You remember my friend Tayari Jones, the Cozbi-loving, turkey-carving Slanket enthusiast? Well, her third novel, Silver Sparrow, the story of two sisters - the public and the secret daughter of a bigamist - who have more in common than they think, debuts on May 25th. You can read an excerpt here. Tayari's book tour (40+ stops at libraries and independent bookstores across the country) officially kicks off this week with a launch party and signing at Greenlight Bookstore in Brooklyn. She is also featured in the June issues of Vogue and O, The Oprah Magazine and NPR's All Things Considered with Michele Norris.
Lemon Ginger Martinis for everyone!
Another pal, director Monica Mingo (also featured previously on 55 Secret Street) just returned from the Cannes Film Festival with her film When Beautiful People Do Ugly Things. Monica and her team at Team Sizzle Worldwide (Baltimore Ravens star Terrell Suggs co-wrote and produced the film) were featured in the Short Film Corner on May 11th. I was lucky enough to see extended clips from the film and believe me when I tell you, I can not wait for it to be available at a theater near you very soon.
I was sorry to miss the next installment of a Greek wine tasting I so enjoyed last year (the picture on the left is from that day) because I could not miss my sister Charrell's graduation (she is now a DPT - Doctor of Physical Therapy!) So, I thought I would make up for it by attending a tasting for Puglia: a taste from Italy's Heel. "Heel" meaning, as you may have guessed, the heel of the famous "boot" on Italy's map. I misheard one of the winemakers (his accent was heavy and my Italian is non-existent) and asked him why the region was referred to as "Italy's Hell." Haha! He got a kick out of that one...
The tasting featured wine from some of Puglia's top wine producers, including: Cantine Botromagno, Casaltrinita, Masseria Celentano - Alberto Longo and Cantine Teanum. Every vendor presented wines culled from grapes from the Apulia region (Aglianico, Primitivo and Nero di Troia). I enjoyed the Primitivo from Cantine Teanum, a smooth, slightly sweet white reminiscent of Pinot Grigio and the Pier delle Vigne, a blend of Aglianico and Montepulciano. The latter literally translates to "Peter of the vines" and is named after Pier delle Vigne, the right-hand man of Frederick II of Swabia. He was the one who introduced the first red-wine grapes to the area.
Meanwhile, my newest online venture Vintage Black Glamour was recently featured on TheRoot.com as one of The Root's Faves: The Top 12 Tumblrs and has a healthy following on Facebook and Twitter. All very encouraging as I continuing working on the book...
