittymel for the thoughtful sympathy card and to Ico and her dad, Barnaby, for the beautiful flowers:

   


Writing Stuff

Some new reviews of and recommendations for “Sinner, Baker, Fabulist, Priest; Red Mask, Black Mask, Gentleman, Beast” and Returning My Sister’s Face:

• “Snow-women and Samurais” by Nin Harris (merlusyne):
“The writing is filled with both the graceful simplicity I have come to associate with Far Eastern literature and poetry as well as the modern edginess which comes with the meeting between two cultures…Returning My Sister’s Face remains one of the brighter sparks in the output of published writing for the year.”

• Returning My Sister’s Face reviewed by Ken Schneyer (ken-schneyer):
“[Eugie] tells her tales with such energy, grace and heart that one feels instantly transported and moved.”

• “Sinner, Baker, Fabulist, Priest; Red Mask, Black Mask, Gentleman, Beast” made Tangent’s 2009 3-Star Recommended Reading List.

• “Sinner, Baker, Fabulist, Priest; Red Mask, Black Mask, Gentleman, Beast” was recommended by Aaron Hughes as his Story of the Week pick for Feb. 25, 2010, at Fantastic Reviews Blog:
“Foster manages to keep the tale moving forward, using elegant but not flashy prose…a fascinating, absorbing story”

Jeff VanderMeer Gives Snaps to Returning My Sister’s Face in Locus

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Was thrilled to see that Jeff VanderMeer included Returning My Sister’s Face in his lineup of the “Best of 2009” at Locus:

“Among collections by relatively new writers, I found Deborah Biancotti’s A Book of Endings, Eugie Foster’s Returning My Sister’s Face, and Cat Rambo’s Eyes Like Sky and Coal and Moonlight the most compelling.”
—Jeff VanderMeer on The Best of 2009, Locus

And verily, there was much squeeage!

Cabinet Des Fées Reviews Returning My Sister’s Face

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This day did indeed improve! I came across a glowing review of Returning My Sister’s Face by Erzebet YellowBoy (erzebet) in the current issue (#8) of Cabinet Des Fées:

“Lovers of fairy and folk tales who crave, as I do, stories from cultures not their own will delight in these deceptively simple tales. They are layered with tragedy and superstition, with spirituality and most importantly, with a fine sense of the marvelous.”

Cabinet Des Fées actually reviewed a bunch of Norilana titles, with Vera being something of a featured author, including norilana‘s fabulous Dreams of the Compass Rose, Salt of the Air, and The Duke in His Castle.

RETURNING MY SISTER’S FACE: Reviewed by Holly Phillips at Fantasy Magazine

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Pretty much been crashed out on the couch this weekend in deep recovery mode. Stirred myself up to try to rev up the work engine this evening—with less productivity than hoped, but what else is new?

Saw that Returning My Sister’s Face got a fabulous review from Holly Phillips at Fantasy Magazine:

In this elegant collection of stories Eugie Foster bridges the gap between the traditional fairytale and historical fantasy. Throughout the collection she alternates between re-tellings of Chinese and Japanese legends and original stories with elements drawn from the same deep wells. There is a formality to the writing that suits the traditional strain, giving a timeless authority to all the stories without making them unapproachable.

Read the whole review.

*squee!*

Also received an invitation to submit a story to another DAW anthology. Must start stoking up the muse. Rah!

The Archer of the Sun and the Lady of the Moon reading

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My reading of “The Archer of the Sun and the Lady of the Moon” from Returning My Sister’s Face is now available to the public:

• You can play or download it from my website; or
• Download the MP3 file.

If anyone has any trouble playing or downloading the file, please let me know!

It’s licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License.