Thanksgiving Aftermath

A tradition in our family is my sister-in-love cooks the Thanksgiving turkey, and I take the carcass home for soup. I usually make mulligatawny since it’s my favorite.

 Because I had so much stock this year, I filled my big soup pot and made a triple batch. We ate some for dinner, and it was really good.
When it was cooled, I decided to freeze some for later. I used freezer bags because they take up less room than bulky containers. I’ve done it this way successfully many times before. I made sure to get most of the air out of the bags so they’d take up less space.

I put one on a small baking sheet so it would freeze flat and stuck it in the freezer. Then I set the second on top of the first. It slid off, plopped on the ground, and opened. Turkey soup EVERYWHERE!

Larry heard my scream, followed by cursing, and came to investigate. While I used paper towels to pick up the big pieces, he grabbed the dust pan and scooped up large quantities of fluid and chunks. Between us, we finished off half a roll of paper towels, but we got it all up, including pulling out the refrigerator. (I hadn’t cleaned behind there for a while, so it needed mopping anyway.) Then I washed the floor and used the steamer to assure it was clean and grease-free.

However, I still had half a bag of soup plus more in the pot.

I was sick of the smell by now, so I decided to freeze all of the rest. I got a new bag, filled it, and double checked it to make sure it was sealed.

I wiped the outside to be certain all the grease was gone since I suspected it might have been the cause of the first mishap. I grabbed another small baking sheet so this one also remained flat. When I set it down on the freezer shelf, the seal burst and the bag vomited all over the inside of the freezer!

We spent the next hour removing and scrubbing the contents.

Everything had to be taken out since the soup had made its way to the bottom, splattering on the way down. Fortunately, the food was well-wrapped, and we didn’t lose anything else, but the mess was nearly overwhelming.

When we finished, I still had two freezer bags of soup, although one had shrunk considerably. I put the remainder in yet another bag, made sure Larry verified it was sealed, placed it on the baking sheet, and got it at last into the freezer.

I still have about a quart of turkey stock left. Once I get the courage, I’ll put it in a sealed container (not another bag), and it will also go into the freezer. I won’t be making soup again for a while!

 If you’re brave enough, here’s the soup recipe:

Mulligatawny Soup

Sauté:

1 med. onion (I use dried onion since Larry can’t eat onions anymore.) in
1/4 cup butter (Or margarine, or whatever)

Add:
1 med. carrot, diced

1 stalk celery, diced

1 bell pepper (green, red, or yellow), seeded and diced

1 med. apple (I like Granny Smith or Fuji), pared, cored, and diced

1 cup diced or shredded chicken (Turkey works just as well.)

Stir in gradually:

1/3 cup flour

1 tsp. curry powder

1/8 tsp. mace

2 whole cloves

1 sprig parsley, minced

2 cups stock (chicken, turkey or whatever)

1 cup cooked tomatoes (I use canned diced ones)

salt and pepper to taste

Simmer for half an hour or longer. Serve hot.

I adjust the quantities depending on how much stock and meat I have. It’s really good on a cold, overcast day. But I think I’ll stick to the canned variety for a while!

Finishing the Book

 "Finish your story, let go even if it's not perfect. In an ideal world you have both,
but move on. Do better next time." ~Emma Coats of Pixar~

I've always loved the song "Finishing the Hat" from Sunday in the Park With George. I understand the artist's compulsion to make it as perfect as possible and his drive for completion. My issue is that once the book is finished, I experience a whole raft of emotions—some terrific, others not so.

We finally completed our latest book The Memory Keeper, a historical novel set in San Juan Capistrano between 1820 and 1890. Our protagonist (and the title character) is a Juaneño Indian. We've spent the last two-plus years with him. During that time, we've grown to love him and his family as well as the city of San Juan Capistrano itself and its historic mission.

 Larry has done most of the research. The completed book will contain pages and pages of bibliography. Pamela Hallen-Gibson, the official historian of San Juan, was our first beta reader. We sent her Chapters One through Three over a year ago. She provided a number of great suggestions.

Jacque Nunez, herself a descendent of the Juaneños, local school teacher, and storyteller, spent hours with us describing the native lifestyle. She provided some vocabulary which added a great deal of depth to the story.

Several others, including the Lagunita Writers Group, read and critiqued the chapters. At this point we feel the book will be ready to submit as soon as we run the final chapters by the group on Monday night, incorporate their final suggestions, and send the completed manuscript back to our beta readers for final comments.

Once that is done, the withdrawal will begin. Having lived intimately with these characters for so long, and loving them as if they were family, letting them go will be hard. Since they won't be back again with other stories, I feel like the parents of the early pioneers must have felt as they watched their children disappear over the horizon knowing they would not be back. Losing these precious beings feels a bit like a death, and we are starting to mourn them.

Of course, we are excited to start sending out queries and to work with a publisher. We can't wait to actually see the book in print and listed on Amazon. We look forward to sharing this very special story with others, particularly those who also know and love San Juan.

Fortunately, I have three or four other projects waiting to be started or completed. One of them has been annoying Larry since it hasn't gotten my attention, so perhaps we will do that one together.

We're not finished writing, but we need to go through the process of allowing this one to find its way before we begin again. It's a bit like handing your teenager the car keys for the first time and letting them drive onto the street and out of sight. Once the book is submitted, it is no longer a work-in-progress. It is finished and needs to find its own audience.

Meanwhile, we'll continue to visit San Juan and remember what it was like in the nineteenth century when our characters 'lived' there.

Do other authors share these feelings?

Website 101

So you’ve determined you need a website for whatever reason. Where do you start? What should you consider as you build it?

Whether you hire a professional or use some of the readily-available software to create it yourself, these are the things to keep in mind.

1.     Branding

This is the entire reason for building your site: to brand yourself and/or your product or service. Your brand must be consistent throughout your site and reflect the image you wish to portray.

2.     Site Name

This is the most important element of your site. Choose it wisely. Hopefully, it will exist for a long time, so be sure it represents you and your product or service. In other words, your brand. Don’t limit it, but consider where you might carry your brand in the future.

Don’t make it too long and complex or too simple. Make it easy to remember.

We chose our names as our brand (www.lornalarry.com). Mine is relatively distinctive, and by using both, we had a simple and easy-to-remember site name that doesn’t require typing a large number of characters.

We’re authors and, although we had only written one book at the time we created the site, we anticipated a future where there might be more. Some authors we know created a site with the name of their first book. Then they wrote a second. Since their first site was already established, they were faced with a conundrum: put the second book on the same site with the first book or create a second. Since there is some cost involved with each site (unless your publisher provides a page for you), the second choice could become expensive. And the first doesn’t easily identify your subsequent books. So select your name wisely.

3.     Banner Image

The image at the top of your Home page is the first thing your viewers will see. Make it attractive and consistent with your brand. Since our site reflects us as writers, we have always had our photo on the banner. Our wonderful webmaster, Toshihiro Komiyama, created this one from our latest photo. And we love it!

It identifies who we are and what we do.

4.     Target Audience

Determine who your target audience will be. Ours is readers. Of course we hope that friends, family, co-workers, and others interested in the subject matter about which we write will also find us. Knowing your audience will help you make the other choices in the design of your site.

5.     Style

Will your site be homey and friendly or formal? Will it exist primarily for information, or will you add value? Is it ‘cute,’ ‘classic,’ or ‘funky’? Again, define your brand before you choose a style. Knowing your audience will also determine the approach. Whatever style you choose, make it consistent throughout the site.

6.     Theme

On our site, we carry the banner and site navigation on each page. This provides consistency and makes it easier to move around the site. All fonts must be consistent and clear. Choose sans-serif fonts for easier reading online. If you pick an elaborate script font, keep in mind that it will be hard to read. Some specialty fonts may not even show up on all devices.

Since more and more people are viewing the Internet on their mobile devices, the simpler the font, the easier to read, even on smaller screens.

And keep your branding and theme consistent. If you write romance, your theme may be flowery and romantic. On the other hand, if you write dark mysteries, you may choose dark colors that convey a sense of foreboding. But your site must always be inviting to a visitor.

7.     Content

What will you put on your site? Know this before you begin the design. Most professional site builders outline the content for their sites prior to building them. You should, too.

How many pages? What will be on them? How much information do you intend to provide?

Keep in mind, your site must be updated constantly for it to be picked up by browsers. ‘Stale data’ (information that has become static and unchanging) will not show up in searches. So keep it simple and don’t disclose too much. As authors, we don’t include large sections of our books, for example. We want our fans to read the entire work. But we do offer lots of ‘extras’ for those who visit.

8.     Extras

What do I mean by extras? Additional information not available elsewhere.

For instance, we include tidbits for each of our books. For some, we add a character sketch of the person who inspired a character, like Countess Elektra Rozanska in Murder… They Wrote or Lovie Cooper in Murder in Paradise.

For 31 Months in Japan: The Building of a Theme Park, we included a chapter called “Be Still” which was deleted from the final version of the book.

We also embed the video trailers we’ve created for several of our books.

9.     Photos

The phrase, ‘a picture is worth a thousand words’ applies. However, be aware that photos are also data-intensive and may require more time to upload (cache). Photos make your site more interesting. Just don’t overload each page with them as viewers won’t wait for lots of images to download.

10.            White Space

I’m currently reading a self-published book with the text crammed onto the page with almost no margins. It is extremely difficult to read. Be sure to include enough blank space around your text for easier reading.

11.            Links

In addition to information, include links to other sites and places of interest to the people who view your site.

We have links on our site for various locations to purchase our book, including a cart on the site itself. We also belong to several organizations, so we have links to those. And we include the links to this blog, Facebook, and Twitter.

12.            Contact Information

When people find you, they must be able to contact you. This can be done by using a ‘blind’ form without a visible email address or with an address dedicated to your business.

13.            Key Words

These are invisible words linked to each page of your site which contain searchable clues as to the content on the page. These also help search engines find your information easily. Don’t forget to include them.

These are the basic elements of a website. Within this framework, give your creativity a chance to shine, but don’t get too clever. The KISS theory applies: Keep It Simple, Stupid. Those who find your site will thank you.

Theme Park Junkies

Okay, we are self-confessed theme park junkies. We were two of the many kids who grew up watching the TV show Disneyland, an unabashed infomercial for Walt Disney’s new amusement park being built in Anaheim, CA.

 

We were both children at the time, but we each went to the park (the term ‘theme park’ was yet to come) during its first year of operation.

My grandmother took my mother, brother, and me in August, 1955, one month after opening, for my birthday. None of us knew exactly what to expect, but Ron and I had been well-primed. The place more than lived up to our expectations. Since I was already in love with fairy tales, the magic captured me immediately.

Larry went first on his brother’s birthday the following March and again on his own birthday in April. He loved it as much as I. We discovered our mutual addiction when we were dating, and in fact, attended the very first New Year’s Eve Party at the park.

We continued to go through the years, and I can’t ever recall having anything but a great time.

That’s probably why when Larry was offered a job helping to build the Universal Studios Japan theme park in Osaka, Japan, he jumped at the chance. Well, being able to work on Jurassic Park, JAWS and WaterWorld didn’t hurt! The extra bonus was a job for me in Document Control once we arrived in Japan.

During our time there, we made good friends and really got to know the ins and outs of theme park construction. That knowledge merely increased our love for that form of escapist entertainment. We even wrote a book about it: 31 Months in Japan: The Building of a Theme Park.

After we returned to California, our daughter, Kim, began working at Disneyland, so we bought annual passes. We’ve had them nearly every year since.

We recently celebrated our forty-seventh anniversary. Where did we go? To Disney, of course. Although this time we chose Disney’s California Adventure since we hadn’t ridden on two of the new rides in Cars Land. And, once again, we had a ball.

How about you? Do you like theme parks, too?

Inspiration

Once again, Larry, my husband and partner in crime—novels, that is, wanted to share where we have gotten some of our inspirations. Please tell us your own stories, as well. Sometimes the 'back-story' is as interesting as the finished tale.

Recently Lorna and I attended a memorial luncheon for our friend Les, and it brought back memories of how we sometimes get inspiration for our writing.

Lorna’s day job some years ago was working in IT for a bank. One day she was having lunch in the cafeteria when Les placed his tray on the table and sat next to her.

“How’s the book coming?” he asked.

At the time we were working on our first mystery, Murder… They Wrote, and Lorna explained how one of our characters was going to be a protester at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago in 1968. 

“I was there,” he said.

“You were?"

“Yeah, I was in the park.”

“Really? Tell me about it.”

He related the story of being in Grant Park during the clash between police and protesters, and hearing Phil Ochs sing “I’m Gonna Say it Now.” It was a life-changing experience for Les, and it became the same for our character.

During the luncheon, his niece told us Les had been cremated and his ashes spread at sea with those of his wife who died a year before. In our books, many of our victims’ remains are given the same kind of ceremony. The ashes form a silver-gray sheen on the water, often surrounded and caressed by rose petals thrown by the mourners.  Some individuals have commented on seeing shapes of hearts or faces in the spreading ashes. A final goodbye perhaps. I can attest to the sense of closure and the feeling of oneness with nature and the creator that others have expressed.

We were inspired to use that method because it is a common practice where our mysteries are set in Hawaii, and we have personally participated in the spreading of ashes of family and friends.

* * * *

Another inspiration came in the mid-seventies when I worked with an engineer on a refinery in Texas. His call sign on the plant radio system was Blossom, referring to his former “flower child” life. During one morning break, our discussion turned to rock music of the sixties.

“I was at Woodstock,” he volunteered. “It was bitchin'. Best time ever.”

“Tell me about it.”

Among the adventures he described was waking on Sunday morning to the sound of Jimmy Hendricks playing “The Star Spangled Banner.”

“I was blown away,” he told me. “I’d never been much attracted to patriotic music, but his rendition changed my life.” I tried to duplicate his excitement and enthusiasm in my story, “Wayne,” in Lakeview Park. 

* * * *

I  only need to close my eyes to recall the worn blue metalflake finish and missing volume control knob on the Fender Stratocaster guitar owned and played by our friend Wayne. Lorna sang while Wayne and I played guitars in a church praise band for several years.

 Wayne, the guitarist in my book Lakeview Park, contains elements of the real Wayne and shares the stories told by Blossom.

* * * *

Lorna has a sweatshirt with “Careful or you may end up in my next novel” printed on the front. It’s intended as humorous, but as any author knows, there is a lot of truth in it.

Wayne McKibbin and Les Senour are gone now, but small pieces of their lives remain, immortalized in the words we have written and in our hearts as well.

Right Time - Right Place

Our trip to Osaka for the ten-year anniversary of the opening of Universal Studios Japan has been planned for about a year. After the earthquake and tsunami, we questioned whether it was still a good idea to come. But our friends here in Osaka encouraged us not to change our plans. Now that we’re here, we’re certain we were meant to come.

Wrong Airport

I made the reservations for this trip, our trip to EPICon in Colonial Williamsburg, and our November trip to Hawaii at about the same time last summer. The Hawaii trip originated from LAX. The Virginia trip originated out of SNA (John Wayne in Orange County).

Larry said he’d take care of the parking for our car for this trip as he had for the other two. He had access to the information, so I assumed he’d actually read it. He hadn’t.

We drove to L.A. and left our car in long-term parking, then caught their shuttle to the airport. Unfortunately, when we arrived, we discovered that our tickets were actually out of SNA! (He assumed, and you know what that means!)

We were assisted by a terrific United Ticket Agent named Rosa Santana. (She deserves to be mentioned by name!) She saw our panic and quickly and efficiently switched us to a flight from LAX. In addition, she wait-listed us on an earlier one so we’d have moe time to make our connecting flight to KIX once we got to SFO.

We made it onto the earlier flight knowing we were supposed to meet Rosa that morning and grateful that she was there for us.

In-flight Connection

I was seated in the middle seat between two people traveling together. I switched to the window. Turns out, we were meant to meet for several reasons. The gal’s sister is writing a book and wondering about publishing. I gave her my best advice and encouraged her sister to contact me.

The guy works for Disney and is another theme park junkie like us! We had a great time talking about theme parks, and they took my card intending to look up our book.

Last, one of their relatives is with the VFW, working with disabled vets. We gave him Len & Lu’s card and recommended their book, Promises Kept for the VFW.

It was a quick and most enjoyable flight. And I was in Economy Plus with extra legroom. (Larry was in a different row – an exit row. So he had better seating as well.)

New Friends with USJ in Common

While waiting for our flight to KIX, we ran into a couple whose son works at USJ. Did we ever have fun talking about the park! Claire and Roger’s son has been here for eight years, and their granddaughter just started working here as well.

The flight was quite pleasant with good food. (Actually, real old-fashioned airplane food. I’ll never complain about it again!) There was also enough beverage service so that we weren’t dehydrated when we arrived, and the cabin was kept at a cool but pleasant temperature with adequate ventilation.

When we got here, we ran into our new friends again. They were taking the shuttle to the same area, so we shared the ride with them. Since their son and granddaughter are in entertainment, we recommended the Takarazuka Revue to them. They’ll try to get there.

Once again, we knew we were exactly where we were supposed to be.

Seeing the Park Again

We arrived at USJ just after dark. There were few people around, so we got to see the place for the first time without the usual crowds. It is GORGEOUS! I don’t know how else to describe it. It was like seeing an old friend again after many years, and they look even better than you remembered.

The new 10-year anniversary logo was illuminated, and the big coaster looked like a comet sweeping around the park. The familiar theme music was playing, and it was like coming home. I cried. And it surprised me how moved I was by being back.

We walked the long, long, LONG way through CityWalk to the hotel. (We missed the street that goes from the front gate under the highway and directly to the hotel entrance.)

Seeing all the activity in and around the park filled both of us with a tremendous sense of having actually accomplished something monumental in our lifetimes. We were part of making all this happen. We were partially responsible for all the smiles on the faces of the people exiting. And it felt so good. We’d needed that confirmation.

Early Morning Experience

Since we were still in a different time zone, we woke very early. At about six-thirty, we decided to take a walk to the park. At that early morning hour, nothing was open, but we enjoyed the quiet. The sakura (cherry blossoms) are coming out, and we found a small path at the edge of the park flanked with several of the trees. We were reminded of how beautiful the spring is here. One year we had several weeks when the trees were covered in the pink lace of blossoms. Another year, however, they came out late only to be destroyed after a day or two by a fierce storm and high winds.

We went back to our room, but came out again just before the park opened at eight. What a thrill to watch all the kids coming off the trains positively vibrating with excitement. This is spring break, so lots of families have come to visit the park. Also, we suspect that the anniversary has been quite well advertised, increasing attendance.

We joined the crowd inside the gates waiting for them to open and simply enjoyed the anticipation of the crowd. Then we watched as the kids rushed in. And we were reminded once again that the potential of giving people pleasure was the main reason we came here to work. What a joy to finally see the fruits of our labors in person!

Return to Kyoto

I confess, Kyoto was and is my favorite place in Japan. (I also loved Hiroshima and Miyajima Island, but my heart for Japan lives in Kyoto.)

When we lived here, we went frequently, sometimes by ourselves, and often with visiting friends. A week or two before we left for home, we made one last pilgrimage.

I confess, I dreaded the thought of having to manage the Japanese rail system again. I remembered a lot of the lines and stations, but we always had maps and compasses when we ventured out. This time we’d be departing from a different location.

No worries. It all came back. It was sort of like déjà vu - the same, yet different. But it started to come back.

I was also afraid that I’d forgotten all of my Japanese. In truth, most is gone, but we were never more than functionally illiterate anyway. I surprised myself by how, in specific situations, the right words and phrases returned.

We had no problems getting where we wanted to go.

Walking in Kyoto is one of the greatest pleasures of being in Japan for me. We used to take the Hankyu train to the station below the Takashimaya department store and walk from there. But this time, we were on the JR and the main station is quite a bit farther south than the Hankyu. However Larry remembered taking the bus one time, and we managed to locate the right one.

We began walking north, and all the sights and sounds, including passing many shrines and temples, came back like a familiar symphony, and bringing a similar pleasure. After sitting on the plane most of the day before, getting out in the cool afternoon felt wonderful.

We must have walked about five or six miles from Takashimaya, to the Hainan Shrine, and then farther north to the Kyoto handicraft Center where we made a good start on our Christmas shopping. (For years, I have done my holiday gift buying wherever we traveled. That way, I’m done early and don’t have to worry about making decisions at the last minute.)

Then we took the bus back to the department store, and returned on the train from there.

Unfortunately by the time we returned, we were in the midst of rush hour. Kyoto is te beginning of the line, so we had seats when we left the station. We were on Rapid (express) train, so we made few stops until we got close to Osaka where we were to change trains. At Shin Osaka station, the last stop before our destination, the mother and son who had been seated across from us, got off and three older ladies got on. There were seats for two of them opposite us, but the third was prepared to stand. Larry, always a gentleman, got up and offered his seat. At first, the lady declined politely, but he encouraged her until she sat. We had only one more stop before we were getting off, so it wasn’t much of a sacrifice.

The lovely lady sat down, and then handed me a package. Cookies! Delicious homemade cookies! What a lovely and gracious thing to do, and yet another indication that we were, indeed, supposed to be in Japan at that moment.

We returned and had a delicious dinner at the Hard Rock Café. A perfect end to a perfect day.

Seeing the Kids

On the day of the earthquake, we had a few anxious moments of concern about some of our Japanese ‘kids’. Before the end of the day, however, we had heard from most of them – through Facebook!

Nevertheless, I knew that I wouldn’t be satisfied until I’d been able to give them hugs in person.

Kae and Toshi arrived this afternoon, and it was so good to see them! We’ve had a wonderful time just talking and being together. And another of the reasons we needed to be in Japan this week became obvious.

Tomorrow we go to Takarazuka for ‘sukiyaki party’ with our dear friends the Igos, and Thursday is our day at USJ and the big celebration dinner in the evening.

The past couple of days have been filled with many small moments of absolute confirmation of the correctness of our decision to come. We’re making priceless memories and finding real closure on our experience in Japan.

(You can read about our adventures in building Universal Studios Japan in our book, 31 Months in Japan: The Building of a Theme Park.)