Saturday morning, I was devastated to learn that Eugie Foster had died, after a year-long battle with lymphoma.
Paul Bright, Kage Alan, Eugie Foster, Kayelle Allen, Shae Connor
Eugie has been a friend since 2007, when I began working for her as a volunteer for the Daily Dragon, the on-site publication for Dragon Con. She was Director/Editor and had been looking for someone to do layout. She’d nearly given up when I emailed her. I’m lucky she gave me a shot, and we hit it off both as “co-workers” and as people. A few years later, I also shared a panel with her at Outlantacon, though we joked about how we never seemed to see each other outside of the convention context.
Eugue held a master’s degree in developmental psychology and a day job as an editor for the Georgia General Assembly, but she was primarily an author. She wrote fantasy and science fiction, much of it based on Asian folklore in honor of her heritage. She won a Nebula in 2009 and was nominated for a Hugo for her novelette Sinner, Baker, Fabulist, Priest; Red Mask, Black Mask, Gentleman, Beast and won a number of other awards. Her work has been published in multiple genre magazines as well as in podcast format. She self-published a number of short stories, and her collection Returning My Sister’s Face and Other Far Eastern Tales of Whimsy and Malice was published in 2010.
Her latest story, When it Ends, He Catches Her, was published on Friday by Daily Science Fiction.
Eugie’s husband, Matthew, is Director of the Dragon Con Independent Film Festival and has also become a friend. In lieu of flowers or gifts, Matthew has requested that we honor Eugie’s legacy by reading and sharing her writing. You can buy many of her published works at Amazon.
A couple of weeks ago, I wrote this little piece of fluff and posted it to Eugie’s Facebook wall. I hoped so hard for a happy ending to this story. Maybe in some alternate universe, this is how the story went.
Once upon a time, there was a beautiful princess named Eugie, and she lived in a beautiful land called Fosteria. Fosteria had many beautiful people and places and all sorts of friendly woodland creatures. But Princess Eugie had eyes only for her greatest love, the handsome Prince Matthew.
One day, Princess Eugie was stricken by a terrible curse that left her sound asleep. Prince Matthew rushed to her side, and unable to wake her, he called on Fosteria’s most prestigious healers to assist. The healers worked their magicks well, but in the end, it was the voice of her dearest love, Prince Matthew, that woke Princess Eugie from her slumber.
Rejoicing, Prince Matthew called for a celebration throughout Fosteria in honor of his Princess, and the people danced and sang and made very, very merry. After much enjoyment, Princess Eugie and Prince Matthew retired to their home, where they adopted a tiny woodland creature and, as the story goes, they lived happily ever after.
shaeconnorwrites 
I feel your loss here. You’ve painted a lovely picture of a vibrant woman with much to share taken too soon. I’m so sorry to hear that she lost her battle with lymphoma. It’s so hard to lose people who ‘get’ you in a way that family often does not. My thoughts go out to you and everyone who knew her and are mourning her passing now.
Thank you for putting into words much more eloquently than I have been able to. Eugie gave me a chance to pursue something I’ve always wanted to do (being a reporter) in a setting I’m so familiar in and I will be forever grateful to her for that. My years working with the Daily Dragon are some of the best times I’ve ever had at Con. Had it not been for Eugie being so easy to talk to at that volunteer meeting in 2008, I never would’ve gotten to work with such an amazing group of people. I was actually going to try to come back to the Daily Dragon next year. Not sure if that will be possible now. I think Eugie is the only one who would give me the chance.