Cold Pizza for Breakfast: A Mem-wha?? Christine Lavin
latest news
In his book, The Smile at the Heart of Things, Brian H. Peterson decided to write about his soul and how creativity takes hold of the life of an artist. Listen in to this personal, poignat, and somewhat humorous conversation accounting the ups and downs of his life. Click below: Brian H. Peterson featured on NPR's This I Believe
Meet Barbara Bonfigli, author of Café Tempest: Adventures on a Small Greek Island at the New York Times Travel Show - Greek National Tourism Booth - Friday-Sunday February 26th - 28th. Ms. Bonfigli will present her book, screen Greek travel tip videos, and introduce the Tempestini - the world’s first retsina cocktail. Click below for more info.
Brian Peterson, author of The Smile at the Heart of Things published by Tell Me Press featured in the December 30, 2009 edition of USA Today. Click here to read the article.
Café Tempest
Café Tempest:
Adventures on a Small Greek Island
A Fictional Memoir
by Barbara Bonfigli
June 2009
hardcover ISBN: 978-0-9816453-1-5
$24.95 US ($31.95 Canada)
softcover ISBN: 978-0-9816453-2-2
$16.95 US ($21.95 Canada)
312 pages
28 illustrations, 7 recipes
Softcover edition includes readers' group
discussion questions at the end of the book.
The cultural delights of A Year in Provence, the humor and vivid prose of Zorba the Greek, the surprising self-discovery of Eat, Pray, Love
Welcome to Pharos, a small Greek island with no airport but plenty of means of escape. It’s a sparkling necklace of turquoise bays and sun-laced platias, where ice trays are still being test-marketed and donkeys have the right of way.
Your guide is Sarah, an independent thirty-something American writer and theatrical producer living in London. She’s just had a hit in the West End and a breakup with her boyfriend, and she’s returning to her favorite laid-back island to recover her equanimity.
Accompanied by her good friend Alexandra, Sarah throws herself into the vacationer’s art of swimming, daydreaming, and sharing an ouzo with her Greek pals. One is Theo, an aspiring suitor and Pharos’s only doctor. When he recruits her to direct the islanders’ summer play, she chooses Shakespeare’s The Tempest. What follows is a hilarious adventure in casting, rehearsing, and consuming, as she becomes entangled with a bunch of locals who are excited about acting but delirious about eating. Their rehearsals in a deconsecrated church become a feast in four acts.
Armed with a sizzling wit, a dangerously limited Greek vocabulary, and a pitch-perfect ear for drama, Sarah navigates the major egos and minor storms of a cab driver Caliban, a postmaster Prospero, and a host of fishermen dukes and knaves.
When she falls in love, there are even trickier seas to navigate. Her own offstage romance provides an exhilarating, unpredictable counterpoint to Shakespeare’s tale of magic, intrigue, and the power of love.
Illustrations by Gaia Franchetti
Classic Greek recipes re-created by Ana Espinosa
Café Tempest is a fictional memoir. All the names have been changed to confound the litigious and to keep away anyone not biodegradable. A small glossary will keep you in the picture when the local color gets especially bright.
meet the author
praise
“It’s a triumph! The cleverness of the dialogue, the clear differentiation of each character’s voice, the humor, the reader’s emotional empathic connection to the peaks and valleys of Sarah’s feelings. . . . Café Tempest brings the reader into a cast of characters that you don’t want to leave and into a world you don’t want to end.”
—Gordon Radley, former president of Lucasfilm Ltd.
“Barbara Bonfigli's fictional memoir is why we read books. It’s a witty and wise look at love, friendship and baklava. If you can’t make it to Greece this summer, don’t worry. Crack open a bottle of retsina, slather on the sun-block, and spend some delicious hours at Café Tempest. It's the next best thing to being there!”
—Cheryl Lavin, Chicago Sun-Times syndicated columnist, Tales from the Front
“...In Café Tempest, Barbara Bonfigli's fabulous first novel, we are invited to share a concentrated experience of food, spirit and love on an intimate Greek island. “Your heart will race with the tempestuousness of love, your mouth will water from her savory descriptions of zucchini fritters and baklava (recipes included), and you'll discover a remarkable depth of spiritual wisdom, and humor! that shines through every page. “Bonfigli plays with the best elements of Elizabeth Gilbert (Eat, Pray, Love) and Peter Mayle (A Year in Provence) and combines them with ingredients from Nikos Kazantzakis (Zorba the Greek) and Shakespeare (The Tempest) to bring us a uniquely sumptuous literary feast. Opa!”
—Michael Gelb, author of How to Think Like Leonardo Da Vinci
“Café Tempest is an original, seductive and witty tale of one magical summer on a tiny Greek island. Like the islands themselves, the story is warm and welcoming. I found myself laughing out loud.”
—Christie Hefner
New Haven Eats
by J. Scott
A friendly jaunt through this food-loving town’s dining scene sheds light on the area’s history and current social trends.
Little Lord Shiva and the Mob: Adventures with Lipbone Redding
by Lawrence “Lipbone” Redding
Travel essays, wacky memoirs, and musings from a most curious and charismatic musician.
Love, Ben
by Kelly Flint and Benjamin Eyrich
Through quotes and anecdotes, this charming gift book chronicles the extraordinary outlook, wisdom, and cheer of Benjamin Eyrich, who was diagnosed at age two with high-functioning autism.
Curiosity with a
Capital S
by Tonya Trimble
Tracy recalls her family’s move to a beautiful South Carolina island during World War II. She was always trying to keep her insatiably curious and adventurous big brother, Stan, from getting into trouble.