Circumstances constrained physical get-togethers, so off to the Interwebs it was! I celebrated the launch of my book with two online events, with people all over the US.
The first was a virtual gathering with members of the village that made Eat, Drink & Be Wary possible. Some were longtime pals, now far flung, who’d accompanied me on restaurant reviews way back when or contributed memories or quotes or ideas for my essays. Some had proofed the manuscript; two created the book’s design. Most had not seen each other in decades. A few had never met, and it was fun to watch people connecting faces and voices to names they’d been hearing from me for years. (And to watch Ben’s ever-changing Zoom backdrops — The Tardis in Edward Hopper’s Nighthawks, indeed.)
Oh, and Matthew Foster (designer of this website, creator of the initial cover treatment and fellow Aquarian) demonstrated Party Out of Bounds, the Dark & Stormy-inspired cocktail he created for the book. (The recipe for it and companion snack are at the bottom of this post).
For this audience only I read the tale of my favorite restaurant review visit ever, to an ill-conceived place that opened on the brink of disaster, I believe this was my longest Zoom event yet. Three hours? Four? It didn’t matter.
The second was a special Launch Time version of the Lunchtime Story Reading for Adults that Suzanne Savoy has been curating for the Lewes Public Library in Lewes, Delaware. Twice a week from March 2020 through June 2021, the program has featured live short story readings by a dazzlingly talented stable of actors. Three did the honor of reading selections from Eat, Drink & Be Wary: Suzy, the versatile and hysterical Deborah Hope, who inhabits Lorelei Lee, and Paul Menzel, actor and founder of The Comedy Workshop.
