Holly West, Author at Holly West

2009 Recap #1: Secrets of the Samarai Sword

December 28, 2009April 9, 2013Writing, Inspiration, Japan, Jewelry2 Comments

Note: This post was originally published on July 25, 2009

My husband and I just watched a program on PBS called Secrets of the Samarai Sword. It’s available to watch on the internet, and I recommend it.

Samarai_sword

There are several reasons why this program was interesting to me personally. First, my husband picked up a book at a library book sale awhile back about Japanese swords and was immediately taken with them. That year for his birthday, I embarked on my own research and bought one for him. Much like making a sword, it was a painstaking process; there are lots of “fakes” out there, particularly, swords made by machine during WWII, and an authentic, handmade sword is expensive. I’m not sure I’d have the confidence even now to buy one again, although I’m certain that the one I bought him is authentic. We both love that sword–it is almost as important to me as my wedding ring, if you want the truth.

Samarai_sword_2

The second reason I found this program engaging is because I’m a goldsmith. I make jewelry out of gold and silver and some of the processes used are similar, if not the same. I use ancient techniques to make my jewelry, and this type of craftsmanship appeals to me. I’m definitely not comparing my level of expertise to the level presented by the master swords-maker profiled, but my experience with making jewelry makes me extremely interested in the techniques used in Japanese sword-making.

The level of expertise required to make a sword can be applied to any field, whether it be sword making, jewelry making, or in my case now, writing. Young people apprentice in this work at an early age and through the years become experts themselves, thus preserving a tradition that is hundreds of years old. It is a reminder that to be good at anything, even if one possesses natural talent, takes years of practice. It is affirming and daunting at the same time–I am a novice at writing, at least as it pertains to novels, and I have a lot of work in front of me to become an “expert.”

Having been to Japan and having even visited the sword museum in Tokyo shown in the program, I was also interested in the cultural aspects of Samarais, sword fighting, and sword making. But for me, the really compelling part is the fabrication of the sword. It is fascinating, and an important reminder that hard work and persistence is an important key to success.

From My Family to Yours

December 25, 2009Uncategorized3 Comments

Merry Christmas!

Love,

Holly, Mick, Stuart, & Stella

Christmas Menu

December 23, 2009Uncategorized1 Comment

Despite the fact I re-joined Weight Watchers yesterday, the holiday season pretty much means one thing to me: Food. Delicious, special, eat-until-you-burst, food. So I thought I'd share some of the things I'm planning to make for Christmas dinner and the surrounding meals. Click on the links for the specific recipes.

We'll be spending Christmas at my parent's house in Northern California. On Christmas Eve, my mom and dad go to church but my sister and I don't, so we'll be making a lovely (but modest) for my parents to come home to:

Christmas Eve:

Venison Chili (this is actually my turkey chili recipe, substituting venison sausage for the turkey)
Cornbread

Christmas Day:

Turkey (This is the best roast turkey recipe I've ever tried)
Butternut Squash Puree
Mashed Potatoes

My sister is making the deserts and my sister-in-law is making a vegetable dish (I think) so this will be a delicious meal with many cooks contributing.

Next week, I'll be doing a 2009 recap of my favorite posts throughout the year.

Wishing you all a happy holiday!

The Story of Stella

December 18, 2009May 22, 2014Dogs5 Comments

Saturday marked one year since our beloved dog Kramer died. Most of the hurt has faded away, but we sure do miss him. He was possibly the best dog ever.

Which brings me to the subject of this post. In November we adopted a new little pooch who we named Stella:

She’s cute, huh? You want to pet her, don’t you? You want to kiss her on the pretty little snout, right? This is what Stella’s thinking: Suckaaaa!

She is possibly the worst dog ever.

Of course, I say that in jest (kind of). She’s mostly a good dog, and I’m not just saying that because she’s resting peacefully on my lap as I write this.

At this point you might be asking yourself how Mick and I ended up with this little bundle of, er, joy. We went to the gym one day and found they were having a pet adoption day. Mick said “Don’t look!” as I ran over to the cages to see the dogs. “It’ll be okay, I don’t want another one,” I said, even as my eyes locked on the precious ball of fur that was to become, at least temporarily, the bane of my existence. I picked her up and that was pretty much it. Mick did put up a good fight for about 20 minutes but in the end, Stella won. Stella always wins.

Since she came to our house, Mick and I spend a lot of time doing this:

The first day and a half was utter bliss. She was a quiet, fairly well-behaved dog that seemed only to have a few potty training issues. Piece of cake. We hadn’t yet cleaned the carpets from when Kramer was around, so what’s a little accident between friends?

On the second day, Stella and I were resting peacefully on the couch when Stuart jumped on. That’s when the trouble started. Stella unleashed a little snarl, which frankly, I laughed at. It soon went from an itty-bitty growl to a full-fledged attack, and from then on, Stella would randomly lunge at Stuart whenever she felt a little cranky. Which was apparently often, because she did it several times a day and there was no question in my mind: she was out for blood.

None of the West dogs have ever been known for their good manners (some friends will remember the Italian sausage incident or the case of the missing alligator head) but we’ve never had to deal with an aggressive dog. I was convinced more than once we’d have to return her to the rescue. At first, the only thing that saved her was her 10 pound stature; a larger dog would surely have been unmanageable with the level of aggression she was capable of. I call her a “10 lb can of whoopass.”

I went back to the rescue and told the guy in charge we had a big problem. I asked if there were any trainers he could recommend. He gave me the number for Peter Bovino of Peter & the Woof. From the start, Peter seemed dedicated to helping us keep Stella. He became our trainer and things have improved quite a bit. We now feel confident she can stay with us, even if she is still not the most well-behaved girl. Baby steps… or in this case, puppy steps (though for the record, Stella is not a puppy, she’s 2 years old).

And dare I say it? She even seems to kind of love Stuart now, at least when she knows something good, like food or a walk, is in the offing.

Still, I feel compelled to offer one little bit of advice to anyone out there who is as weak as I am: “DON”T LOOK!”

Progress Report

December 16, 2009Writing, Diary of BedlamLeave a comment

I never know whether to say I'm in the process of editing, revising, or re-writing my novel. Just not sure which word is appropriate for what I'm doing at the moment. But whatever the right word is, I am deep in the heart of it and it is a slow, slow undertaking.

Turns out I'm a first draft kind of girl. Revising a novel just isn't as much fun. Unfortunately, it's a vital part of the job if I want to get published (and believe me, I want to get published), so I keep plucking away, word by word, sentence by sentence.

I've turned my desk around so it faces the window, affording me a lovely view of the Pacific Ocean. This may have been a mistake; I am constantly looking up to see the waves crash or a sudden white splash further in. I think "Ooooh, is that a dolphin?" Usually, it's not. But whatever it is, it's just enough to distract me from what I should be doing, so the desk might have to face the wall again.

The greatest thing about editing/revising/re-writing a novel is that my book is actually starting to take a pretty wonderful shape. Every day I can see it turning into something I'd actually like to buy, then read. Hopefully, by the time it's done, other people will too. Lots of them, 'cause mama needs a new pair of shoes.

I'm hoping for a finished novel by the end of January, but with the holidays next week, I'm not sure if I'll make this deadline. Self-imposed deadlines are the worst–it's so very easy to talk yourself out of them. If you happen to see me wasting time on Twitter or Facebook, do me a favor and remind me I've got writing to do, m'kay?

Curing What Ailed You in the 17th Century

December 14, 2009May 15, 201417th C Eng History, Research, Writing3 Comments

Hannah Wolley was kind of the Martha Stewart of late the 17th century in England. She authored books like The Gentlewoman’s Companion (1673) and The Queen-Like Closet (1672). The 17th century housewife went to her for advice on all manner of subjects, including recipes for the popular “medicinal” cures of the time.

What follows is a few of these “cures.” I’ve transcribed them so they make sense to the modern reader, but I tried to keep the charm and rhythm of the original language.

The Plague Water:
Take three pints of muskadine, boil therein one handful of sage and one handful of rue until reduced to two pints. Strain it, and put it back on the fire.

Beat together a penny’s worth of long pepper, a half ounce of ginger, and a quarter ounce of nutmeg and boil with the liquid covered with a cloth.

Add a penny’s worth of mithridate, two penny’s worth of Venice treacle, and one quarter pint of hot Angelica water.

Take one spoonful at a time, morning and evening, always warm if you are already diseased; if not, once a day is sufficient all the Plague time.

It is a most excellent medicine and never fails, if taken before the heart be utterly mortified with the disease, it is also good for the small pox and measles.

A Most Excellent Water for the Stone (kidney stones) or for the Wind Colic (gas)
Take two handfuls of saxifrage, one handful of thyme, two handfuls of perstons, two handfuls of philipendula, and an equal amount pellitory of the wall, two ounces of sweet fennel seeds, the roots of ten radishes, sliced, and steep all these in a gallon of milk warm from the cow. Then distill it in an ordinary still for four hours. Slice half an ounce of saxifrage stem and put it into the water bottle and keep it stopped with a cloth.

Take three spoonfuls at a time and fast from both eating and drinking for one hour after; you must make this water about midsummer; it is a very precious water and ought to be prized.

Walnut Water, or the Water of Life
Take green walnuts in the beginning of June, beat them in a mortar, and distill them in an ordinary still. Keep that water by itself.

About midsummer, gather some more, and distill hem as you did before. Keep that also by itself.

Take a quart of each and mix them together and distill them in a glass still and keep it for your use. The virtues are as follows:

It will help all manner of dropsies and palsies, drank with wine fasting; it is good for the eyes if you put one drop therein; it helps conception in women if they drink one spoonful at a time in a glass of wine once a day; it will make your skin fair if you wash with it; it is good for all the infirmities of the body and drives out all corruption, and inward bruises; if it be drunk with wine moderately, it kills worms in the body; whosoever drinks much of it shall live so long as nature shall continue in him.

Finally, if you have any wine that is turned, put it in a little vial or glass full of it, and keep it stopped with a cloth. Within four days it will come to itself again.

A Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue

December 11, 2009Writing, Books, 17th C Eng History, ResearchLeave a comment

I've collected a lot of great reference books in my research of Diary of Bedlam, but by far my favorite is A Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue by Captain Francis Grose. First published in 1785, it is a collection of slang words from all corners of society.

Here are a few of the entertaining words and expressions found in this volume:

Bum fodder – toilet paper

To cast up one's accounts – to vomit

Beard splitter – A man given to "wenching"

Dog's soup – rain water

Fart catcher – a valet or footman, from his walking behind his master or mistress

Lazybones – an instrument like a pair of tongs, for old or very fat people, to take something from the ground without stooping

Mantrap – a woman's private parts

Queen Street – a man governed by his wife is said to live in Queen Street

Soul doctor – a parson

Thingumbobs – testicles

Wool gathering - Saying to an absent man, or one in reverie, as in "Your wits are gone a wool gathering."

One thing that's also interesting about the dictionary is to see how many of the words we still use whose meanings are more or less the same as they were over 200 years ago. Expressions like elbow grease, gift of gab, hodge podge, quack, ragamuffin, white lie, and ship shape all hail from this time.

November 28, 2009UncategorizedLeave a comment

Just in case you're wondering, I'm still around! My life took an unexpected but positive turn a couple of weeks ago at a writer's conference and I'm busy polishing "Diary of Bedlam" until it shines like a beautiful gem. I promise to be back very soon!

Slow Cooker Turkey Chili Recipe

November 3, 2009May 15, 2014Crime Writers Kitchen, Recipes1 Comment

Chili isn’t necessarily all that ground-breaking a recipe, but I created my own version of slow cooker turkey chili that Mick and I love. In the winter months I make this several times a month, and during the summer it’s a quick, easy meal that doesn’t require turning on the oven.

You’ll need one package ground turkey, two cans black beans, one can diced tomatoes, an onion, 2 cloves garlic, olive oil (not shown), chili powder, ground cumin, ground chipotle, ancho chili powder, and garlic salt.

Chop that onion and garlic up.

Heat about one tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat and add the onions and garlic.

Add the ground turkey and let it cook.

Meanwhile, drain and rinse your beans.

Mix up your spices: 2 tbs chili powder, 1 tsp garlic salt, 1 tsp ground cumin, 1 tsp ancho chili powder, and 1 tsp chipotle powder. This mix will result in a fairly spicy chili. If you prefer a mild chili, start by decreasing the ancho chili powder to 1/2 tsp or omitting it altogether. Chipotle adds a lovely smokey flavor but you can adjust the amount of that too as it does contribute to the spiciness.

Put everything into your slow cooker and stir it up.

Cook on low for 6 hours or high for 4 hours. When it’s done, taste for salt. Add more garlic salt if needed.

Serve with all the fixings: sour cream, shredded cheddar cheese, chopped onion, chopped jalapenos, etc.

Recipe:

Ingredients
1 tbs olive oil
1 lb ground turkey
2 15 oz cans kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 tbs chili powder
1 tsp garlic salt (or to taste)
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ancho chili powder (or to taste)
1 tsp chipotle powder (or to taste)

Directions
Heat a large pot on medium and add olive oil. Saute onion, and garlic until soft, about 2-3 minutes. Add ground turkey and mix thoroughly. Heat until turkey is cooked through.

Add cooked turkey, beans, diced tomatoes, garlic salt, chili powder, cumin, ancho chili pepper, and chipotle powder to slow cooker. Mix thoroughly and cook on low for 6 hours or on high for 4 hours.

Check for flavor and add garlic salt if needed. Serve with condiments: fresh cilantro, sour cream, chopped onions, cheddar cheese, etc.

Historical Tidbits

October 30, 2009Writing4 Comments

A couple of days ago, my mom called me and said "Hi, what're you doing?"

"I was just researching what happens when a body lay in state in late 17th century London," I replied. Such is the life of a writer.

Research is one of the most enjoyable parts of writing for me, and oh, so much easier. At the beginning, it was tough to know when to stop the research and begin the writing. At some point I had to put down the books and just start writing, even if I knew some of it was not historically accurate. I figured I could go back and iron out details later.

But I have been interested in Restoration England and the reign of King Charles II since I was a teenager. I've been studying this time period for years, so ending the research in favor of the writing was not such a stretch for me. I did have to do quite a bit of reading on specific details, such as the Popish Plot, but overall I had a good sense of what Restoration England was about.

And if I had any qualms about writing things I knew nothing about, Harlan Coben eased them during a panel at Bouchercon when he said "I just make this shit up."

Accurate historical details are important to me, yes. But at the end of the day, I write fiction. It's my job to make shit up!

All that said, I thought it would be fun to post some historical tidbits about the time period I'm writing about, 1678 London:

1) By law, one had to attend church on Sundays (Church of England) or be fined.

2) Women were 4 times more likely to die in the first decade of marriage than men, but if a woman lived past her child-bearing years, she had a longer life expectancy than her husband.

3) Brunette was the fashionable hair color.

4) Donkey's milk was thought to be safer for babies than cow's milk; they were led from door to door and milked to order.

5) Oysters were cheap and eaten often; swans were served on special occasions.

6) At the grandest of dinner parties, a knife and fork were provided, but guests were expected to bring their own spoons.

7) Women wore ceruse, a compound of white lead, to whiten their complexions. It was a white paste that one diluted with water or egg white and applied with a damp cloth. Venetian ceruse was more prized than English because of it's higher lead content.

8) Cat dung mixed with vinegar was used as a depilatory.

9) Stealing was the most common crime. If the value of the goods stolen was more than 12 pence (about $6.50 in today's US dollars) theft was punishable by death.

10) Teething was a major cause of infant death. A well-meaning adult would lance the gums with a fingernail or coin to ease the baby's pain, and infection would result.

There, aren't you glad you didn't live in the 17th century? Makes me wonder what things we do now that will be considered unthinkable four hundred years from now. Care to make any guesses?

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