The Trilogy setting

 Seal Beach is the quiet beach town I used for the setting for Kathryn’s hometown. While it was established in 1860, it had many name changes until it was incorporated as Seal Beach in 1915. Sometimes people on the beach can see the seals playing in the water near the beach.

Walking down historic Main Street, the shop owners are at the ready to share stories about the town and its history. I have no reason to doubt the tales, although my memory of them may not be accurate. On this beach in 1923, the “Red Sea” was parted for the movie The Ten Commandments.

I recall the beach being 0.8 miles in length; however, AI says that it is 1.5 miles long—I doubt that; I’ve walked it many times. Unlike some beaches, it is flat (no dunes), rock-free, and grass-free. If you look at the videos on this website, you can see this for yourself. On the left side of the pier the houses are closer to the water, and during winter storms they flood if the town didn’t truck in loads of sand and build a huge berm.

Main Street ends at the pier. At the beginning of the pier is a statue of a seal; I believe it is bronze—I’m not sure of the metal. From the pier people fish, boats launch to take workers to the oil derrick, or to Catalina Island. At the far end of the pier stood Ruby’s Diner, where Kathryn and Karen went to eat. Ruby’s had a large aquarium in the dining area. The food was typical 1950s diner style, and very good. I have a calendar from Ruby’s 25th anniversary, dated 2008. Sadly, Ruby’s Diner burned down, in 2016. It was so odd to see the pier without Ruby’s, which was replaced with a gaping hole when I saw it. The pier has been replaced several times, but to my knowledge, Ruby’s has not been replaced.

The town of Seal Beach is a wonderful place. The Queen Mary can be seen moored at Long Beach from Seal Beach’s beach. There is an old movie theatre on Main Street that is rumored to play old reels. The library shares its lawn with one of the electric train cars that brought people from LA and Hollywood, especially during prohibition—I wonder why they would make the trip to Orange County (Seal Beach). I always bought seashells from the California Seashell Company. Even now, I order seashell Christmas tree ornaments from them.  https://caseashells.com/

Look at the end of the pier; there’s Ruby’s.

 

 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Book Marketing

There seems to be an increased proliferation of book marketing companies springing up by the minute. Caveat Emptor. If your Latin is rusty that literally translates as “let the buyer beware.” This cautionary tale is especially aimed at self-published authors. The first time the internet bots crawl across the fact that you’re a writer, get ready for the deluge of unsolicited emails advising of services that you did not know that you needed or even wanted . Writers have a creative talent in the age-old craft of storytelling. These sudden inbox-stuffers want to make money on a writer’s need for readers. Most of these companies have vague terms for the packages/bundles on their websites. Most of them do not list the itemized price of the “services” in the package. Most of them will not allow a la carte purchases. Most of them will include praise for your book in their quest for your money. Most of them do not tailor their product to your product, and therefore are not targeting y...
Read more

New Beginning

  Some people may have noticed that my blog was in suspended animation. I could sign in, see all of the posts, and not add a new post. Periodically, I’d try to mess with it. Now, I’m going to start a new blog and call that good. Remember Backstreet Boys’ Backstreet’s Back or *NSYNC and Here We Go?   Kathryn and friends are back! In early October 2024, a friend and I were at coffee discussing writing, reading, publishing, and all things books. In a wave of nostalgia, I mentioned, “January [2025] will be the 25th anniversary of the trilogy.” My friend said that I should publish the 25th anniversary editions. While I was still considering the notion, the conversation progressed to putting all three novels under one cover in addition to republishing the individual books. Publishing the trilogy under one cover would be a lot of work. That’s a lot of formatting hours, plus Amazon’s KDP has a 550-page limit, which meant judiciously cutting some scenes. In the follo...
Read more

Goodreads Reviews

Image
  (Possible spoilers, not sure. I’ll try to be careful.) While reading the Goodreads reviews of The Trilogy: Kathryn’s Beach, High Tide, Storm Surge , several people mentioned the Franciscan nuns. Honestly, I was nervous when I asked Father Alvin Herber, C.PP.S, if he wanted copies of my trilogy. I fired a round or two over the bow of the Catholic Church (in the story) from time to time, so I wasn’t sure what my confessor would think. Luckily, all was well. C.PP.S in English stands for the Missionaries of the (most) Precious Blood, and their spirituality focus is the Precious Blood of Jesus’ healing and redemption. Kathryn was lucky (blessed?) in that was her story, too. Then came the two nuns I knew well enough to share the novels with, and held my breath waiting for their reactions. Both Sister Rosemary Rader, OSB and Ph.D., and Sister Ann Cecile Gaume, CSJ, were kind in their comments. For those who don’t know: OSB is the Order of Saint Benedict and CSJ is Congregation of ...
Read more