More Book Signings!

I’ve been travelling around northern New Jersey for Eat, Drink & Be Wary talks and signings!

July saw one under an arbor at Apple Acres in the West Milford Community Garden, the largest community garden in Passaic County. The garden was lush with fruits and herbs and vegetables, some of which overhung the table that Apple Acres’ proprietress set up for me. Of course I contrasted such a healthful setting with an excerpt from The Joy of Junk Food (of which there was an abundance, I should be ashamed to admit, on the refreshment table).

Bonnie, the author, Deb of the Circus Peanuts & Anne of Apple Acres

I returned to Lafayette in October for a Local Authors Showcase hosted by Black Dog Books.

November brought two appearances. I talked about the realities of being a food writer at the Jefferson Township Public Library and at the Boonton Books and Beyond! Festival sponsored by the Boonton Public Library. These venues had been in my flight path for decades, and it was fun showing up in author togs.

The JTPL event took me to a room I’ve frequented as attorney for the library board (with reps from my client in the audience, for a change!) and as organizer of a Summer Chillers film festival a decade or so back.

Boonton is a charming little town, with a main street on a hill lined with a jumble of Victorian houses and brick commercial buildings of varying vintage. I’ve had wide-ranging connections with the place — acting on the stage of the Darress Theater, a haunted (I have stories) former silent film/vaudeville house the town recently took over, taking architectural walking, reading cards at a now shuttered coffeehouse, indulging in comforting interior Mexican food at Chili Willie’s and my favorite margherita pizza at Top of the Park.

The streets were buzzing with people on the sidewalks when I arrived for the lunch the library was providing for presenters. Before I cleared half of my plate, a event rep warned that a rain and hail storm of Biblical proportions had broken out. With his help I was able to keep my tote bags of books from getting wet but … as the storm cleared, so did the crowds. Ah well. The basement of the Boonton Coffee Co. was a cozy setting, heavy on dog decor, for an intimate group.

At both events I read an excerpt again from The Joy of Junk Food (it’s a crowd pleaser) and threw in some Mariano’s memories for the Boonton audience, which had backgrounds in food service.

Virtual Author Talk Dec. 7

You asked; we’re making it happen! Kathy will be answering questions and reading excerpts from Eat, Drink & Be Wary: Cautionary Tales online.

7 PM ET, Tuesday, December 7. (Time zone converter:  https://www.thetimezoneconverter.com/.)

Our host is Noah Diamond, designer of Eat, Drink & Be Wary, Groucho to Kathy’s Mintworth, author, playwright, and clever conversationalist. 

And it’s free! Register here and you’ll get the Zoom info, plus reminders. Got questions for Kathy or Noah? Send them on!

Black Dog Books Reading & Signing

My June 1 appearance at Black Dog Books in Lafayette, NJ was a first for both of us: my first in-person reading and signing, and the store’s first in-person event since March 2020!

Longtime pal Deb Manfredonio supplied a tray of Circus Peanuts in honor of an anecdote in my bio.

Black Dog Books is not only charming and atmospheric, but fiercely supportive of local authors. The owner placed an order and scheduled the event on the spot when I handed her a review copy.

It’s in the stonewalled basement of a 19th century building, neighboring a rushing creek stocked with trout, a former vaudeville theater (#thereisnosuchthingascoincidence) and numerous historic structures now housing gift shops and eateries.

Reading & Book Signing July 24!

Historic Apple Acres is hosting an author talk and book signing!

Award-winning food writer Kathy Biehl will talk about the roles that food plays in our lives (way beyond nutrition) and read from her latest book Eat, Drink & Be Wary: Cautionary Tales. Copies will be available for purchase. If you already have it, bring your copy and Kathy will sign it!

Join her from 4-6 PM Saturday, July 24 at Apple Acres, 1064 Union Valley Road, West Milford, NJ (home to Passaic County’s largest community garden).

Eat, Drink & Be Wary explores the joys, quirks and questionable behavior that food and drink inspire.  From Houston’s burgeoning culinary landscape to late-night revelry in Britain and Barcelona to a Hell’s Kitchen TV studio, it captures a way of life we take for granted no longer, when people freely gathered at tables and counters, shared food, raised glasses, and partook of drama and laughter and magic.

It’s also very funny.

Kathy reviewed restaurants in Houston and NYC and covered the specialty food industry, for more than 30 years. Her food writing has won awards from the Association of Food Journalists and the Houston Press Club. She is also an attorney, an actress best known for the dowager role in the first revival of the Marx Brothers’ musical I’ll Say She Is, and an astrologer.

banner with golden background and two images in a dark brown rectangle, one of the cover of the book Eat, Drink & Be Wary   and to the right of that a photo of Kathy Biehl. Between the two photos centered and touching the bottom of the image is a photo of a red wooden sign in the shape of an apple and the letters APPLE ACRES in all caps. To the left of that are the words 4 to 6 PM Sat. July 24 at Apple Acres. To the right of the apple photo are the words 1064 Union Valley Road, West Milford, NJ