Authors: Kelli Stanley
City of Dragons (50 page)
T
he San Francisco of
City of Dragons
was a much different city than what we know today. More working and middle-class, smaller, cozier, slower, it would soon abandon the false optimism of the Golden Gate International Exposition—the San Francisco World’s Fair—for the booming economy of world war.
Despite many changes since 1940, some of the places in
City of Dragons
are still with us. Chinatown, in particular, hasn’t changed as much as other neighborhoods … you can still glimpse the faded neon of the old Golden Star radio sign, and lean against the same wall Miranda does when she first spots the green car. Miranda’s apartment building is still there, as is the Monadnock, where she keeps her office. If you travel to San Francisco, you can still stay in The Pickwick Hotel and eat at John’s Grill.
When I write about this period, I try my best to construct a time machine. I listen to the music, buy menus and matchbooks on eBay, watch films, listen to radio shows. All of the businesses mentioned were real, and so were the addresses. Even the phone exchanges were the actual phone numbers in 1940, thanks to a copy of a San Francisco AT&T directory I was able to locate.
My hope is that these layers of authenticity will make
City of Dragons
and subsequent novels come alive for you in the same way that they live in my mind … fully, richly, with the sounds, smells, sights and aura of the era.
I hope you’ll explore the world of
City of Dragons
on my Web site, [http://www.kellistanley.com] http://www.kellistanley.com, and in further stories about Miranda Corbie. Thanks for reading … and see you in 1940 San Francisco.
Table of Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-One
Chapter Thirty-Two
Table of Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-One
Chapter Thirty-Two