Stupid human skin woes. Ow.

It’s been a while since my wingstubs and/or shoulder have troubled me, but this weekend, my painfree stretch ended in a triple encore presentation of wingstub aches, shoulder spasms, and a headache. Ugh. Not sure if my wingstubs freaked out my shoulder which caused my headache or my headache made my shoulder tense up which aggravated my wingstubs, or any of the myriad possible cause-and-effect scenarios, but the outcome was me whimpering on the couch for two days straight. I even took two Tramadols last night. One usually zonks me out and leaves me woozy (but painfree and happy) the next morning, but two didn’t even make me yawn. And my shoulder still feels like a twisted knot of unhappiness today. Wah!

I wonder if it’s a delayed tension/stress reaction from last month. If so, I’m grateful for the delay, as I couldn’t have afforded to lose a weekend in October, but I’m even more perplexed by the mystery which is my physiology.

fosteronfilm made sympathetic noises, plied me with snackie tidbits, and let me use him as a shoulder support, and we had a Kevin Kline romantic comedy marathon, starting with Dave, then progressing to In & Out, Fierce Creatures, French Kiss, A Fish Called Wanda, and wrapping up with Soapdish. So yeah, not great on the productivity front, but it did force me to have a leisurely weekend.

Writing Stuff

The senior editor of Mirrorstone Books sent out a little promo meme to the authors of Magic in the Mirrorstone for their website, and a meme is meant to be posted. Ergo, my answers:

My Name: Eugie Foster

Title of story in Magic in the Mirrorstone:
“Princess Bufo marinus, Also Known as Amy”

Sum up your story in one sentence:
A modern-day adaptation of “The Frog Prince” where a young man’s loyalty and compassion will decide the fate of an imperiled PDA, an overdue English paper, and Amy, the frog—err, toad—princess.

When I was a teen, I thought I would have a career as a:
Psychologist. Up until my second year of graduate school, I expected my future to be filled with lab coats, clipboards, and enigmatic statements of “hmmm.”

Favorite book when I was a teen
I can’t pick just one! Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert A. Heinlein, Dune by Frank Herbert, Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card, The Silver Metal Lover by Tanith Lee . . .

Favorite magical spell?
Brain Clonus Temperarus – I need a second brain I can sit in a corner that can read everything piled up in my library that I haven’t been able to find the time for.

If I could have one magic item, what would it be?
A Stick of Prodding. Also being an editor, I find myself frequently needing to poke, prod, cajole, and coerce other writers come deadline crunch. I can see it now: “Hey, your article’s due tomorrow!” *prod* “How’s the assignment coming along? *poke* Actually, could I have a Stick of Time Multiplication instead?

Which is better: zombies or unicorns?
Can I get a zombie unicorn?

Why you should read Magic in the Mirrorstone
Because it’s brilliant, of course!

Received:
– 31-day personal pass with feedback and an invite to try again from Clockwork Phoenix.