Skip to main content

Hakone Gardens bridge

Captain's Log, Stardate 06.03.2006

Blog book giveaway:
My Monday book giveaway is EVERYTHING’S COMING UP JOSEY by Susan May Warren.
My Thursday book giveaway is HEARTS ON THE LINE by Margaret Daley.
You can still enter both giveaways. Just post a comment on each of those blog posts. On Thursday, I'll draw the winner for EVERYTHING’S COMING UP JOSEY and post the title for another book I'm giving away. Stay tuned.

Subscribe to my blog via email! Now you can option to read my posts as an email instead of visiting my blogsite or using an aggregator like Bloglines. I have a new FeedBlitz box on the sidebar to the right (after the Blogroll) so that you can enter your email address. You still have to visit my site to comment, though.

I used to have Blog Flux but they totally annoyed me with their web dashboard and the email format, so I switched. I'll see how I like FeedBlitz instead.

TMI:

Writing: So I just finished my Marketing Information Sheet for Zondervan, and they wanted pictures of any interesting places in my book. There is one scene near the end which takes place in a Japanese garden on a bridge, and I kind of modeled it after this bridge at the Hakone Gardens here in San Jose.




Isn't it gorgeous? I stole these pictures off their website.

For the next book, I’m going to scour San Jose with my digital camera for neat places to set my story.

Comments

Geekwif said…
That is gorgeous! My mom was just telling me about a Japanese garden here in Minnesota that I'm going go have to go see. I'm sure there won't be any wisteria like in yours (being in MN) but if it's anywhere near as beautiful as that photo, it would be a shame to miss it.
Ruth said…
Those pictures are absolutely gorgeous! Thanks for sharing!
Cynthia said…
OMG! I love those photos. I so want to go to Asia (or at least San Jose). It looks so tranquil :) Congrats on your book contract girl. All that hard work is paying off
Unknown said…
Those pictures make me want to hop on a plane. So beautiful!
Anonymous said…
I love Japanese gardens. I've never been to Japan but even here in Canada, Vancouver, BC in particular, I've seen some beautiful ones. They seem to really be oases of quiet and reflection--not just in the water. This is a very beautiful one.

BTW, how can you get a photo off a site? Does it become public property as soon as it's up on a site. I was wondering, e.g., about my sister and brother-in-law's site. I know I can get those pictures but what if I couldn't?

This is the site for their lodge which they sold less than a year ago. http://www.rawleylodge.on.ca/ The new owners have torn down the old lodge and one of the other motel-type units. It certainly won't be as interesting anymore as it used to be. I really don't know if I even want to see the new version. The new people also sold everything like TVs, beds, the old dining room service and furniture for a song. Had we know that, I would have asked Marlis to let me have a better TV than I know have. This one doesn't even have anywhere to hoop up VCR or DVD. It all has to go through a cable connection or else you have to pay about $40 for a transformer or whatever they're called. But it was sold with the stipulation: all furnishings included. So actually I asked my sister and she said that they had just had to buy a new TV before the end of last season to replace a broked one and they couldn't even keep that, being the Christians that they are.

Is wisteria the purple "rain" on the right of the botton picture?
Sabrina L. Fox said…
Ah, now I'm so looking forward to reading the book and saying, Yep. Totally see it now. =)

Thanks for sharing all this with us. Knowing they want these pictures makes creating a storyboard a really good idea. I have pics of my characters but now I'm going to be looking for places in my book. ;)
geez Camster you just admitted to theft. :-p

love the photos! I should come see you and have you take me there! LOL
Anonymous said…
I love the pictures. Are they Japanese gardens?

If you can you should get a picture of kintaikyo bridge in Iwakuni, Japan. It's one of the most famous bridges here, and in spring it's really gorgeous with pale pink cherry blossom petals falling down like rain.

Popular Posts

Lavender hand lotion

Captain's Log, Stardate 11.05.2009 I have to tell you, I LOVE Etsy.com ! Etsy is dedicated to providing a marketplace for people who like to make handmade products and people who appreciate them (and buy them). It has everything from handmade gifts (like my mom’s Bucilla Christmas stockings and ornaments and tree skirts and wall hangings and … well, just click here to see what she has! ) to soaps and lotions and jewelry and knitted items and hand-painted yarn and ... I could surf that website for DAYS. Anyway, lately I’ve been concerned about the lead content in my lotions, especially since I’m using them more now that it’s turned colder and drier here in California. I have to use lotion on my hands everytime after I wash them. So I went onto Etsy and searched for organic hand lotions, and bought this lavender lotion from Lue Cosmetics . What was really nice is that the owner, Jane, sent me a direct message via Etsy right after I made the purchase to ask if I’d received it yet and ...

Tabi socks, part deux

Captain's Log, Stardate 07.25.2008 (If you're on Ravelry, friend me! I'm camytang.) I made tabi socks again! (At the bottom of the pattern is the calculation for the toe split if you're not using the same weight yarn that I did for this pattern (fingering). I also give an example from when I used worsted weight yarn with this pattern.) I used Opal yarn, Petticoat colorway. It’s a finer yarn than my last pair of tabi socks, so I altered the pattern a bit. Okay, so here’s my first foray into giving a knitting pattern. Camy’s top-down Tabi Socks I’m assuming you already know the basics of knitting socks. If you’re a beginner, here are some great tutorials: Socks 101 How to Knit Socks The Sock Knitter’s Companion A video of turning the heel Sock Knitting Tips Yarn: I have used both fingering weight and worsted weight yarn with this pattern. You just change the number of cast on stitches according to your gauge and the circumference of your ankle. Th...

Grace Livingston Hill romances free to read online

I wanted to update my old post on Grace Livingston Hill romances because now there are tons more options for you to be able to read her books for free online! I’m a huge Grace Livingston Hill fan. Granted, not all her books resonate with me, but there are a few that I absolutely love, like The Enchanted Barn and Crimson Roses . And the best part is that she wrote over 100 books and I haven’t yet read them all! When I have time, I like to dive into a new GLH novel. I like the fact that most of them are romances, and I especially appreciate that they all have strong Christian themes. Occasionally the Christian content is a little heavy-handed for my taste, but it’s so interesting to see what the Christian faith was like in the early part of the 20th century. These books are often Cinderella-type stories or A Little Princess (Frances Hodgson Burnett) type stories, which I love. And the best part is that they’re all set in the early 1900s, so the time period is absolutely fasci...

Sourdough Treacle Buns recipe from Lady Wynwood's Spies

If you read my Christian Regency Romantic Suspense novel, Lady Wynwood’s Spies, volume 2: Berserker , you will have noticed that Miss Tolberton brings humble treacle buns to eat with tea at the church. Not only that, but the treacle bun appears in a surprising way in Lady Wynwood’s Spies, volume 3: Aggressor . I got the idea for treacle buns from looking through old cookbooks from the 1800s. Commercial dry yeast cakes for making breads were not available until 1825, which is 15 years after the date of my book, so most breads during the Regency period were made with sourdough starters. “Black treacle” is the same thing as molasses, and was mentioned in cookbooks published during the Regency period, but in those books, I couldn’t find a recipe for treacle bread or treacle buns or brown bread. This seemed a bit strange to me since brown bread (made with whole wheat and black treacle) has been around since before the Regency period, but I am guessing that it was such a common food, m...

If you love Historical Romance with Unexpected Twists

Pride and Prejudice meets Mission: Impossible Lady Wynwood’s Spies is a multi-volume adventure filled with faith, suspense, and romance. Unlike many historical romances that stand alone, each volume continues the story, pulling you further into the same grand conspiracy. Along the way, the series draws you deeper into the characters’ struggles and triumphs, giving you a richer, more immersive experience. If you love stories where you don’t have to say goodbye to the characters after just one book, this series was written for you. The story so far in Lady Wynwood’s Spies Here are short blurbs about each book in Lady Wynwood’s Spies. For those of you already reading the series, this will be Bonus Content, which I hope you enjoy! In a whirlwind of conspiracies and secrets, Lady Wynwood's spies navigate the perilous waters of espionage and betrayal, where every ally could be an enemy in disguise, and every heart hides a story untold. Recovered from her harrowing marriage, La...