2014 Delicious Reads Book Club Retreat

Welcome to our first annual Delicious Reads Retreat!

This retreat has been in the works since the very beginning of the year. I have been fussing over it and worrying about all the details for the whole year because I wanted to spoil my members and kick off the holiday season with a BANG!

{Swag Bags}

I envisioned from the beginning of planning that I wanted to give each of our members a Swag Bag of goodies to take home with them and that's just what I did.

We came up with this tote that looks like a piece of paper. One of our members sewed them all and we will post a DIY for them very soon which I will link to!

Thank you to all the companies that donated items to put in our swag bags!

CENTS OF STYLE for the darling colored stud earrings

RUBY BLOOM BOUTIQUE for the gold chain necklaces

THE BEST IN UTAH for the gift bags full of LOTS of fun surprises

BELLE ROSE CONFECTIONS for the delicious "Hot Chocolate on a Stick"

I also want to thank the people who donated items for our raffle that went on all night long, awww yeah!

*THE BEYOUTY BUREAU for donating the awesome gift bag full of cosmetic goodies!

*UNFORGETTABLE JULES for the darling gold flamingo necklaces

*THE KINGS ENGLISH BOOKSHOP for donating a gift bag along with a $15 gift card

*PUREZA SALON & MEDI SPA for donating three gorgous Frankie Rose lipsticks and some   Kerastase hair product.

 DELICIOUS READS donated some Harney and Sons pumpkin spice tea (one of my favorites), some  library themed thank you cards, "Sense & Sensibility" book and a cute Jane Austin reading quote. {FREE PRINTABLE AT THE END OF THIS POST!}

*CLASSY COSMETICS for donating a coupon good for a 1 time makeup application.

*RUBY RIVER STEAKHOUSE for donating two $50.00 gift cards!

*PERSNICKETY PRINTS for the $25.00 gift certificate

AND a big Thank You to all of the Book Club Members who helped in getting donations!

Our newest book club member is sweet baby "Ryo" Summers son. He was in baby heaven being surrounded by so many women who wanted to hold and snuggle him!

 {Author Visit}

One of our favorite authors, Teri Harman, came up to our retreat to talk about her new book that we read for the month of October, "Black Moon"
See our review of Black Moon, our meeting details and photos with Teri HERE.

We had a delicious spread of food to devour (which we did no problem)

{Italian Soda Bar}

We had to have an Italian Soda Bar! If you're looking for Syrup check out the Holiday Syrup on Amazon: (2 Vanilla, Hazelnut, Peppermint, Gingerbread and Caramel) or you could go Traditional (with Caramel, French Vanilla, Vanilla, Raspberry, Peppermint and Hazelnut)

{Decorations}

We brought a few decorations to celebrate "Black Moon" the 2nd Book in The Moonlight Trilogy but we kept it simple since we were not having a typical meeting.

But, you should check out the over the top book party we threw for Teri's first book BLOOD MOON if you'd like ideas and inspiration!

 

{Birthday Wishes}

One of our members and blog contributors ROBIN had her actual birthday at the retreat so we wanted to make sure we celebrated it with her. She is so dedicated and we love her for spending her special day with us!

{Photo Booth Shenanigans}

You can't have a girly get together without a photo booth!

Find these free printable word bubbles for your photo booth HERE

We stayed up photo boothing, painting our nails, listening to dance music, and talking about anything and everything until the wee hours of the night. We went to bed so late, like 4:00 am late, but we had to get some sleep because we had the important task of picking out our books for 2015 in the morning!

Oh and I am so excited for all the books we choose to read!

All in all I think we had a FABULOUS retreat that we will continue to do year after year!

{FREE PRINTABLE}

To download just click on the image you prefer and save to your computer.
Each print was designed as a 5x7.
Enjoy!

CREDIT**All photos were taken by the talented Summer Nicole Photography 

Thanks again to Teri Harman for coming to our retreat,we always love having you!

DONATIONS:

CENTS OF STYLE 

RUBY BLOOM BOUTIQUE 

THE BEST IN UTAH

BELLE ROSE CONFECTIONS 

THE BEYOUTY BUREAU 

UNFORGETTABLE JULES 

THE KINGS ENGLISH BOOKSHOP 

PUREZA SALON & MEDI SPA 

CLASSY COSMETICS 

RUBY RIVER STEAKHOUSE 

PERSNICKETY PRINTS 

Author Interview with Teri Harmon about "Black Moon"

Teri

Title of the Book: Black Moon

Author: Teri Harman

Publisher: Jolly Fish Press

Number of Pages: 416

Year Published: 2014

Reading Level: Young Adult-Adult

Genre: Young Adult/Fantasy

Synopsis: Simon Howard accidentally killed three people. Four months later, the nightmares won’t stop. Willa Fairfield, his girlfriend, his soul mate, wants nothing more than to help him move on. But guilt isn’t the only thing getting in Simon’s way.When unexplained earthquakes hit the small town of Twelve Acres, and dozens of people go missing, the Light witches discover their most feared enemy, Archard, is still alive. Employing the twisted, dynamic magic of a legendary witch known as Bartholomew the Dark, Archard plans to exact his revenge and take control of the Powers of the Earth on the night of the black moon, a rare lunar event infamous for Dark magic.As the Light Covenant fumbles to defend against Archard’s sadistic intentions, Simon’s magic grows inexplicably more powerful, even dangerous.  Willa throws all her efforts into solving the mystery of Simon’s transformation, but when the events of the past storm into the present, the couple’s future changes forever.

We invited Teri Harman last year at the launch of Blood Moon, the first book in her Moonlight Trilogy. Check out these links to read all about OUR BOOK REIVEW OF BLOOD MOON and SEE THE HUGE WITCH PARTY we threw for her in 2013!

This year she came to our first Delicious Reads Retreat!

Summer Nicole Photography

Summer Nicole Photography

Summer Nicole Photography

We read Black Moon for our Halloween selection and loved catching up with Simon and Willa. We were able to get some insights from Teri on the creation of Black Moon.

Summer Nicole Photography

First, we asked if she had actors in mind when she created her characters because we had so much fun doing that for The Goldfinch! 

But Teri said she created her characters from scratch. There are characteristics from certain people in her life, but she didn’t want to base them on actual people. If she had to pick actors for her characters, Jonathan Rhys Meyers would be Archard and and Jensen Ackles would be Simon.

Teri is a big Buffy the Vampire fan. Buffy is what influenced her to create a strong female character. Willa was actually named something different in the first draft, but it didn’t quite fit. Willa means “protector” and she wanted Willa to possess that quality, so the name fit perfectly.

Her books move back and forth between times and so we wondered what her favorite era to write the story was.

Teri loved writing from Bartholomew’s perspective He wasn’t always going to be a main character, but he had this voice that captivated her and she knew his story had more depth and that it needed to be told.

Summer Nicole Photography

We asked her about her writing process. When she started writing the series, she had young children. Her process revolved around a desk that they purchased from Ikea. It was supposed to be painted, but it never happened and they put inspiring quotes on it. Now she loves it so much she won’t ever paint it. Eventually she  created a home office which is where she writes now.

We were curious if she had met people that practice some of the Wicca spells and rituals. She has, and they describe their practices as another version of a religion. They invoke power from the moon or from the spells in a similar way to prayer. A black moon is very important and is almost its own religion. A black moon is the second new moon in a month and it happens every few years. 

Summer Nicole Photography

Each full moon every month has a specific name and specific things that are attached to it. 

(image source) 

She added in the psychic mind and dreams to the powers of the moon. If she could have one of the powers, it would be the gift of dreams. She has very vivid dreams and many of them have been incorporated into the books.

We asked her about the terminology “witches.” Some of us thought that a male witch would be called a “Warlock.” But she told us that according to Wicca, the term “witch” is used for both men and women.

Summer Nicole Photography

One of the most difficult things about writing Black Moon was the trying to avoid the second book slump. She wrote forty-five thousand words (as a reference, most young adult books are about sixty-five thousand words) and then decided it wasn’t the story she was supposed to write. She did a very brave thing that no writer wants to do—she trashed the whole thing and started over. Then she came up with the twisty plot that is now Black Moon! All and all, Black Moon went through about ten different drafts. She said the toughest part was to make the story feel fresh with the same characters as the first book. She worked really hard to make the second book even better than the first.

Her work paid off when she got this Kirkus Review: 

"A dark, realistic and intriguing story that evades the second-book slump. 

Unusual and absorbing."

What’s next for Teri?? She has written a stand-along book called The Painted Life. It’s about a girl who is trapped in a painting and it comes out next June! We are so excited to see what this book is all about! 

Black Moon was a perfect Halloween/Fall book chock-full of twists and turns. We had a great time with Teri at our retreat. She has already finished the last book in her series and it’s in the final editing stages. We can’t wait for it to come out!

Your Writerly Ranter,

Brooke

Summer Nicole Photography

"Blood Moon" {by Teri Harman} Book Club Ideas

Say hello to the kindest, sweetest, most wonderful witch in the West...

Author Teri Harman

(Photo credit for all pictures goes to Bethany Madison)

Isn't this cover gorgeous?! We couldn't have chosen a better book for our October book club!

If you are planning on hosting your own Blood Moon book club then you definitely need to request one of these awesome book club packages from Teri. Inside I found menu ideas, questions, moon information, signed book marks and more!
To request your own book club package then simply go HERE 

FOOD & DECORATIONS:

So, no pressure or anything, but when the author of  the book we're reading COMES to our book club, I tend to want everything to be perfect and step things up an extra five notches!

With that being the case, I did the smart thing and recruited one of my book club members who's creativity and talents have no boundaries...I called the beautiful Bethany and I definitely made the right decision!!

(Bethany and Chanel)

Just take a gander at the Blood Moon inspired decorations and food table Bethany whipped together...

I need to thank Robin for getting these stunning moon phase prints that we turned into vertical banners!

Witch Water and
Bartholomew's spell that requires an owls heart and eyes in the cauldron to work its dark magic.

Here's the menu from our meeting

 I think this might have been one of our most decadent and delicious book club feasts to date!

We had Rowans Risotto, Earthy Root Vegetables, Simon's Salad & SOOOO much more!

True Coven Caramel Apples and Rose infused whipped cream with fresh fruit

Doussantz....drool....
(If you want to try a dossantz {cousin to the cronut} then check out their website for more info!)

Dreamy Lavender Shortbread Cookies, Dossantz and Blood Moon Cake Pops!!

Butterbeer!!

If you want your taste buds to try something AMAZING then you need to try BUTTERBEER. And YES, I'm talking about the butterbeer from Harry Potter and YES, it's a real thing, and YES, you need to try it.

I labeled ours "Bartholomew's Butterbeer" and let me tell you, Brittanie did a great job creating the most perfect frothy, buttery goodness! YUM!
(And doesn't it look perfect in Bethany's cauldron punchbowl?)
Click HERE to download two different Butterbeer recipes if you want to make your mouth smile!

And look at these beauties that Angie made...food art right?
These delicate and scrumptious lavender flavored shortbread cookies not only looked dreamy but taste dreamy as well! I am in love with them!
You can find the recipe that Angie used HERE.

Now, if you like a good salad and I mean, a GOOOOOOOD salad, then you need to make this gourmet green salad that Karen made and whose recipe is ALWAYS requested when she makes it! You will crave it for days after you eat it, it's that tasty!

Download the secret recipe HERE!

Lastly, you HAVE to try Libby's Cinnamon Spiced Pepita's (pumpkin seeds) that are simply addictive!

The recipe is super simple and super delicious so what are you waiting for?

Download the recipe HERE.

Take a peek some of our resident witches...

Bethany, Teri and me

GAME, PRIZES & DISCUSSION:

I ordered this RAD spell book as part of the "Best Dressed" prize and I almost didn't give it away because I loved it so much! Every good witch needs this book in her collection.

I found this awesome moonstone pendant and made it into a necklace as part of the "Monthly Moon Names" prize along with an entire box of moon pies!(The quiz printable can be found at the bottom of this post)

Here are a few of the items I put in Teri's thank you gift:
A mint moonstone necklace and earrings, a fun owl ring (I knew that Teri liked owls.)
A Moon Spells book, an essential for any witch, and of course, a moon pie!

WINNERS!
Libby won the moon name quiz and Brooke won the drawing for Best Dressed!

Teri is explaining her inspiration behind why she wrote Blood Moon and showing us photos of the creepy old school house that started it all. Read more about her inspiration HERE!

We were all totally engrossed learning about Teri and asking her question after question about the book AND her next book, "Black Moon," due to come out fall of 2014.
To read more about our Q&A with Teri and our discussion then go HERE to read about our evening!

After our discussion, Teri was kind enough to sign everyone's books and take pictures.
Isn't her witch outfit perfect?! 

We want to give Teri a BIG THANK YOU for taking the time to come to Delicious Reads book club and making our evening forever memorable. 

PRINTABLES & FREEBIES!

If you are hosting your own Blood Moon book club meeting then you're in luck because I have TONS of great FREEBIES for you to use to make your evening extra witch-tacular! (See what I did there?)

Chanel had this fabulous idea to recreate a moment out of the book by using several fresh herbs out of her garden along with a kosher salt pentagram. She filled several red goblets with different herbs and I created these labels to identify each of them.
Click HERE to download the herb label set.

{Click on quiz image to download it along with the answer key}

If you want to learn about why each month's moon has a different name then you can read about them HERE in this word document I made.

I made and used these eerie tags for the quiz and best dressed winners.

Download them HERE

Here are some blank food labels that you can use to create your own witch inspired menu with.
Download them HERE

Don't forget to read the review from our fabulous evening with author Teri Harman HERE!