Diane's Tea Party at the Officer's Club
In this month's Wet Noodle Posse ezine I wrote about my mother and how her involvement in Fort McClellan's Officers' Wives Club made her a Superheroine during the Civil Rights era.
Within a week of my article appearing, I received an invitation to an Officers' Wives Club! Is that not synergy or what?
The Fort Meade, Maryland, Officers' Wives Club invited me and other historical romance authors to attend an old fashioned Tea this Wednesday, Feb 21. One of the officers' wives, Kim Lowe, came up with this idea and it has mushroomed! There are about 10 authors attending, including Mary Jo Putney and Cathy Maxwell. Even Kathryn Falk, the founder of RomanticTimes Book Reviews magazine is attending. Kathryn is a great supporter of the soldiers stationed overseas in Afganistan and Iraq and of their wives at home.The tea should be great fun. For every piece of vintage clothing the attendees wear, they will receive chances to win a prize. I asked Melanie Murray, my Warner editor, if Warner could donate any books. She sent me 15. I'm putting them all in a pretty tote bag for a giveaway.
It would be terrific to give away copies of my new book, Innocence and Impropriety by Diane Gaston (due in bookstores March 1) to all the attendees but there's going to be about 100 of them! So I'm going to give away books only to those at my tea table.I wanted to make my books look special and I hit upon the idea of wrapping them in a lady's handkerchief and tying them with a ribbon. I found these lovely handkerchiefs in an online store. They even had roses on them. The heroine in Innocence and Impropriety is named Rose.
I am driving up to Fort Meade, about an hour away, with my friend Sally MacKenzie. Sally writes those "Naked" Regency books - The Naked Duke, The Naked Marquis, and her latest The Naked Earl.I'm expecting to have a wonderful time!
Have you ever been to an Officers' Wives Club? Or to a tea? My favorite tea time was in the Pump Room in Bath, where Jane Austen drank the waters. It was on my first England trip--Mary Balogh came and she treated our whole group!
Cheers!
Diane
Mary Cassatt's "Tea" courtesy of Athenaeum.com
Countdown to Innocence and Impropriety hitting the bookstores - 9 days
Countdown to Gerard Butler in 300 - 18 days
posted by Diane Gaston @ 10:11 AM
7 Comments:
What a delightful idea for presenting your gifts. I love your little ideas. I still get comments about my own personal Rake. LOL!
I attended a proper afternoon tea when I lived in London. My aunt's friends arranged the party for my benefit. They all agreed I needed to experience at least one in my life. I look back and regret that I did not appreciate it more. They were wonderful, generous women.
Have fun at your tea, and don't forget to tell us all about it! :-)
Diane, your new cover is gorgeous -- as they all have been. The tea sounds like it'll be fun. Telly Sally I said "Hi". :)
And LOL on the Countdown to 300.
Do you know Sally, Trish? My goodness it is a small world.
Judy, was it a tea in a private home? I'll bet that was special. Every Christmas season, my friend Mary Blayney (watch for her anthology wth JD Robb coming soon)hosts a tea for my friends Julie and Lavinia and I at our local Ritz Carlton, but that is not a private tea. It is lovely anyway though.
I love the handkerchiefs that you found, Diane. Those are beautiful. What a great idea. I have been to one tea in Los Angeles and I forget the name of the place but I had the best time ever.
I can't wait to read your book! Have fun at your tea tomorrow.
Yes, Diane, it was in the private home of three sisters, with a wonderful huge, old-fashioned, low-ceiling kitchen and an herb garden out in the back. They invited several friends so I wouldn't feel like everything was focused on me, for which I was very grateful. I was very quiet and simply absorbed the experience.
Cheerio! ;-)
It sounds like a memory to treasure, Judy!
Diane
Absolutely love your cover. Great blog.
Post a Comment
<< Home
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]