In the late 60s and early 70s, I had been David Gerrold's assistant editor on several anthologies, including Generation and Protostars. I decided to try editing a book on my own, and Betty Ballantine was willing to take a chance on me.

The people I contacted at first, naturally enough, were the people I'd already worked with in David's anthologies. The very first story I accepted was James Tiptree's "Love Is The Plan The Plan Is Death." The moment I read it, I was stunned. I knew I was holding an award-winning story in my hands. It was my honor, the year after publication, to walk up to the platform and accept the Nebula Award on Tip's behalf.

When Ballantine Books first sent me a copy of the cover, I was delighted. I'm a great fan of surrealist painting, and that picture was astounding. It was not until later that I learned it was also the cover for Carlos Santana's Abraxis album. After about the 200th fan pointed this fact out to me, I grew slightly less enthusiastic about it. But it still is a beautiful cover, and I know I could have done far worse.

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