Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet (29 page)

As the saying goes, writing is a lonely business. Fortunately, I’ve had my wife, Leesha, and our children – Haley, Karissa, Taylor, Madi, Kassie, and Lucas – to keep me company. Feel free to hum the
Brady Bunch
theme song – we do all the time. Thank you for allowing me to write these strange things called books, even though we have a perfectly good TV.

And beyond the crayon-covered walls of my own home, I am indebted to the following people for their contributions to this book:

To the faculty and alumni of that last bastion of bohemianism – the Squaw Valley Community of Writers – a group that I am humbled to be a part of. Special thanks go to Louis B. Jones, Andrew Tonkovich, and Leslie Daniels. And of course a big
doh je
to fellow alumnus Yunshi Wang for double-checking my Chinese.

To Orson Scott Card and my fellow Bootcampers: Scott
Andrews, Aliette de Bodard, Kennedy Brandt, Pat Esden, Danielle Friedman, Mariko Gjorvig, Adam Holwerda, Gary Mailhiot, Brian McClellan, Alex Meehan, Jose Mojica, Paula ‘Rowdy’ Raudenbush, and Jim Workman. Thanks for all the tough love.

To readers Anne Frasier, Jim Tomlinson, Gin Petty, and Oregon’s poet laureate (as well as former internee), Lawson Inada, for their valuable time and generous praise of an early manuscript.

To Mark Pettus and Lisa Diane Kastner of the fledgling Picolata Review, for accepting a sliver of a story that would later become this book.

To historian and activist Doug Chin, for his charismatic and inspirational insights.

To Jan Johnson, owner of the Panama Hotel, for a
three-hour
tour of the basement and her relentless dedication to preserving the spirit of Nihonmachi. Without her, the Panama would have been bulldozed into oblivion by now.

To the staff and volunteers of Seattle’s Wing Luke Asian Museum, for remembering what others might choose to forget.

To Grace Holden, for allowing me to channel the spirit of her father.

To my über-agent, Kristin Nelson, for her relentless optimism. (And Sara Megibow, because where would Batman be without Robin? Where would peanut butter be without jelly? Where would KISS be without makeup?)

And finally to the saintly Jane von Mehren, Libby McGuire, Brian McLendon, Kim Hovey, Allyson Pearl, Porscha Burke, and the amazing team at Ballantine – for welcoming Henry and Keiko with open arms.