The Breakup (2007.12.29)
Emily leaves Xen.

Merry Christmas From the Family (2007.12.25)
Xen and Emily confront family at Christmas.

Year and a Day (2007.12.08)
Emily breaks off her engagement to Xen.

One Art (2007.12.02)
The art of losing isn't hard to master, but Xen would prefer not to.

Adult Points (2007.11.23)
Xen goes to a wine and cheese party and realizes he might just be a kid in adult clothing.

Double O Lama (2007.11.12)
Emily and Xen finally meet their perfect officiator in person.

The Unveiled Woman (2007.11.09)
Xen meets and highly approves of Dan's new girlfriend, Stephanie. He places a game almost like Russian Roulette, but with the words "rouged sex."

Black Wings and Sylvia Plath (2007.11.05)
Xen and Emily spend their Halloween in New Paltz, suffering the plague and smelling bad with Jacki, Kevin, and Joann. No one gets punched in the nose and no one had better.

Little Orphan Annie (2007.10.31)
Xen and Emily return a dog to her owners... in North Carolina.

Rocky Horror (2007.10.27)
Xen is scared of men in fishnets and frizzy haired women in maid's uniforms.

Our Home By Degrees (2007.10.23)
Xen cannot wait to marry Emily, to be with her always, to dwell in her chest.

Ungodly Flirt (2007.10.16)
Xen flirts with Jacki, whom he loves.

Turnstile (2007.10.01)
Xen and Dan hang out on a roof and watch the people come and go.

I Swear To You (2007.09.18)
Dan Kessler introduces us to a potential paramour who helps create an amazing night fueled by both drunkenness and tofu.

Estatic Fanatic (2007.09.01)
Xen and Emily enjoy the "1995 Was a Good Year For Music" tour with Collective Soul, Live, and The Counting Crows. There might have also been a stadium full of people. We're not totally sure.

Who Is Caleb Potter (2007.08.24)
Xen and Emily spend a trip in Cape Cod speculating about a hospitalized pirate because they are cheerful like that.

Expectations' Ashes (2007.08.10)
Xen and his family go on their annual trip to Lake George, where Xen chases after the echoes of years past.

Stormy Petrel (2007.07.28)
Xen tries to be a slightly less awful friend to Jacki, who is having a rough time.

Substance Abuse (2007.07.20)
Xen tries to cope with actually making a difference to people.

Cryptosporidium (2007.07.11)
Emily returns from two weeks in the hospital.

And We Are So Polite (2007.06.27)
Dives Dives, the harmonious blackbird, is not generally known for its purposeful ignorance of xenologists. Previously curious and playful, its current behavior strikes the observer as odd and ill-fitting.

Exclusive Recluse (2007.06.22)
Xen dines with Flynn and learns that Conor is a valid member of this world.

Momentarily Here (2007.06.18)
Xen attends a party for several hours, but is only there for a few minutes.

Songs About Ghosts (2007.06.16)
Xen defines himself as a ghost poking writer.

Second Impressions (2007.06.14)
Xen is a codependent creature, addicted to interaction and going through withdrawal for want of it.

Smother India (2007.06.06)
Emily leaves for India... for the last time.

Hie Hie Orien Rose (2007.05.30)
Orien Rose is grievously injured in a boating accident.

Too Precious For Its Own Good (2007.05.26)
Xen gets rejected for publishing. You can probably just assume this description is going to be repeated.

Unwashed Strangers (2007.05.17)
Emily joins Xen in New Paltz, where he treats people like they sprang fully formed from his head.

A Second to Fracture (2007.05.10)
Emily breaks and Xen waxes exhausting about her departure to India.

Wake to Sleep (2007.04.26)
Xen joins his parents at a funeral.

Important Conversation about Music and Commitment (2007.04.25)
New Paltz moves at its own pace and demands a mayor who sympathizes with loitering.

Amber Moment (2007.04.24)
Becky's father dies and Xen gets caught up thinking about little girls watching the news.

The Aureole (2007.04.20)
Xen's kind of fond of this girl named Emily. Maybe you've heard of her?

Kurt Vonnegut Jr. (2007.04.12)
A legend dies.

Tiptoe Through the Two Lips (2007.04.05)
Xen spend the night with intriguing strangers.

Erythrophobia (2007.04.02)
Dan and Lora break up. Probably.

Gallows Humor (2007.03.30)
Xen and Emily visit the home of executed witches and find something utterly horrific. No, not the hag who works for Joshua Ward.

Of Shaykhs and Missions (2007.03.13)
Emily is charged with a quest to earn her wings. Xen eat chicken wings. The world is in balance.

No Such Convention (2007.03.11)
Xen is a huge geek and hang out with R.K. Milholland and Jeph Jacques. Okay, near them.

Manifest Well (2007.03.01)
Xen meets Lora at a dinner party where Xen tests Zack's tender brain meat.

Stickshifts and Safety Belts (2007.02.24)
Zack gets into a car accident, losing a lot of blood and memories. The doctors and Cristin pump him full of what they can.

Fairly Wicked (2007.02.17)
Xen and Emily use dildos and the Keyblade to fight off pirates, ninjas, and dorks at Wicked Faire.

Quetzlcoatl Making Time with Ganesh (2007.02.10)
Xen gets a mentor named K. M and Xen go to the city to worship strange rock gods. Dan ditches Shulie for introspection.

Fanning Flames (2007.01.29)
New Paltz and its protesting denizens do a soul good. Especially when there is nudity.

Mock Turtles (2007.01.22)
Xen has trouble adjusting to dress codes and vague schedules, but Dan Kessler plus New Paltz equals relaxation.

Zombie Jamboree (2007.01.09)
Xen is young and cute and inclined to lobotomize the walking dead. New Year's Eve is introspective as always. Xen and Emily move with a lot of help and a bottle of bleach.

Thomm Quackenbush is an author and teacher in the Hudson Valley. He has published four novels in his Night's Dream series (We Shadows, Danse Macabre, Artificial Gods, and Flies to Wanton Boys). He has sold jewelry in Victorian England, confused children as a mad scientist, filed away more books than anyone has ever read, and tried to inspire the learning disabled and gifted. He is capable of crossing one eye, raising one eyebrow, and once accidentally groped a ghost. When not writing, he can be found biking, hiking the Adirondacks, grazing on snacks at art openings, and keeping a straight face when listening to people tell him they are in touch with 164 species of interstellar beings. He likes when you comment.