Michelle Richmond

Fog in Brentwood

I’m delighted to announce that The Year of Fog is the 2010 pick for Brentwood CityRead in Brentwood, California– part of the Contra Costa County Library One City One Book program. Other cities are reading Highest Duty (Sully Sullenberger), Cutting for Stone (Abraham Verghese), and The Street of a Thousand Blossoms (Gail Tsukiyama).

About the program: “Brentwoodians” are invited to read The Year of Fog. Check out your copy of the book from Brentwood Library using the honor system – a library card is not required. When you are finished with the book, pass it on to a friend or return it to the Brentwood Library. Books can be picked up for free at the following locations:
* Brentwood Chamber of Commerce, 8440 #C Brentwood Blvd.
* Brentwood Press, 248 Oak Street
* Los Medanos College/Brentwood Center, 101 A Sand Creek Road
* Peet’s Coffee & Tea, 5411 Lone Tree Way
* Starbucks, 2530 Sand Creek Road, 8610 Brentwood Blvd, 3150 Balfour Road and 14804 Highway 4 (Discovery Bay)
* Summerset 1 Library, 1675 Crispin Drive
* Willy’s Bagles & Blends, 1155 Second Street, Suite D, and 390 West Country Club Drive.

On the inside cover of each book is a reading log to initial your name after you finish reading your copy. Complete the flipside of the bookmark in each book and return it to the library.

The Brentwood Library will host a free author program: California on My Mind on Saturday, October 30th at 2:00pm at the Brentwood Senior Center, 193 Griffith Lane, Brentwood. Join me there to discuss the novel.

Video interview on Book Writing World

The wonderful Elizabeth Stark, author and publisher of Book Writing World, has just posted an interview that she conducted with me in my home. Subjects discussed: grappling with plot, the joys of research, process, my postpartum anonymous sex blog, and more…

Thanks to Angie Powers for shooting the film and to both Elizabeth and Angie for editing it and getting it out into the world!

View the video here.

Late night at Chez Panisse

So we have reservations tonight at Chez Panisse Cafe to celebrate a friend’s birthday. I’m super excited about the “grilled Wolfe Ranch quail with Romano beans, roasted figs, watercress, and sage,” and hopefully someone will order the “Becker Lane Farm pork loin roast with wild fennel, peperonata, and fried okra.” I mean, there’s not much I won’t do for figs and fried okra, and everybody knows you pick your entree based upon what it’s served with. What good is a perfect leg of lamb if you have to eat it with polenta? (Yes, I admit, you can take the girl out of Alabama, but…if I’m going to have polenta, why not just go all the way and eat grits instead?)

Unfortunately, the earliest available slot was 9:30. Maybe I’m showing my age, or maybe I’m just not very European, but I’m thinking 9:30 is way too late to sit down for dinner. Cocktails? Bring them on! Dinner? I’m just not hungry. I mean, I’m hungry for chocolate, but that’s different.

In your opinion, how late is too late for dinner?

This post originally appeared on my SFGate blog.

Help me map the fog

Some time ago, I began building an interactive map of THE YEAR OF FOG, so that readers can follow Abby through the streets of San Francisco as she searches for Emma. The map contains images, text from the novel, and personal reflections on places that hold a special meaning for me. Now, I’m looking to expand the map, with your help. If there’s a specific location from the book that you want to see incuded, please send me the page number and any text from the book that you would like to accompany the marker. I’m also trying to build an image gallery for the map, so any personal photographs from readers would be much appreciated! Please email images and suggestions to fogtalk at g mail dot com; please include your name so that I can credit you. View the complete map, along with a list of mapped locations and street view capabilities, here.

View Interactive Map of San Francisco, based on the novel THE YEAR OF FOG in a larger map