The 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.