Tuesday, August 1, 2017

Hailey's Novel Diary – 8/1/17

There is a restaurant on Santa Monica Boulevard west of the 405 freeway called Cafe 50's. The name drives me crazy. Since it is a 1950s themed restaurant, with 1950s decorations on the wall, soda fountains and waitresses in ugly diner uniforms, it should be Cafe '50s. The apostrophe before the decade replaces the century – 1950s becomes '50s. Everyone knows that, right?

No one cares about grammar on Facebook, but this is a business. Not only does the sign over their door read “Cafe 50's”, but so do their menus and everything on their website. They are saying that it belongs to Cafe 50. I really don't think that is what they mean.

I don't know how accurate their '50s theme is. I was born long after, as I'm sure were most of the customers and people who work there. But it's a restaurant, so it does not have to be historically accurate. But is it too much to ask that a '50s themed business know the difference between the '50s and 50's?

Sometimes you have to do a lot of research when you write a book. Since this one takes place in Los Angeles, I have had to look up a lot of streets and landmarks. I have been to the city, but the more I look into it, the more I realize how much of it I never knew.

Something I don't have to research are the plays and playwrights I'm mentioning. One of the characters is from New York and is more familiar with Broadway than Sunset. That gives me the chance to drop a few names that don't normally come up.










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