Writing a novel

When I returned from NYC in late July, I began writing a novel. I just woke up one morning with a story in my mind and began. That is the reason this blog has not been updated in a while. Six months later and too many hours of research to assess, I am finally ready to piece together the bits I have written. This first part will take my main character from his home in a village in southwestern Russia, to Moscow in the second half of the 1800s, and on to Sakhalin Island in the Russian Far East. Chekhov wrote a detailed account of this penal colony when he visited it in 1890. Without Chekhov's book I would not have been able to write this portion. The character escapes from Sakhalin and makes it to Hakodate, Hokkaido, Japan and then on to Vladivostok on the mainland of the Russian Far East.

Now the hard part begins. Writing so that the story flows and the words capture what I want to tell is not, I have found, such an easy task. But I begin...

Update on Loche

Earlier I posted a piece about loche, but had no photo and only incomplete information. Above is a picture of a loche I purchased in Mercado Modelo in Chiclayo for 3 soles. It is 8 inches high. I also found an organization that is dedicated to research on and the promotion of the loche. However, this was not my finding, but the work of a woman whose blog is dedicated to food. After writing to her, she did some searching and found this organization at http://www.lamolina.edu.pe/hortalizas/loche%20Cucurbitaceae%202006%20ppt.pdf . They have pictures and information in both Spanish and English. Her blog is a wonderful compendium of information on food and has some delicious recipes www.worldonaplate.org .

My father-in-law, who has some farm land about 15 minutes (by car) from our house, asked local farmers about growing the loche. Most agreed that it had to be grown from cuttings, but one mentioned that the seed of the larger loche zapallo could be planted; a cutting taken from its vine could be planted, and the smaller loche would grow. We are going to try this.

If I were 25 to 30 years younger I would seriously consider growing loche for export. The flavor is superior to most types of pumpkin or squash. For now, we are experimenting with inventing recipes using the loche: a truly Peruvian vegetable.