With the first hundred pages of the new novel done, I took a week off, mostly to travel and eat, as the week included Thanksgiving. Next comes a research trip.

Saturday I’ll drive to L.A. and visit the library and Angeles Temple and Echo Park. Also, I’ll try to figure out exactly where Tom Hickey and some of the other characters lived. And if all goes well, I’ll get recharged for the task of revising the first hundred pages before I send it to my editor to meet the end-of-the-year deadline.

So, I’m looking forward to Saturday, but not without a bit of trepidation on account of my last research trip to L.A.

Three years ago, I was writing a story for an anthology entitled Hollywood and Crime. Each story required a scene at the corner of Hollywood and Vine. To spark some memories and gather details, I prowled around Hollywood for a couple hours. Then my cell phone rang, and I learned that Olga had gone to the hospital that morning and died a few minutes ago.

I should’ve parked, walked to a motel and spent a couple days grieving before I drove home.

Instead, I kept driving. And, while making a right turn off Sunset onto a street I can’t remember, my Corolla got sideswiped by a big Buick driven by a Russian woman. I won’t go into the details but I’m reasonably sure the incident, which scraped along the side of the Corolla and didn’t even dent the Buick’s bumper, was part of an insurance scam. The woman was going about five mph when she hit me, but claimed whiplash or something. My insurance went up $50 per month for three years. The scrape on my car, should I ever get it fixed, will cost $700. That’s $2500 the trip cost me. The story paid $250.

I wonder, can I deduct the $2250 net loss on my tax return as a business expense.

Should anyone care to offer a prayer or good wishes for my Saturday research trip, please do.