Listing Ever Starward

June 17

Here's the table of contents for the collection, as it currently stands (which is to say, this is what I sent to Sean -- if he has no objections, this'll be what appears in the book):

• Little Gods

• The Fallen and the Muse of the Street

• The Witch's Bicycle

• Annabelle's Alphabet

• The Scent of Copper Pennies

• The God of the Crossroads (poem)

• Fable from a Cage

• Bleeding West

• Behemoth

• Bone Sigh

• Daughter and Moon (poem)

• Captain Fantasy and the Secret Masters

• Entropy's Paintbrush

• My Night with Aphrodite (poem)

• Unfairy Tale

• Down with the Lizards and the Bees

• Orpheus Among the Cabbages (poem)

• Pale Dog

• The Heart, a Chambered Nautilus

I got up close to 80,000 words fast -- there were several more stories I would have liked to have included, like "Straight Trade", "Dog Boys", "Werewolves and Princesses", "Melancholy Shore", "Angel of the Ordinary", "Mantis Dance"... but it's good to impose limits. I think I've got the cream of the crop, here. There are a few poems, as you may notice, and I think I placed them rather well -- the poems all follow stories to which they are topically or thematically related.

We've started thinking about cover art -- Sean sent me some possibilities a couple of nights ago, and he's trying to find out if we can use the one I liked best.

Here's the menu from Rio Hondo, kindly provided by our (co)host Walter Jon Williams [my comments are in brackets]:

SUNDAY:

Chips with assorted salsas, Cannon Sweet Hots in Russian cream.

Handmade ravioli stuffed with chicken, prosciutto, parmesan, and herbs, in a mushroom cream sauce. [Divine, and now I know how to cut ravioli by hand, a useful skill, I daresay]

Tossed salad with lettuce, field greens, asparagus, slivered almonds, in a balsamic vinaigrette.

Roast leg of lamb stuffed with mint pesto, served with a red wine reduction sauce. [The leg of lamb was, in fact, tenderized with a bottle of wine -- beaten upon vigorously by Walter, to the amusement of all]

Assorted Godiva ice creams with flaming brandy sauce. [Is there anything better than burning ice cream? Hmm? I mean, ultimately?]

Wine: E. Guigal Cotes-de-Rhone Rouge, 2000

MONDAY:

Chicken-leek pate

Lemon-garlic chicken

Gorgonzola-infused polenta [I ate seconds, thirds, and fourths of this]

Mixed green salad with vinaigrette a la Mikey

Poached pears with triple sec cream [Eaten while watching Mr. Vampire]

Wine: E. Guigal Cotes-de-Rhone Blanc

TUESDAY:

Hummous and baba ghannouj with fresh pita bread

Greek Village Peasant Moussaka

Wild rice pilaf

Farm green salad with blue cheese, cranberry, roasted rosemary walnuts, and blood oranges

Cheesecake with fresh blueberries [Mmm. Cheesecake. If you're ever in the position of needing to bring me a cake, cheesecake is the right choice]

Glen Carlou Grand Classique 1998

WEDNESDAY

[I was the sou chef on this meal, with the assistance of Ken Wharton, under the direction of Susan Fry & Daniel Abraham]

White corn chips with homemade pico de gallo, made with beer, orange juice, cilantro, and serrano peppers

Bruschetta with goat cheese, artichoke hearts, tomatoes, and garlic.

Green chile chicken cordon bleu in filo paquette drizzled with a green chile cream sauce [Perhaps my favorite meal of the week; I'm a serious cordon bleu lover]

Couscous in butter sauce

Spinach sauteed in olive oil and fresh garlic

Angel food cake with fresh strawberries and whipped cream.

Wine: Ottela Lugana 1998

THURSDAY:

[Hey, Barzak! You were right! This is the meal Maureen made for us, and it was fabulous]

Makkhani murghi (chicken in butter sauce)

Chana dal (small yellow split peas)

Pyaz wali basmata chaaval (basmati buttery rice w/onion)

Sambhara (Gujerati-style cabbage with carrots)

Khure ka raita (yogurt with cucumber and mint)

Pyaz ka laccha (onion relish)

Brinjal pickle (eggplant chutney)

Raspberry, lemon, and almond trifle w/Grand Marnier

Wine: Fetzer Echo Ridge Gewürtztraminer

FRIDAY:

Margaritas made with Sauza Reposado and Grande Marnier [I drank two. And after that, it was funtime in drunkytown.]

Brie baked in crust with cranberries, apricots, hazelnuts, and brandy, served with a raspberry chipotle sauce.

Brie baked in crust with sauteed wild mushrooms in port sauce, served with an orange chipotle sauce.

Freshly-baked French bread

Louisiana black roux gumbo with chicken and andouille sausage [I ate this for lunch the next day, too. I would, in fact, happily eat it every day for months, I suspect]

Dessert: bananas Foster flamed in brandy. [More flaming desserts!]

ON THE SEVENTH DAY:

We rested and went to a restaurant.[Definitely the worst meal of the week. And my mango chicken enchiladas were damned yummy. Just didn't hold up compared to the other meals.]

Hard day, rough night. I wanted to write more, but it'll wait until tomorrow or the weekend.

Words written since February 1, 2003: 67,550

Words written since last entry:
500

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