(June 2017) WRITING WEDNESDAY: I’ve been thinking lately about intention. About why we want that big book or movie deal. Do we want it to make sure that our stories receive the widest audience possible? Or do we want it out of validation, to prove to people, both known...

“I’m the king of the world!” The husband makes a custom-made throne for Tulo. Lucky dog....

(August 2018) WRITING WEDNESDAY: Much of a professional writer’s life is spent waiting. It’s from the very beginning. You send out queries and sample chapters to agents. And then you wait, sometimes for two, three months. You finally get the agent (this could take years, BTW) and then she sends...

Some days are upside down days....

On a sunny day in November 2018 I was inducted into the Vroman’s Walkway of Fame! In this digital world, it was wonderful to feel the grit of wet cement. Nothing really last forever, but I won’t forget this day for a very long time.      ...

FRIDAY FINDS: NANKASHU NIHONJIN (History of the Japanese in Southern California–in pictures), 1916. This is an amazing resource of farms throughout Southern California. Images from this book have been featured in my book on the Southern California Flower Market and I’ve recently referred to it for early photos of...

WRITING WEDNESDAY: National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) is happening this month and a group of mystery writers, some of them published, have jumped in. I’m more in the wading pool–writing, too, but not at the same volume of words that NaNoWriMo reguires. The daily goal is 1,660 words so...

I shrunk Tulo!...

Sometimes it’s hard to be a dog, especially when you live with Naomi Hirahara! No worries, Tulo only wore this unicorn costume for a couple of seconds in the pet store until I thankfully removed it from his head. Happy All Saints Day....

What a wonderful gift! The Japanese Directory of Pasadena from 1956. Here are some pages of the city’s wonderful historic nurseries....