Robert Gardner was a colorful judge in Orange County that loved to go bodysurfing—sometimes between hearing cases. Judge Gardner was also the author of “The Art of Body Surfing” (1972) and “Bawdy Balboa” (1992), about growing up in Newport Beach.
Judge Gardner passed away in 2005 at age 93, but his daughter, Nancy Gardner, has continued the family legacy.
Nancy Gardner, who graduated from Newport Harbor High School, was elected to the Newport Beach City Council in 2006 and 2010 and was named Mayor in 2011.
She is also an author, having written the novel “Here Comes the Judge,” about a martini-loving retired judge named Jake and his environmentally minded daughter, Sam, who on a whim become private investigators and take on a case that turns out to be more serious than they expected.
The book is laced with colorful characters and classic Newport Beach settings – from beach bars like Malarky’s to renowned local restaurants such as Quiet Woman – that make this a must-read for anyone who loves a good noir mystery, especially one with so many familiar local haunts.
According to Gardner, she and her father had talked about writing a book together before he passed away.
“It was my father’s idea,” said Gardner during an interview on the patio of Peet’s Coffee in Corona del Mar. “We wrote a version of it probably 30 years ago and thought we had a publisher, but then things happened. Years later I picked it up and said well, the story’s no longer relevant, but the characters work.”
The descriptions of Jake in the novel almost make him seem like a larger-than-life character who does things spur of the moment—in between enjoying a martini or two. “You start off and things take on a life of their own, so there is a lot of my father in there, but of course there’s a lot that’s exaggerated,” explained Gardner. “He would just roll with all the changes. He was really the one that would say, ‘Why don’t we do this?’”
Gardner plans to read several chapters from her novel but also talk about her father and his career so that readers can understand how his Jake character came into shape. She also intends to talk about changes she has seen growing up in Newport Beach because those changes inform her character, Sam.
So what was Gardner’s writing process for “Here Comes the Judge?”
“I’ll write one day and the next day I’ll go back and look at what I wrote, and maybe make some changes, and then once I get a draft, I put it away for a little while, and then bring it out. I’m a big rewriter. I do better if I don’t try to lock into a plot too tightly, but sort of let the things happen—although I will make a diagram afterwards, just to make sure that all the dots line up.”
Nancy Gardner will discuss her book at the Oasis Senior Center on Thursday, June 25 from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Doors open at 6 p.m. with first come, first-served seating. Coffee and desserts will be served. Guests will have an opportunity to engage with Nancy through a Q&A session. Tickets are free for Newport Beach Historical Society members and $10 for non-members.
Visit www.newportbeachhistorical.org/events to purchase tickets.
The Newport Beach Historical Society connects people: past, present and future. NBHS collects, inspires, educates, preserves and protects the unique and vibrant history of the City of Newport Beach. This includes Balboa, Corona del Mar, Newport Harbor, its islands and offshore, the Back Bay, Newport Coast and Newport Mesa. The Newport Beach Historical Society was formed in 1967. It was incorporated as a non-profit 501c3 organization in December 2014. Visit the Historical Society museum at the Balboa Fun Zone.
