Seven Lists Inspired by Jolie du Pre

Here are seven lists of seven that may or may not enlighten you about who I really am. This very enjoyable exercise was inspired by a very hot lesbian erotica writer, Jolie du Pre, who has a great blog and is also a relative of mine ;-) I've taken a few liberties with the original list to keep with the theme of sex, food and writing.

Seven things to do before I die:

1. Spend the winter solstice in Santa Fe
2. Go to Paris for a macaroon taste test (Which has better pistachio? Laduree? Fauchon?)
3. Spend a whole week in Bad Ischl eating pastries twice a day at Café Zauner
4. Write a good erotic novel
5. Write a good “serious” novel (with lots of sex scenes)
6. Attend my kids’ college graduations
7. Go back to Japan with my family—but just for a visit

Seven favorite food joints in Berkeley/Oakland:

1. Chez Panisse (don’t skip dessert)
2. Soi Four (papaya salad, crunchy tofu with cashews and sticky rice with mango)
3. Intermezzo (veggie delight to go, no sprouts, herbal vinagrette on the side)
4. La Farine (any of the breakfast pastries and stollen at Christmas)
5. Picante (soft tacos with fried peppers and crumbled Mexican-style cheese; Mexican chocolate angel food cake)
6. Ajanta (any of the appetizers of the month, kofta, paneer or kabuli naan, mango lassi)
7. Acme Bread (with rustic baguettes like these, who needs Paris?)

Seven reasons I write a new story or essay:

1. I’m inspired by an uncanny image or event
2. I see a posting on The Erotica Readers and Writers Association Call for Submissions page that intrigues me
3. There’s a memory I can’t get out of my head and I want to bring it to life and then play god and take it in a new direction
4. I want to honor someone (as in my memoir pieces about my late parents)
5. I want to climb inside someone else’s skin—which usually means I let my characters talk me into putting them in a hot sex scene
6. An editor I admire approaches me and I can’t pass up a fantastic opportunity to work with her
7. I want to work out issues and it’s cheaper than therapy

Seven books I love:

1. To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf
2. The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie by Muriel Spark
3. Anything by Alice Munro
4. The Hours by Michael Cunningham
5. A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
6. Masks by Enchi Fumiko
7. The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron

Seven movies I would watch over and over again:

1. The Godfather I and II
2. Apocalypse Now
3. Cabaret
4. Seven Samurai
5. Live Nude Girls
6. The Six Wives of Henry VIII (not a movie, but this is my list and I make the rules!)
7. White Christmas (Rocky Horror style which means you drink lots of eggnog and do a running—ironic--commentary)

Seven Soirees with Erotica Writers/Editors I’d like to shoot the breeze with over a glass of 1990 Chateau Mouton (or sake or a Peet’s latte)

1. Jolie du Pre: maybe this summer? Red wine or white?
2. The Mostly Dead Japanese Writers Round Table: Ihara Saikaku, Higuchi Ichiyo, Nagai Kafu, Nosaka Akiyuki, Yamada Eimi
3. A Clean Sheets Romp: Bill and Des, Shanna and Susannah
4. Editors and Educators: Susie Bright, Violet Blue, Rachel Kramer Bussell and Mitzi Szereto
5. Shop talk in a low-lit San Francisco tapas place: M. Christian and Sage Vivant
6. Just Because I Admire Their Work: Thomas S. Roche, Alison Tyler, Gwen Masters
7. An ERWA Chat: Lilie Berlin, Mike Kimera, Lisabet Sarai

Seven Things I Cook That You Probably Wouldn't Mind Trying

1. Chestnut Butternut Squash Risotto
2. Venetians (six layer cookies)
3. Scandinavian Rice Pudding Mousse
4. Spring Vegetable Matzo Ball Soup
5. Almond Cake
6. Japanese-style Tofu Curry and Steamed Rice
7. Mexican Chocolate Brownies