Sons of Roland Trailer

Tuesday, November 8, 2011

The Juicy Bits

Everybody LOVES the juicy bits:

So Anita made the first move.  I just could not put the make on my friend's girl, even though he'd become an asshole… she had the balls to break the ice and say fuck it.  In the back of the Bentley, somewhere between Barcelona and Valencia, Anita and I looked at each other, and the tension was so high in the backseat, the next thing I know…   
-Keith Richards, Life, pg 216-215

Leave it to a Rocker to memorialize a BJ from 43 years ago in his autobiography.   This guy had so much sex and did so many drugs that he probably doesn't remember much (his autobiography is only 547 pages) yet Anita Pallenberg so bewitched him with her magical fellatio that he felt compelled to recount it decades later, and for that I am grateful. 

Most of us have at least some hot memories of a lover from the past, no matter how wild (or for that matter how vanilla) we are.  Those are the thoughts that hit us without warning, and instantly they pull us in.  It probably doesn't transport you in to the backseat of a Bentley cruising along somewhere in Spain, but maybe it brings you to a quiet corner in a field of overgrown grass and wildflowers… or under the bleachers at the football field… or to your boyfriend's room while his parents are out of town… or to some strange room in some house where you're supposed to be helping your girlfriend babysit... feel free to fill in your time and place.  

The memory is sparked by some snippet of a song and before you know it, your mind is there:

Even now, whenever we jam to that song I catch myself thinking of those brown lips and those caramel thighs and those arms around me and the marks on those arms and the summer heat and the fire we made and the sweetness in the taste of her sweat and her delicious scent when I kissed her down there... 
-Joe,  Sons of Roland: Book One, Chapter Five    

Sons of Roland is the "group memoir" that follows the life, death and resurrection of The Visitors, a rock & roll band.  There are plenty of juicy bits to enjoy; they're never extraneous and are always necessary to the plot  AND they're fun and sexy and they'll pull the reader in.

There are fondly sad reminiscences of unrequited childhood infatuations, the recount of a sexual awakening with an unforgettable muse,  recollections of the wild (and experimental) encounters of various rock stars and a testimony to the indelible effect of love at first sight:

There were lots of fireworks under my eyelids and the sounds of sirens and Dad's voice and men's voices and I felt like I was moving very quickly.  Dad said they put me in a neck brace; I don't remember that.  I remember everything throbbing and my heart played the bass line from hell in my head but the only thing I saw were fireworks lighting up my eyelids.  I didn't actually see anything else until I saw her. 

She was on my right side.  I was confused, because I was sure it was my Mum at first and she was taking me with her to be wherever she was because I was dead, but she didn't look the same.  Her hair was the color of butterscotch, not brown like my Mum's, and her eyes were blue… 'that's not her, Mum had brown eyes… Who are you?  I love you.'  I thought, and I heard her speak as her pretty pink lips moved.  All of this I do remember very clearly:

"So, this is Batman?"

"Yes, Doctor Massey.  Roof repairs in a thunderstorm.  Stupid bloke.  Lucky to be alive, ain't he?"

I thought, 'Oh, I've missed you so much…'  Which was weird since I'd never seen her before in my life… 

-Pete, Sons of Roland Book One, Chapter Sixteen

This book is definitely not a Romance Novel, but I promise, there are lots of juicy bits.   Go ahead, enjoy them!




Monday, November 7, 2011

Celebratory Eggplant Szechwan Dinner in honor of Lisa Zhang Wharton's Last Kiss In Tiananmen Square

Tonight, I made Eggplant Szechwan in honor of Last Kiss In Tiananmen Square by Lisa Zhang Wharton, coming soon in print by Fantasy Island Book Publishers.  Last Kiss In Tiananmen Square is part-20th Century Historical Fiction and part-Romance.  It is a unique book that was inspired by thousands of true stories surrounding the events in Tiananmen Square in the spring of 1989.  

The story follows Baiyun, a college student at Peking University who abandons her studies in order to join the Pro-Democracy movement.   She meets Dagong, a married factory worker whose love for life is reborn by the passion of the movement and by his passion for Baiyun.  Baiyun finds sanctuary from her complicated life in the arms of Dagong, only to have Martial Law threaten their sanctuary, their liberty and their lives.      

Check Out Lisa Zhang Wharton's blog (there's a link to her book here.)

 
Here's the finished product:  Yummy!  So much better than P.F. Changs. 








 
Fresh Asian Eggplant from the Asian Grocer...  I had seven big ones!




Green Onions, fresh ginger, garlic and a fresh chili pepper
 





Sriracha is the star of the show whenever I cook!  I love it spicy.





I steamed some Baby Bok Choy in the handy dandy Pasta Boat.  I never use that thing for Pasta.  It's great for steaming fresh veggies. 







Jasmine Tea in my favorite mug... thanks George & Paul for the cameo appearance!


Add some brown rice... I didn't even make a big mess! 


I better watch out, or else I'm actually going to start to enjoy cooking!