Planning the Perfect Book Club Meeting with Sisters of the Vine by Linda Rosen

Guest post by author Linda Rosen

Wouldn’t you love to stand on a hillside vineyard amongst grapevines, full to bursting with plump luscious fruit? Have the sun warming your shoulders as you look out in the distance to a wide river flowing downstream? Well, you can have all that reading my newest novel, Sisters of the Vine. And wouldn’t it be great to actually go to a vineyard with your book club, taste some bold reds and crisp whites with your friends, while chatting about the story? Sisters of the Vine is a mash-up of Laura Dave’s Eight Hundred Grapes and the movie, A League of Their Own. It’s a story of one woman’s determination to keep the land she loves and the sisterhood formed around her. And, yes, there’s wine!

During this ever-so-long pandemic, your book club might not want to take a trip to a vineyard. That’s completely understandable. Stay safe! So, how about doing your own wine tasting? Liz and the women in the story make some terrific wines. If you’re in the Hudson Valley Region, all the better. That’s where the book is set. Get some Hudson Valley wines, pour, sip and talk about Liz, Rick, Bobbi and the others. There’s lots to discuss! Characters you’ll love and those you’ll love to hate. And if you’re not near that beautiful area in New York, sample wine from anywhere. Some of my favorites come from Australia and New Zealand! Let’s make it even more fun. The novel is set in the 1960s and ‘70s. Don your hippy beads, hip hugger jeans, and granny dresses (none of my characters wear those long dresses). Play some Beatles songs, James Taylor, Olivia Newton John – all whose songs are mentioned in the novel. And dig into Liz and all the characters. I love her dad. Hope you will, too.

Here are some questions to get you started.

1. In Chapter 18, Liz refers to her sister, Kristin, as Gloria Steinem. In chapter 49, Kristin and Liz
are, again, having a conversation where equal rights for women are addressed. To use a term
from Liz’s era, do you see her as a woman who is raising her consciousness?

2. Liz is in denial about Rick’s cheating for a long time. Is this typical of most women?

3.  What differences do you see in Liz from women in their twenties and thirties today from women of her era?

4. Other than Rick, there are several male characters in the story. Consider each. Who would win
“Most Likeable Male Character? Why? Who would come in second?

There are more questions listed in the back of the book. Gather your club together, grab a glass
of wine and have fun discussing. Better yet, invite me! I’d love to join you and chat about my
inspiration for this novel, my road to publication, why I created these particular characters and
chose this setting. I can join you virtually, or if you’re comfortable with a gathering and not too
far from me, I’ll drive over. And I’ll even bring a bottle!

Please contact me via my website www.linda-rosen.com. If you’d like to keep up with my
writing, book recommendations, and musings about writing, sign up for Linda’s Tea Room, my
infrequent newsletter, also on the website.

Thanks! Enjoy the novel. Let’s chat.

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