e.e. cummings exhorted his readers to “dive for dreams or a slogan may topple you,” and I have tried to keep that warning in mind since I read it long ago. But today I have failed. A slogan has brought me down. “Lesbian necromancers in space” is that slogan. I have toppled. I have fallen …

There are always trends in publishing, but a recent one was particularly odd: the use of “nine” in titles. Was everyone excited about 2019 for some reason? Is there some kind of numerology pact among authors? Are the nine muses subtly signaling for attention? I don’t know. But hey, here’s a list to keep track …