THE BOOK OF ME, WRITTEN BY YOU: GUESS WHO'S COMING TO DINNER!

I'm taking  part in a meme started by Julie Goucher of Anglers Rest. Using
prompts from "The Book of Me, Written By You" I'm leaving my memories
of my life for present and future relatives. This week's prompt is:

Special People / Iconic Figures

If you had to hold a dinner party and could invite a maximum of 12 special 
people who would you invite?

You can NOT include family in this – the special people could be famous 
or historical people.

What meals would you serve and why?

Alright,  the meal to start with, I guess. I'd serve something familiar to most of my
guests: there'd be roast beef and for those who prefer it, roast chicken, with mashed
potatoes and various cooked vegetables. There would also be fresh salad for those
who might be of the vegetarian persuasion.

As for the guests, they'd mostly be the writers I've read and loved reading over the course
of my lifetime:
J.R.R. Tolkien
C.S. Lewis
Guy Gavriel Kay
Charles de Lint
Stephen King
Robert B Parker
Andre Norton
Anne McCaffrey
Marian Zimmer Bradley
Ray Bradbury
Isaac Asimov
Harlan Ellison

I've had the pleasure of seeing six of them in person at science fiction conventions
and in Parker's case at several appearances I've worked at over the years. Seven
of them have passed on but this is a fantasy meal, so that doesn't matter. I'd just
like a chance to listen to these wonderful writers talk to each other and perhaps
I'd get to ask each a few questions about their books.

Although I saw Asimov and Ellison give a program once at a convention just talking
with each other. The rest of the writers might have a hard time getting a word in
edgewise!