 Red Room Writer Profile
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Frances L Dinkelspiel's Blog
November 29, 2008
- Well, I have been out on the road for about two weeks now, talking and talking and talking about Towers of Gold, the story of my great great grandfather, Isaias Hellman, and the contribution he made to the creation of California. i have spoken to crowds of 15 (in a bookstore in Healdsburg) to crowds of 110 (at Rancho Los Alamitos in Long Beach) I have enjoyed it all. Now I am delighted to find ...
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November 11, 2008
- Today is the day I have been waiting for the last eight years. Today is the day that Towers of Gold: How One Jewish Immigrant Named Isaias Hellman Created California is officially published. Did the heavens sing to me this morning? Did stardust drop around my head as I woke up? Frankly, no. It was just another typical morning in my home in Berkeley – rush, rush, rush.Except. Except. Last night ...
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November 9, 2008
- My book, Towers of Gold, officially goes on sale November 11, and amid all the worry about reviews, publicity, and speaking engagements, I have been obsessed by an equally important question: what do I wear for my book tour?Now, I am a pants and sweater kind of gal who occasionally puts on slightly nicer pants and sweaters when I am going out. But for a book tour, I must project a more ...
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November 6, 2008
- When you write a book, it’s like you enter a vast, dark universe. There are no markers to guide you. You just fumble along, stringing sentences and paragraphs together, hoping they make sense. From the beginning, you try and create order but you know you are only fooling yourself. You really are just hanging on by your fingernails.Finally, after months of blindness, a light appears. You realize ...
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November 1, 2008
- It was cold and foggy on Thursday as I left my house in Berkeley to drive to the Jewish Community Center in Walnut Creek. I was scheduled to give a talk on my book, Towers of Gold, to those who had gathered at the center for the Contra Costa Jewish Book and Arts Festival. But I wanted to get there earlier to hear Joan Bieder speak about her book, The Jews of Singapore. And when I entered ...
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October 26, 2008
- I spent much of the weekend at Book Group Expo in San Jose. It was a fabulous gathering of authors and readers and a great way to get insight on the creative process. This is the third meeting of Book Group Expo, which is the mastermind of Anne Kent, Kathi Kamen Goldmark, and Suzanne Pari. They work for months to put together provocative panels that combine established and emerging ...
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October 18, 2008
- The Claremont Book Club must certainly be one of the oldest book groups in the nation: it has been in continuous existence for 90 years. Every month, women who live within the gates of the Claremont residential section of Berkeley -- once the most exclusive area in the East Bay -- gather to hear authors talk or to exchange books. Over the years the Claremont Book Group has heard from some of ...
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September 18, 2008
- I have been so busy gearing up for the release of my book that I have been too busy to blog. Here’s why: I have an editorial in today’s Los Angeles Times about the mortgage meltdown. Here’s are the first few paragraphs: “It's ironic that, as the mortgage crisis pushed Lehman Bros. Holdings Inc. into bankruptcy and probable demise, the storied finance house couldn't find a savior in ...
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September 12, 2008
- With two months left before the election, Bay Area writers are stepping up their efforts to raise money for Barack Obama. Ellen Sussman, the editor of Dirty Words, is hosting a $250 a head fundraiser with literary agent Ted Weinstein at her house in Los Altos on Sunday October 5. Dave Eggers, Daniel Handler, Ann Packer, and Tom Perrotta will be there. Top Bay area chefs, including Laurence ...
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September 10, 2008
- It's two months until my book comes out, and I have been getting some good news: Redroom.com, the author and reader social networking site, has named me its "Rising Star" this week. My picture and profile are featured on the site's home page. It's a great honor. Towers of Gold has been chosen as a selection for both the History Book of the Month Club and the Military Book of the ...
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September 8, 2008
- When I first started working on Towers of Gold, I spent hours in the basement of Doe Library at UC Berkeley, looking through old newspapers. At one point my brother asked me if the Los Angeles Times had been digitized and put on line, and I scoffed. Everyone knew that the only papers that were searchable on the web were the New York Times and The Wall Street Journal.Well, guess what. A few years ...
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September 3, 2008
- Vanity is a tricky thing. You think you have it under control, but then it comes out of nowhere to remind you of its firm grip. I have been experiencing this first hand in the last few months as I prepare for the preparation of Towers of Gold. I am referring, of course, to that cursed being known as the author photo. As I thought about that small picture that soon would grace the back cover ...
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September 2, 2008
- I’ve decided to make September my technology month. As a 48-year old woman who has tried, with just a smattering of success, to stay au courant with the web, I am vowing to try harder. I have had a blog for more than three years now. When I first started it, I thought I was pretty hip. “I’m a blogger,” I used to tell people at cocktail parties. ...
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August 23, 2008
- This is a picture of my great great grandmother, Esther Hellman, and her daughter Clara Hellman Heller, relaxing on the porch of their summer home, Pine Lodge. You can't see it, but they are looking out at a magnificent view of Lake Tahoe. They look so relaxed here, sitting on wicker furniture in their white cotton dresses, sipping tea, and hanging out with their dogs. This picture was probably ...
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August 19, 2008
- A book title is a tricky thing. You want it to be short and sweet so it’s easy to remember, but it also must convey what the book is about. I had originally called my book Towers of Gold: Isaias Hellman and the Creation of California. But my editor decided the subtitle wasn’t descriptive enough. In particular, he wanted to convey that the book is the story of a Jewish immigrant who rose ...
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