Frances Dinkelspiel New York Times Bestselling Author

Angie Coiro is getting ready to interview me on Oct. 7 for her radio show, In Deep. She tapes it live each week at Keplers’ Books in San Mateo.

Tangled Vines was officially published on Tuesday Oct. 6. On Wednesday, I did my first outreach for the book. I went to Kepler’s Books in Menlo Park to appear on In Deep, a radio show hosted by Angie Coiro. Many Bay Area residents will remember Angie from her days as a traffic announcer. Then she was on KQED. Now she has an independent radio show that is broadcast on WPWC in Washington D.C. as well as on the web. Angie asked some great questions about the book, the crime, and the history of wine. It was clear she had read the book (not a given in an interview) and knew its main points.

There was another plus of my visit to Kepler’s Books. I had the first sightings of my book in a bookstore. That was a thrilling moment, seeing my books stacked up at the front of the store.

The first sighting of my book at Kepler’s Books

Tonight I will do my first reading of Tangled Vines at the Mechanics’ Institute and Library in San Francisco. I decided to do my book launch there because my mother, who died five years ago, was on the board of the library for decades. She loved the place, as do I. It’s the oldest private library west of the Mississippi and was instrumental in encouraging the exploration of science and the arts when San Francisco was still a frontier city. It is continuing that today under the stewardship of Ralph Lewin. In fact, the San Francisco Chronicle just wrote a piece this week about the Mechanics and its role in the literary community.

After anticipating the release of Tangled Vines for months, it is a relief to have it out in the world. I have spent the last few weeks fretting both about the book’s reception, and about what I could do to promote it. With the Internet, Facebook and Twitter, and thousands of websites, the possibilities for promotion are endless. There are so many things to do, so many articles I could write, that I felt paralyzed. I have spoken to other writers who have experienced the same lock. The word of books has changed so much. Writers no longer just get to write and see what happens.

So I am very excited to go out on the road and talk to people about Tangled Vines, and to read parts of the book aloud. Readings are very different than the promotion game. It’s the best part of writing a book. When Towers of Gold was released, I met so many interesting people. I made a number of new, close friends as well. I am looking forward to going to bookstores, libraries, museums, etc. to talk about the work and hear people’s stories about their families, wine, and their history in California.

I hope I see some of you out there.

Here is a link to my events calendar.