Tag Archives: writing biz

Unwinding. Decompressing.

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It’s quite ridiculous how long it takes me to recover from a holiday these days. I feel like I’m smack dab in this gray haze of confusion. I can’t sleep but I’m exhausted and having the hardest time concentrating. Nothing that a few more long naps won’t fix, I’m sure. But the important thing is we’re all back home. Hobkin was quite excited about returning from skunk camp, so much so that he was a squirming fuzzy basket-case on the car ride. He snooped out the biscuit I’d stuck in my pocket first thing, and then devoured it in a crumbly mess, leaving me, the car seat, and himself covered in bits of biscuit. That’s my baby. He’s snoozing peacefully under his hutch now, looking like a furry angel. We had some quality cuddling time, and all is well.

Watched Ella Enchanted which arrived via Netflix. It was much better than I’d expected, and proof that Shrek has most definitely spawned something–fairy tale-type stories told with modern, hip characters and sensibilities, accented by classic rock music. I like it. We zipped through some of the extra features on the DVD afterward. There was a brief Hollywood sound byte from the author of the novel, Gail Carson Levine, asking the hows and whys of her inspiration. She said she wrote it as an assignment for a class on writing children’s fiction. She couldn’t come up with anything, so she decided to do Cinderella. Urk.

Matthew went out to see if the blackberry bushes were still producing, and they were! He picked a nearly full Tupperware container’s worth. We went to the grocery story, since our cupboards were bare, and I got another crust mix. The plan is to make another pie today.

Slowly catching up on all the to-do items that have accumulated in our absence. Achieving progress.


Writing Stuff

Sent back the Escape Pod contract for “The Life and Times of Penguin.” The editor said that it’ll be about a month before “Penguin” is slated for publication, but he hopes less than two.

Also went over the edits from Cricket for “The Raven’s Brocade” and “The Tanuki-Kettle” and mailed back my a-ok as well as the answers to some questions my editor had marked for my attention. Definitely need to get back to work on that folk tale I’m in the middle of.

Home again home again.

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Back home in Atlanta. The house is still standing and all is well. I’m too wired to sleep, which is why I’m awake at . . . 5AM. Five in the morning?? *facepalm* I’ve got much to do, mail–both e and snail–to catch up on, and Dragon*Con and Tangent work that needs my attention. But generally, I’m just glad to be home. My domicile is my sanctuary and my retreat; it’s where I recharge my soul. No matter how much I enjoy going out and doing things with people I love, I’m always relieved to get back and sleep in my own bed, surrounded by familiar things. Assuming I can get to sleep . . .

Our flight in was delayed by a couple hours due to a rogue t-storm, but at least it wasn’t canceled like our flight out. There’s a certain irony to being delayed by a thunderstorm during a drought. Their first rainfall in weeks and we brought it with us from Atlanta. Probably about as much rain as we could have fit into our suitcase too.

fosteronfilm‘s folks hired a limousine to pick us up and take us to the airport. The first limo was a white stretch. It sported champagne glasses (that we didn’t drink anything out of), soda and beer in little refrigerated compartments (that we didn’t partake of), and a set of televisions with attached VCRs (that we didn’t watch anything on.) It also had a moon roof–which I did peer out of–and sun roof, which I didn’t. Pretty swank. Apparently the cost of hiring a limo to get to the airport from Matthew’s folk’s house is pretty comparable to hiring a taxi, so my in-folks think, what the hey, why not travel in style? The second limo was much less ostentatious. It was just a regular Grand Marquis, no stretch. But the second limo driver took us through the winding back ways to avoid traffic congestion due to a couple accidents, and also through secret “service vehicle only” entry roads to O’Hare. He got us to our gate in plenty of time, but then we had to wait around anyway because of the delays. There were a lot of cross-looking people at the airport all harried and anxious. Airports really aren’t conducive to soothing.

Once the flight back to Atlanta got underway, it was absolutely lovely. There were some gorgeous clouds we flew through and over. Our flight timing was such that we took off just as the sun was setting and were treated to the sight of fluffy monolith clouds shading gold and silver by turns. I just knew there was a fairy city in them if I only looked hard enough, where fey creatures with huge feathered wings soared. After I spent some time peering out my window in delight, I grabbed my camera and started clicking. Didn’t see any of the cloud city denizens, though.


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A Day at the Races

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Having a lovely time with fosteronfilm‘s family. There’s quite a drought going on up here. The grass is brown and dying, and apparently the corn crops are a loss this year. Weird. On Friday we had flash flood conditions in Atlanta.

The in-folks treated us to a day at Arlington Park yesterday. I’ve never been to a horseracing track before. It was huge. And very white. We were inside–thank God, it’s hotter in Illinois than it is in Georgia, which is just wrong–sat in shaded air conditioned splendor overlooking the track for the whole afternoon, nibbling on brie and chocolate cake. Very decadent. Nine races in all. fosteronfilm and I bet on six of them, and promptly lost our twelve dollars. We’re so not gamblers. But our philosophy on it was that the money was paying for the enjoyment of having a horsie to root for, so it was all good.

The horses were beautiful. There was some excitement in the final race. In the jostling to the finish line, a horse went down, throwing his jockey and knocking another one off his mount. The second rider got to his feet, very shaken, but walked off the track without needing assistance. But the first jockey went down in a throng of horses, and while I know that they’ll do their best not to trample a person, there was really no way for them to not step on him. He went rolling under their hooves and when the horses were past, he wasn’t moving. I wonder if he got kicked in the head. The ambulance guys came running and immediately went to work on him. The track didn’t give any details about his status. I still have no idea if he’s okay, or even alive. I plan to do some Googling to see if I can find a news article about it. A sobering finish to the day.

[Edit: Just found this article on the accident. Jockey and horse are still being evaluated and their injuries treated, but at least I know the jockey isn’t dead.]

I also wonder about how the horses are treated. They looked incredibly well cared for–they were sleek and spirited. But there’s also a listing on the program to indicate whether the horse is on Lasix, which is apparently some sort of drug. And, of course, it was very hot. I do tend to think the horses probably have a decent time of it. At the very least because they’re worth so much money. If people are going to make the financial investment into racing, they really can’t afford to abuse, neglect, or starve their horses. I hope.


Writing Stuff

34-day reprint SALE of audio rights to “The Life and Time of Penguin” to Escape Pod. “Penguin” is going to be made into a podcast! I’m so jazzed. I’m a total Escape Pod junkie. Ever since I discovered these folks, I’ve been jonsing to have one of my stories turned into an mp3 reading. And even better, Stephen Eley, the editor, is going to try to get a little girl to read the part of the, err, little girl. *happy dancing*

Safe at the in-laws

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After some frustrating travel fits and starts, fosteronfilm and I are safely at the in-laws. Details of the ordeal to be posted later. In brief, aside from our flight being cancelled, my hubby is apparently considered a security risk by the airline. Maybe I shouldn’t have let him wear his Resident Evil: Apocalypse t-shirt to the airport. The words “evil” and “apocalypse” might be too much for the transportation security officials . . .

The folks are on dial-up, so LJ updates by necessity will be brief.


Writing Stuff

35-day reprint SALE of “Second Daughter” to The Sword Review. Thanks keesa_renee for encouraging me to submit to this new market. Woohoo!

Things I wish I’d told myself . . .

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Ganked from various folks:

10 things I would tell to my 12-year-old self:

1. DON’T take Russian in high school. Take Latin! Take LATIN!! Or, French. But by God and all that is holy, don’t take Russian! You’ll never use it and forever lament that you don’t have a solid background in Latin. You can take French, but you’ll do it in college as an easy A, so it can wait.

2. You’re intelligent and beautiful. Don’t listen to the asshats who call themselves your friends who are trying to convince you otherwise. If you do, it’ll take you years to get over their dysfunctional, passive-aggressive mind games.

3. Take the damn PSAT, you fool. You rawk at standardized tests. Is there a reason you want to throw away the opportunity for college scholarship money? And also, while we’re talking standardized tests, do a little prep for the ACT and SAT. When we prepped for the GRE, we totally blew it away. Think about how much better you’ll score if you’d just cracked a book or two.

4. When you decide in a year or so that it’d be fun to color your hair blue, don’t. Or, if you’re really intent upon blue hair, don’t let your friend who’s going through beauty school do it. Down that path lies tragedy and tears. Well, maybe not tragedy . . . or tears. But a lot of blue on everything.

5. There’s nothing you can do about your mother. Sorry. Deal with her as best as you can. But on the positive side, she becomes a non-issue as soon as you leave for college in four years. On a related note, when your mother finds out your dad is helping out with your college tuition, don’t let her go after him with her lawyers to fulfill his child support debt, because as soon as she starts legal proceedings, he’ll disappear again, and his monthly checks will too. And even though she caused your academic financial dire straits, she won’t do anything to get you out of them.

6. Quit worrying so much about what other people are thinking about you. They’re not. They’re too preoccupied worrying about what other people are thinking about them. And the ones that are spending their time judging you? They’re shallow losers who will end up as college drop-outs working pizza delivery jobs or secretaries clinging to the past in a smoky haze.

7. Revel in your health. It’s not going to last. Your body’s going to fall apart pretty quickly, so enjoy it while you can.

8. Don’t let the next four years derail your dream of being a writer. If you do, it’ll be over a decade before you pick it up again. You’ll lose years when you could have been polishing your craft, taking creative writing classes, and getting published.

9. The guy you’re going to fall in love with in the next few months? He’s a jerk. In fact, most of the guys you hook up with in the next couple years are going to be total losers. Have fun with them, but don’t take them too seriously. And y’know the guy you’ve had a crush on since first grade? He’s not for you. He’s going to grow up to be just like his parents, and you know what they’re like. Your true love is someone you don’t know yet. You’ll meet him in college. Trust me.

10. You’re a wonderful person. You’ll come to see that in time, but it would really cause a lot less heartache if you’d just accept that now.


Writing Stuff

Heard back from the editor of Apex Digest. He approved of my rewrite and wants to publish “Oranges, Lemons, and Thou Beside Me” in their Winter 2005 issue, #4. Hurray!

Also saw a review from Bluejack in the July IROSF of “The Life and Times of Penguin” (in the current issue of Andromeda Spaceways Inflight Magazine) that made me grin. It’s a wry grin, but a grin nonetheless:

“Of all of the stories, only Eugie Foster’s The Life and Times of Penguin really managed to stick in my craw. But I managed to get it out, and my craw is doing fine now, thanks. (Foster trots out the usual objections to any sort of loving God, and shoots down the usual straw men. You’re either going to agree wholeheartedly, or, if you’re to my way of thinking, you’ll pound the table grumbling “That’s not the point.” But if you’ve ever talked religion with anyone, this will be nothing new. And the story’s fine.)”

Now, that makes me wonder, has Bluejack not read Candide by Voltaire? “Penguin” is as high an homage I can make to that amusing work, not to mention my salute to a balloon animal a sweet old man made me. Ah well. I am sort of disappointed, overall, with the caliber of Bluejack’s reviews in IROSF. A lot of it is how sketchy his coverage is. He only touches upon one or two of the stories in each issue of any ‘zine he reviews. I suppose it’s because of the bulk of material he has to cover, but I’ve been published in several issues that he’s “reviewed” and received nothing but a dismissive synopsis. And the one tale of mine that he does deign to give more than passing attention to, he objects to on religious principle. I end up with a dismissive “the story’s fine.” Well fooie.

New Words: 600
On a new folktale.

Club 100 For Writers
28

500/day
60

Live8 Footage

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Watched some of the MTV Live8 coverage. Is it me, or has concert coverage gotten spectacularly stupid? You’d think if a person’s tuning in to a concert broadcast, they’d want to see the concert, right? Pretty performers making appealing sounds with musical instruments and all. Yet, time and time again, the camera would pull away from the show on stage to spotlight the commentators who would then go on to inform the audience that they were at this monumental concert, isn’t it great, isn’t it fabulous? And all the time the performance is happening behind them as they jabber at the camera. WTF?


Writing Stuff

Received the French contract for “The Storyteller’s Wife” from Faeries. They included a pretty bookmark that had “welcome” handwritten on it. Little, personal gestures like that from editors/publishers make me happy. Signed the contract, but have to wait until Tuesday to mail it back. I thought they were paying me in U.S. dollars, but the contract stipulates euros, which I’m actually happier about since the the exchange rate is currently in my favor. Although it does mean I’ll have to deal with the inevitable confusion and blank looks from my bank when I go to deposit the check.

Also, it seems that the Polish translation of “All in My Mind” has been published in the July issue of Nowa Fantastyka.

Here’s the cover:

I’m listed in the table of contents. Except, erm, I never received a contract from these folks. And I’ve queried the editor a couple times and haven’t heard anything back. So, woohoo, I’ve been published in Polish! But also, guh? I really wish I knew someone who could read and write Polish. I feel the need for a translator to help me out with my correspondences. I shall remain optimistic and assume I’ll get paid. Eventually. And hey, according to the website, they have a print run of 45K.

Progress on The List:
1. Do rewrite of “Oranges, Lemons, and Thou Beside Me.” Added 400 words in more passes than I can remember. Going to give it another read-through (or three) and then send it back to the editor for approval.
2. Finish critique in-progress.
3. Finish researching and write WIP folktale.
4. Compile stats & finish rewrite of current story up at Critters.
5. Compose and send thank you notes for crits of Critters story.
6. Review material for Tangent.
7. Get back to work on the novel.

Oof. Still feeling overwhelmed.

Club 100 For Writers
25

500/day
59

Laying out weekend plans

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Had a funtastic evening last night with glenn5. He swung by bearing key lime pie; we made pizza and watched Golden Eye, mostly because I was hankering for something actiony with many exploding bits.

Had an interesting dream experience this morning. Hobkin woke me up, clamoring for breakfast, and he got me out of an icky dream. Not scary, but really frustrating–the kind where no one listens to you and are intent upon doing the exact wrong thing in a perilous circumstance, and no matter how you plead and reason with them, they ignore you. Cassandra complex, anyone? Left me feeling frustrated and annoyed as I fixed veggies for the fuzzwit, and also still veeeery sleepy. After I fed Hobkin, I went back to bed. Woke up on my own two hours later from a dream that was the resolution to the earlier one, where I’d managed to come up with a cunning plan to get people to pay attention, and I was just putting the plan into action. Woke up feeling optimistic and refreshed.

I’ve had multi-part dreams before, where I’ve woken up briefly and then gone back into the same dreamscape upon falling back asleep. But not after such a long gap that included getting out of bed, and not like this one. It was so focused, more like a movie with story arc, climax, and resolution.

Weird. But I’m glad I woke up after part II. I feel much better than I did two hours ago.


Writing Stuff

Sold “Oranges, Lemons, and Thou Beside Me” to Apex, pending final okay on a rewrite. The editor wants more intensity. I can do intensity. This is the story that got orphaned when Transfinite blipped out of existence with no warning and a total communication blackout, so I’m glad this tale has found such an excellent new home.

Received the contract from jinzi for “In Suffering Lies Salvation.” Signed and mailed it back.

I suddenly have so many things on my writing plate that I’m a bit overwhelmed. Whenever that happens, I make a list, which helps me sort out and prioritize what needs doing. So:

1. Do rewrite of “Oranges, Lemons, and Thou Beside Me” for Apex.
2. Finish critique in-progress.
3. Finish researching and write WIP folktale.
4. Compile stats & finish rewrite of current story up at Critters.
5. Compose and send thank you notes for crits of Critters story.
6. Review material for Tangent.
7. Get back to work on the novel.

I’m still feeling overwhelmed.

Club 100 For Writers
24

French convergence

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Still wrestling with my brain. It is unrepentant and surly. Did not go the caffeine route since it was so ineffective yesterday, which resulted in a midday nap. When I woke up, we watched Immortel (ad vitam), a collaboration between Japanese and French filmmakers that was totally shot green screen. I’ve heard that it was the very first completely green screen movie, but I understand there’s some argument about that. Regardless, it was very strange and very beautiful. The storyline was baffling, and there seemed to be no attempt to explain any of the questions the movie poised–which, if you think about it is pretty much what you’d expect if you fused a French movie with a Japanese one–but it was gorgeous, full of lush imagery and fanciful characters. I liked it.


Writing Stuff

Woohoo! I sold French reprint rights of “The Storyteller’s Wife” to Faeries, a French fantasy magazine. It’s slated for either the September or November issue. My first French language publication!

fosteronfilm first readered my two flash stories, although he was at something of a loss with both of them. I don’t think he knows what to do with something so short. He liked them both, he said, which works for me. Spent much of yesterday’s writing time polishing them up: editing, rewriting, and tightening. Then debated whether I wanted to upload them to Critters. Decided not to. I don’t usually run my flash through the critique gauntlet and these, coming in at about 1K, were on the edge, but still too short. Printed them out, prepared submission packages, and will mail them tomorrow, which brings the number of new works I have in circulation back above thirty again.

Club 100 For Writers
18

I Heart Huckabees

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fosteronfilm came home earlier than I thought last night. Yay! We had nummy gin and tonics, and watched I Heart Huckabees which was a dada, surreal, bizarrely existential film. If you asked me what it was about, I’d have to point and repeat “dada, surreal, bizarrely existential.” It’s a comedy. It’s like the sequel to Being John Malkovich, but without any of the same actors, characters, director, or producer. And otherwise having nothing whatsoever to do with it. More of a “soul sequel.” Definitely different. And different is something to be applauded, even if it left me giggling and reeling. And no, that wasn’t from the gin.


Writing Stuff

Had a submission make it past the first round of Andromeda Spaceways Inflight Magazine. Now waiting to see if it makes it past round two.

And just got PayPal notification that Andromeda Spaceways paid me for my story “The Life and Times of Penguin” in the current issue. Hurray!

Did a couple critiques–one for Critters and one not.