Ta-dah! I’ve finally finished the technical aspects of book-izing the second of my blog serials.
About the Novel
Murder at the Bijou – Three Ingredients-I is the second of my “three things” style of blog serials. As with the first serial, The Three Things Serial, a Little 1920s Story, it was a spontaneously written (“pantser”) serial. Everything in it — characters, setting, plot, was driven by things left by readers of the blog, episode by episode. However, this time the things were “ingredients” since it is a culinary mystery!
Pip returns as narrator. She has new friends for this adventure, as she has been “sentenced” to live with her grandmother until she learns to become a passable cook. As you can imagine, that does not sit well with our flapper. (Yes, I still need to write a blurb…)
Book Launch?
My “real job” doesn’t allow me time for marketing or promotions. I limit that to this blog. So you don’t see much fanfare with my books. However, I want to ask…
Is anyone interested in hosting me for a book launch post?
If so, please leave a comment to let me know. I’ll write something to be posted at your blog. Any takers?
See you Friday, or whenever you can visit this weekend, for the next episode of the current serial, Thistledown – Midsummer Bedlam. Until then, hugs on the wing!
No part of this work may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights.
All images are either the property of the author or provided by free sources, unless stated otherwise.
It’s hump day and I needed a boost to get me through the rest of the week. I avoid midweek posts, but I thought this might give me the lift I need. When this song popped into my head (again) I knew I had to share. Because I’m getting ready, ready, ready for the takeoff! What I mean is the launch of Murder at the Bijou, Three Ingredients-I.
It’s a Roaring Twenties culinary mystery. It was spontaneously written as a “pantser” serial here at this blog. Everything, event, and character in the story was inspired by things or ingredients the readers of this blog sent. Now, as I’m closer and closer to takeoff I wanted to show you my concept of the characters.
Cast of Characters
Pip
The Three Things gave us Pip (Paisley Idelle Peabody), the narrator of both story-lines. I was so fond of Pip, a flapper and aspiring “modern woman,” that I kept her around for The Three Ingredients. I added her grandmother, Granny Phanny, and the fledgling catering business so that we could have the culinary mystery theme. The rest of the story is inspired by your ingredients.
The moment I stumbled upon a photo of a very young Lucille Ball, I imagined the voice of grown-up Lucy as Pip, telling the stories of her youth.
Granny Phanny
Phanny Irene Peabody. Granny is actually a “Pip” too. Her given name was Phanny Irene, and when she married into the Peabody family her initials became P.I.P.
I never found a photo that seemed like Phanny to me. I only had a vague image of her in my mind, a woman with delicate features, but a backbone of steel. However, in a photo of Margaret Sanger, I saw Granny’s kind heartedness, firm resolve, and spunk.
From this point, I’ve listed the characters in order of their appearance in the story.
Alastair Wong
The very first ingredient (geoduck) was the inspiration for Alastair Wong. The Wongs immigrated to the United States from England, and Alastair has a faint British accent. Neither he nor his parents had ever been to China, though they dreamed of visiting and faithfully passed down family recipes used at Wong’s Chinese, their restaurant. Alastair is a talented businessman and chef.
Long time followers of this blog will recall that there are two Alastair Wongs. The first one you meet is the younger. Later, in Copper, the Alchemist, and the Woman in Trousers, you meet his grandfather, Alastair Wong the elder.
I had a small crush on Alastair, so his prolonged absence during the serial should show you that it really is guided by your ingredients. :o)
I think a vintage photo of Sessue Hayakawa could be Alastair — if I could find one of him in a less somber, brooding mood. Alastair certainly has a serious side but he also has a beautiful, ready smile.
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Arabella Wong
Alastair’s mother, Arabella also appeared in Episode-1 and she is mentioned a few times afterward. However, the ingredients haven’t led to a larger part for her… At least they haven’t yet. Only the ingredients can say!
A vintage Vogue magazine cover made me think of Arabella’s graceful elegance, though there has been little opportunity to describe her.
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Byron and/or Bradley Binghamton
The Binghamton brothers are actually “walk on” parts. However, when I started looking for character images, I wasn’t sure where the ingredients might take them. So I’ve included them anyway.
Byron is the owner of the Bijou Theatre. That setting is where our storyline began, when “the dead man” was found. Bradley Binghamton, Byron’s lookalike brother is seen much later. They were minor characters, but necessary to the story just the same. Something tells me that there might be some sadness in the history of the brothers, and this shot of David Niven in “The Bishop’s Wife” could be either of the lookalike brothers.
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Cracker Jack Daddy
Jack Daddy was a minor character who was fundamental to the storyline. His nickname was Cracker Jack because he was a skilled safecracker and a mobster. Maybe he was not 100% bad if he was Cracker the Parrot’s “daddy.” However, I don’t think we’ll ever know for sure.
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Cinnamon Bun
When I received “cinnamon” as an ingredient we got Cinnamon Bun, a Flemish Giant Rabbit with reddish fur. You recently saw his back-story in the vignette, Granny Phanny and the Giant Rabbit. The veterinarian, Vincent Vale gave him to Granny Phanny. She adores the oversized bunny, and so does Cracker the Parrot, who often brings Cinnamon Bun treats.
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Dabney Daniels
We also meet Detective Dabney Daniels of Savannah’s finest. The moment I saw a vintage ad for Arrow shirts, I had an image for Dabney. He has known Granny Fanny for some time, and helps her with heavier work around her cottage. Dabney seems to take an interest in Pip, letting her ride along for part of the murder investigation and work at cataloging evidence. Is Granny trying to push the two together?
Detective Daniels has been patient with Cracker, even thought the parrot bit his ear. He shows concern for Granny, and for his fellow law enforcement officers. Though he seems emotionally distant to Pip’s way of thinking.
Vincent Vale
Our veterinarian is Vincent Vale. He has broad knowledge and training for a veterinarian of that era, including acupuncture.
Vincent seems like a gentle soul. He rescued both Cinnamon Bun and later Cracker. Together, he and his wife Veronica built an impressive medical facility for animals of all types. Who else would I imagine as Vincent Vale but “All Creatures Great and Small” actor, Christopher Timothy.
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Cracker
The ingredients included “graham cracker” and of course that gave us Cracker the parrot. Granny Phanny resisted liking that “nasty bird” for quite a while. But Cracker’s unexpected devotion to the injured Marshal Moses Myrick won Granny over.
Cracker is a most unusual and clever bird. The one thing we can expect from this parrot is the unexpected. Cracker learned many things related to the various mysteries in this storyline through her association with Cracker Jack Daddy, her late owner. When Vincent Vale examined her, he said Cracker was about 40 years old, so we can only guess at the scope of the parrot’s life experiences.
She definitely has opinions about the humans in the story. Cracker took a dislike to Dabney Daniels, perhaps associating him with the death of her “daddy.” But she loved Moses Myrick and the rabbit, Cinnamon Bun from the very start. It took her a while to win Granny Phanny’s affection, but she did. Cracker seems to like Pip and the poodle, Cotton. And she at least tolerates Hank Hertz. However she shakes her foot as an expression for her disdain of “The Joker.”
Veronica Vale
The pantser writing of this serial also brought us the wife of Vincent Vale. Mrs. Veronica Vale is an accomplished medical doctor and surgeon who has traveled widely. She is the most accomplished woman Pip has ever met. At Pip’s determination to be a “modern woman” Granny introduced her to “the real deal.” Veronica’s intelligence is matched by her good nature and sense of humor. Both the doctors Vale are caring, generous people.
She performed emergency surgery on Marshal Myrick after he was ambushed by the bootleggers. Vincent is a veterinarian, rather than a “people doctor” but he proved his skill too during the operation. Granny revealed yet another skill, acting as surgical nurse.
Marshal Moses Myrick
One of the ingredients was “peas”… and we got Moses Myrick. Go figure, right? That’s just how my brain works. Pip was distrustful when she unexpectedly learned that he’d known her grandmother for a long time, and apparently quite well. So her first reaction to Marshal Myrick was less than positive, “He was very polite and all, but I couldn’t help thinking what beady little eyes he had. Green eyes… like little peas!”
I saw an ad for a vintage detective story, and thought the man could easily be Moses Myrick. He wins Pip over, and Cracker likes him right away. He seems to have an affinity for the parrot… and a history with Granny Fanny.
Queenie Wetson
The Queen of Clubs is introduced halfway into the story. I was looking for a vintage queen of clubs card, when I found celebrity playing cards. Guess whose picture was on the queen of clubs? Joan Crawford. From that moment, there was no other choice for Queenie Wetson.
Hank Hertz
A reader wasn’t thinking when leaving ingredients for me. I faced a challenge. I try not to put restrictions on your ingredients, but one of the items was microwave. I knew it was meant as the microwave ovens we use today, but as I suspected, my research showed they had not been invented in the 1920’s. However, scientists had long known about microwaves. That gave us a new character, Hank Hertz.
Our Hank is the fictional grandson of Heinrich Hertz, who proved the existence of radio waves back in the late 1880s. So the “microwave” ingredient gave us Hank, who is a wizard with the police radio. It also led to more layers in the mystery — Since the gangsters were using open radio transmissions (microwave brought us to radio waves) they used code names.
As I visualized Savannah’s youngest policeman I thought of a TV actor who could easily play Hank — a slightly younger version of Hugo Johnstone-Burt who played Hugh Collins on “Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries.”
Daisy
In a planned (or technically correct) story I would not add new players so late in the tale. However, the spontaneity unexpectedly led me to new characters — including Daisy. Also called The Dainty Dish, Daisy was the second Mrs. Henry Kingston. Her story was a local legend, according to which she was given to him as a payment for a gambling debt, but Kingston fell madly in love with her. Her story line continued into the next serial.
Mr. Farceur
The domineering major domo was also introduced late in the story. At first I saw him as a stodgy old man… but then the ingredients suggested that he could be an interesting complication to the story. That’s also when his name came along. Maybe his name, Farceur, is significant, or maybe it’s a red herring — only the ingredients know for sure!
For a moment he had been a nameless, faceless butler. When a classic anime character pinged into my mind, I indulged myself with the image of “Black Butler” Sebastian Michaelis. How could I resist?
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So there you have it — most of the characters for the soon to be “book-ized” Murder at the Bijou, Three Ingredients-I. Thanks for reading and have a wonderful Wednesday!
No part of this work may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights.
All images are either the property of the author or from Pinterest unless stated otherwise.
Since I started this culinary mystery serial, The Three Ingredients, I’ve been reading a lot of cooking blogs. One of my favorites is Kooky Cookyng, written by Ishita. She was kind enough to provide the three ingredients for today’s episode.
Don’t be shy! Leave a comment with three food-related “ingredients” to help keep this story going.
I hope you’ll enjoy Episode-10. Bon appétit!
Liver, Za’atar, Sunflower Seeds
I stopped on the broad veranda to remove my gardening shoes. Cinnamon Bun, the Flemish Giant rabbit, thumped up the stairs behind me. I bent to scratch his long russet ears, and noticed that he had a small carrot in his mouth. The huge bunny usually ate everything he dug up, but I had noticed that sometimes he sneaked a tidbit inside and gave it to Cracker the parrot. I couldn’t help smiling at that.
“You’d better not let Granny catch you digging carrots without her permission,” I told him playfully.
We both went in by the kitchen door. Right away I smelled the plate of thinly sliced onions. The task had been left unfinished, with the next onion waiting to be cut.
Granny had mentioned making liver and onions. I loved the aroma of the dish… so why was it that I couldn’t abide eating it? Ugh! All morning I had been trying to think of an excuse to be away from the cottage come meal time.
The muffled sounds of voices drifted my way from the parlor. Someone must have interrupted Granny, so I washed up to take over where she had stopped.
The onion had warmed to room temperature, and it was already stinging my eyes. Granny always chilled onions before cutting them. Somehow that helped keep them from irritating the eyes. I blinked my watering eyes and sniffed. With the knife in hand, I stopped mid-slice. Granny’s voice rose enough that I heard her distinctly.
“Moses, I just don’t think I’m up to this,” my grandmother said.
The first thing in my mind was concern. That didn’t sound like Granny Fanny’s reaction to anything. She was the most capable woman I had ever known. The next thing I thought was “Why is that revenuer here with Granny — again?”
I knew it wasn’t right to eavesdrop, but I couldn’t help myself. I tiptoed closer to the sound of their voices. Cinnamon thumped softly behind me, the carrot still in his mouth.
“Fanny, you know I’d never ask you to do this if I thought it would put you at risk,” Marshal Moses Myrick said. “I’ll have men there, some pretending to be guests, Detective Daniels disguised and acting as your waiter, and a dozen others outside, waiting for my signal to rush in.”
“Oh I’m not worried about that!” Granny said sounding more like herself. “I’m not afraid of any bootlegger, no matter how much money he’s got. No, it’s the fancy food they want me to make. I had never even thought of making crème brulee until I tested the recipe for it the day you were last here. It turned out fine, but I’m just not used to making… foreign things like that. And now, they say some ambassador is going to be there. They insisted that I make something with an exotic sounding condiment. I’ve never even heard of it, but it’s the big shot’s favorite thing,” she complained.
I eased a little closer to the parlor door. I could see into the room, but still couldn’t see the speakers. However, I could see stacks and stacks of books, mostly cookbooks and travel books. Granny must have checked out every book in the library on those subjects. She’d probably borrowed any her friends had as well.
Marshal Myrick spoke soothing words that I couldn’t make out. Granny continued, “Have you ever heard of za’atar?” The marshal must have said no, because my grandmother continued her lament. “I have to admit, za’atar does sound delicious, but I hope they don’t ask me to make anything else unusual. Why can’t they want turnip greens? I hulled sunflower seeds all morning, and I had a devil of a time keeping that parrot out of them. I ended up giving half the seeds to her to keep her quiet,” Granny said. Then to my surprise she chuckled. “I think I’ve found something I can use to bribe the little imp. She liked the sunflower seeds.”
Wonder of wonders — was Granny warming up to Cracker? The kindhearted defense Moses spoke for the parrot was in such contrast to his gruff manner and unflappable attitude that I still couldn’t get my head around it.
The G-man had learned the art of pitching his voice in a way that it didn’t carry. As I sidled closer a floorboard creaked. I just knew I was caught. Then I heard Cracker rattling her cage door. She could have it open in a matter of seconds, anytime she chose. Cinnamon Bun hopped past me and into the parlor.
Granny adored that oversized bunny. “I thought I heard you out there, Cinnamon Bun! How’d you get in?” she asked.
I pretended that I was just walking up the hall and feigned surprise when I saw the marshal sitting on the settee next to my grandmother. However, I didn’t fool him one iota. “So Pip,” he began. “Now that you know something about this sting, are you onboard?”
Sting? As in bootleggers, and mobsters, and guns? Really? I gulped.
“Now Moses,” Granny Fanny began, shaking her head and giving the marshal a stern look from the corner of her eye. “I don’t know that I approve of Paisley having anything to do with this business.”
“Fanny, you had intended to have the girl help you with events. You can’t handle a big party like this alone. Detective Daniels can only do so much as a waiter, because I have to have him as an investigator,” Myrick said. Then he added as if to himself, “That young man’s got potential. As for the rest of my men, they wouldn’t make believable caterers. They’d stand out like a sore thumb. So you need the girl. She just needs to be an ordinary waitress and stay out of the way.”
Oh…! Now that was the last straw. It was bad enough that they were talking about me like I wasn’t even there, but stay out of the way? I was flabbergasted! I cleared my throat loudly. Granny’s eyes widened when she saw the expression on my face. There must have been steam coming from my ears.
“Marshal, I’ll have you know that I’m standing right here, since that fact seems to have escaped you,” I began.
“Paisley Idelle Peabody!” Granny said in a warning voice.
“I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself, and I most certainly do not need to ‘stay out of the way.’ Why of all the —”
I was fit to be tied because Moses Myrick sat there chuckling. Then he gave in to all out laughter! I was so put out that I was speechless.
“That apple didn’t fall far from the tree!” he said as he wiped his eyes. That’s how hard he was laughing; it had brought tears to his eyes. “Fanny, not that I ever doubted, but this is truly your granddaughter. Young lady I apologize. I just couldn’t help myself.”
I was not much mollified by the apology, but I didn’t know what to do besides accept it. I cleared my throat awkwardly. Then I heard the rattle of metal that meant Cracker had decided to let herself out of her cage and see what all the fuss was about. The parrot flapped into the room. She briefly perched on the back of the settee next to the marshal.
She bobbed her head and whistled at the marshal. “Fourandtwenty,” she said to him. However, she prudently fluttered out of Granny’s reach and alighted on the back of the chair beside me.
Cracker looked studiously at each of us in turn. She ruffled her feathers and shook her head. She turned to me and flapped her wings once. Then she turned a circle to make sure everyone was looking at her, and with another whistle she repeated, “Fourandtwenty!Fourandtwenty!”
***
Roasted Carrots with Za’atar
Recipe credit: Food Network.com
Photograph by Roland Bello
Total Cook Time: 20 minutes
Ingredients
4 pounds carrots
¼ cup olive oil
¾ teaspoon each salt and pepper
4 teaspoons za’atar spice blend
3 tablespoons parsley
1 lemon
Directions
Preheat 2 baking sheets in a 450 degree oven. Quarter 4 pounds carrots lengthwise and toss with 1/4 cup olive oil and 3/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper. Spread on the hot baking sheets and roast until browned, 18 to 20 minutes. Toss with 4 teaspoons za’atar (a spice blend available at Middle Eastern markets), 3 tablespoons chopped parsley and the juice of 1 lemon.
No part of this writing, blog, or book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination, or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
