Celebration

[deborahjross]

... the publication of THE ALTON GIFT and Dave's first earnings as a self-employed freelance tech/marketing writer.

So we're off to eat d/e/a/d/f/i/s/h sushi.

Comments

[tcastleb.livejournal.com]

Very cool. Congrats on both occasions! I can't wait for your book. I have a question, though--why is the cover on Amazon different than the one you posted earlier? Did they change it, or is Amazon not showing the right one? I'm assuming it's Lew Alton on the Amazon one. Either way, I'm looking forward to it, and now I'll have to track you down at one con or another to get you to sign it for me. :>)

[deborahjross.livejournal.com]

Amazon is still using the cover that was done for the first version of the book. It was rewritten so substantially as to no longer have anything to do with the story and, much to my relief, the editor commissioned a new one. (With input from me, I might add, since I loathed the first one -- that is not Lew Alton but Danilo Syrtis, if you can believe it! I couldn't!) I was so happy to get the new cover, but none of my complaints in various places have resulted in getting the one posted online (on the DAW site as well as amazon.com and other places) corrected.

I'll be at Westercon this year, but no other plans so far.

[tcastleb.livejournal.com]

Ah. Okay. Thanks for the explanation. No, it doesn't look anything like the way I'd picture Danilo at all, and you're right in that the second one is much better.

[deborahjross.livejournal.com]

Me either, about the resemblance to Danilo. Danilo was beautiful enough as a youth to attract unwanted attention from Dyan Ardais, and he's still in his 50s -- which to me is not this gray, decrepit person on the first cover!

[patchwork-prose.livejournal.com]

Congratulations to both of you! I'm glad the d/e/a/d/f/i/sh/ sushi is not in any condition to bite back. :grin: I haven't been confronted yet by an opportunity to eat sushi. Is it something I should seek out, do you think?

[deborahjross.livejournal.com]

I've loved sushi since I first had it in the early 1970s. It should be very fresh, no fishy smell, and succulent. I like fatty fish like tuna and mackeral, also yellow-tail and bluefin tuna. Dave loves o-toro (fatty tuna) and uni (sea urchin roe, very slimy) with raw quail egg. Not me!

You don't have to eat raw fish to enjoy sushi -- there's a whole array of vegetable sushi, everything from cucumber and avocado to pickled radish, shiitake mushrooms, and sweet omelette. I like to have miso soup and seaweed salad with mine.

[equesgal.livejournal.com]

Congrats and bon appetite! (i probably spelled that wrong. LOL)

[deborahjross.livejournal.com]

Thank you! It was delicious!

[christymarx.livejournal.com]

Double Yay!!

[deborahjross.livejournal.com]

Yep, nice milestones for us both. The sushi was delicious! Dave loves o-toro, a special-treat indulgence, and it was particularly good. Endorphins from omega-3s!

[norilana.livejournal.com]

Congratulations to both of you and enjoy!

My fave veggie sushi is with avocado. :-)

[deborahjross.livejournal.com]

The restaurant had a whole section of veggie sushi. I like to order some to make sure I get enough veggies; the shiitake roll is very tasty. They had a "Yellow Mellow" roll with tofu skin instead of seaweed wrap, and tamago (sweet omelette) and marinated radish inside. An interesting combination of textures.

They used to have a marvelous huge chef's special salad, with enoki mushrooms and other goodies, but changed the menu. One doesn't usually think of going to a sushi restaurant to order salads, but the wakame seaweed salad is a favorite of mine, likewise the spinach with peanut sauce.

[norilana.livejournal.com]

Wow, from your descriptions I am drooling! :-)

Also, I must be going to very lame sushi places because when I ask them for veggie sushi they only have two kinds -- avocado or cucumber, and cucumber is so tastless and bland, so I always get avocado. I had NO IDEA there's other kinds!! :-)

[norilana.livejournal.com]

Forgot to say, I also love the seaweed salad, yumm -- that's something we used to eat in Russia, so it's an old favorite! :-)

[deborahjross.livejournal.com]

Seaweed in Russia? Well, it does stand to reason that dried vegetables store well. Or was it fresh (hazy sense of where the seacoasts are.)

When I was pregnant with Sarah, seaweed tasted unbelievably good -- my body went into endorphin mode from all the minerals, I think. I still love it, although I don't do much with it at home.

At some point, we need to go out and eat veggie sushi together.

[otana.livejournal.com]

Congratulations!

[deborahjross.livejournal.com]

Likewise to you -- is the temp job still going?

Congrats on your new book and Dave's freelance $.

[(Anonymous)]

Warm Oregon summer evening - cats both in, horse fed, goats in, David gone to bed and Mike schmoozing cookies. First strawberries of the season at the Farmer's market. Armenian cucumber start for the garden. Lovely ride down the gravel road and into the woods in the afternoon. Good to reach out to a friend and see what she's up to!

Memorial day weekend - wonderful camp over in Central Oregon near an area that burned badly 4 years ago. Stark burned trees opening up views to distant mountains that you couldn't see before the fire. One cold, greyish day, rode the trail out back of camp that goes down by where there are lots of springs - and lots of new green vegetation coming up among the black snags. Big plants like hellebore and some very large lupine. Rather swampy and deceptive. When we looked up, we saw a large black bird - a vulture - carrying something. Decided that we best ride on down the trail...

Bonnie & Velvet

Re: Congrats on your new book and Dave's freelance $.

[deborahjross.livejournal.com]

[[hugs]] to my special friend! hey, everyone, this isn't "Anonymous," it's my best college friend and her nifty horse!

We did Armenian cukes last year and opted for real ones this time. Melons got planted in pots because of the Terrible Cannonball Fungus (which destroys the vine just before the melons ripen). Chard and raspberries getting sun-burned already, but cilantro looking happy. Ditto tomatoes, squash, many other things. The asparagus is still giving us a few spears every couple of days, although the grapefruit is done for the season. We have purslane sprouting everywhere, and I'm learning what to do with it. So far, two yummy salads and a stew have joined my repertoire.

Dave planted turnips in the back alley to help the soil. Something's nibbled on the roots, but we have lots of greens. Today or tomorrow, I'll try an assembly-line wash-remove/stems-chop-blanch-dry-freeze. They're strong-tasting enough so I can eat them only when well mixed with other stuff, but they are nutritious!