It was a Saturday at Context when Jason Sanford shared the news with me that Eugie Foster had passed away. The news crushed and stunned me.

I’ll be upfront and admit that I only met Eugie a few times. And for those few times, just a few minutes each. At three different DragonCons I had the pleasure of engaging in a brief chat with her. She was an editor of the Dragon Daily, so DragonCon was a manic time for her. Despite that, she was always kind enough to spare a moment to hug, chat, and charm. She smiled. A lot.

We had had plenty of online interactions. Shared lots of emails. I had the opportunity to publish her several times. Her fiction never failed to amaze and entertain our readers.

Eugie was the type of person who ‘paid it forward.’ Always helpful, willing to do what she could for her fellow writers, editors, and publishers. And during some of the most difficult periods of my life (particularly professional), Eugie stood by me as a friend. I will always remember her as being one of the nicest individuals I’ve had the pleasure to know.

It is crushing to think of the shared sadness all the people who came to know and admire and love her feel right now.

We can take solace in remembering the happiness that she gave to those who knew her.

Finally, we are all blessed to have the legacy of Eugie’s fantastic writing. Go here. Read it all. Buy it all.