A Secret Society…and a Giveaway

ByJulie Klassen
48 Comments

If you have read my latest book, The Innkeeper of Ivy Hill, you may recognize the ladies in these photos. Well, not “recognize them” exactly, but their names will sound familiar to you.

Tantalizing Ladies with my hubby at the Ivy Hill book signing.

 

In the book, the village of Ivy Hill has a “secret society” of women who get together to help and support each other as women managing businesses of various kinds. I named them The Ladies Tea & Knitting Society. This group was inspired by my favorite real-life book club: The Tantalizing Ladies Tea: A Christian Book Coterie.

The Ladies Tea & Knitting Society: Fun Facts

Beverly  “B.” Snyder, laundress (Bev did her own research and discovered that laundresses were the lowest of the low. Whoops!)

Kristine Klein, piano tuner (I’ve since learned that Kristine hates playing the piano and did all she could to shorten her lessons as a child.)

The Cook sisters (Judy & Sherri) showing off their lace.

The Cook sisters, lace makers (Not sisters in real life, but couldn’t resist making them sisters in the book, since they have the same last name.)

Mrs. Mennell, almshouse matron (Shari is a talented quilter–see her gorgeous quilted trivet below. Might have to work that into a future book…)

Phyllis Burlingame, carter (At least this fictional cart driver is not the club member who recently drove onto someone’s lawn! 🙂 )

Becky Morris, sign-painter (Oh, Becky. You are such a good sport and so perfectly cast as the group’s chief mischief maker!)

(Kelly and “Mrs. O’Brien” were sadly absent this time. But Bev’s daughter-in-law and granddaughter filled in as special guests.)

I know I’ve posted about this book club and their amazing afternoon teas in the past, and Lord willing I will do so again, because visits with them have been a highlight of each new book release for several years now.

This year was especially memorable, as we had fun discussing their namesakes in the book. Though they are not main characters, the women add humor and warm bonds of friendship to the story. The characters are fictional, of course, and in some cases I had to tweak their names for historical credibility. Nor do their situations in life mirror reality. Even so, it has been such a pleasure to honor these women and their friendship in this small way.

Hostess Mrs. Klein, Mrs. Snyder and Mrs. Klassen

 

I fear I made the ladies nervous this time, because I kept a notebook beside me and threatened to put their humorous lines into the next book. I did take a few notes, but mostly I was too busy laughing at all their shenanigans!

Then, as the afternoon wound down, Sherri added a poignant note by reading a lovely letter she wrote about what it meant to them to find themselves characters in a novel. I promised not to post the letter without editing it, but will paraphrase a few lines: “We went from crazy book club friends to being characters in a novel. You put the spotlight on our friendship and we became REAL… like grown up Velveteen Rabbits. You made us realize we really do love each other and love being together….”

Their pleasure in each other’s company is readily evident, and it’s a privilege to join them, as I’m sure other authors who’ve done so could attest to as well. I found Sherri’s letter quite touching, especially as I’m a lifelong admirer of the book, The Velveteen Rabbit. Have you read it?

These ladies have often blessed me with special gifts, including wonderful handmade items (so much talent in this group). This year was no exception. And creative Mrs. Snyder made it extra special by making laundry soap and sweet-smelling hand soap with charming Ivy Hill labels. I love them! For fun, I’d like to give away two bars of heavenly smelling, handcrafted Ivy Hill soap. To enter, just leave a comment below.

 

 

Do you have a close group of friends or special book club? Hope so! Thanks for reading.

Discover more from Inspired by Life . . . and Fiction

Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.

JULIE KLASSEN loves all things Jane—Jane Eyre and Jane Austen. She worked in publishing for sixteen years and now writes full time. Three of her novels have won the Christy Award for Historical Romance. Julie and her husband have two sons and live in St. Paul, Minnesota.

48 Comments

  1. I think it is such a blessing to have special group of friends to have tea with & to share in laughter & ideas! I have a few very special kindred spirits in my life & I’m very thankful for the times that we have with each other! I would love to join a book club one day. It has definitely been written on the bucket list 🙂

  2. I have a wonderful book club, although not with such a creative name! We are meeting today, as it happens, and also you should know we’ve read several of your books and loved them!

    I recently finished your Ivy Hill book…really enjoyed it and look forward to the next in the series!

    1. How fun that you honored this wonderful book club! They seem like women I would love to know….although they are more talented than I am!

  3. What a blessing to have such a special group of friends to spend time with! Your blog has inspired me to reach out to my friends and try to organize a book club or something similar. It would be such fun!I really enjoy your books, Julie, and am looking forward to reading this one.

  4. What fun! The love of books is a wonderful common denominator. Sounds like a special group of ladies. Unfortunately, I do not have a close group of friends or book club. Thanks for the opportunity to win!

  5. I loved seeing your photos and learning about the connection between the book club and the Ladies Tea & Knitting Society in your latest book. What fun! I had a delightful Skype meeting with this book club when they read one of my books. It’s such a treat to connect with reading friends and share books and how they touch our hearts and lives. Thanks for sharing, Julie!

  6. Really enjoyed reading this post. The ladies sound delightful! You have inspired me to look for a book club at our awesome local library! I am blessed with a household of all guys ( husband and 3 sons) and they aren’t all that interested in Christian fiction! Ha!
    Love your books! You are an Awesome Author!

  10. It’s a blessing to have a supportive network of friends that share a common interest(s). What an inspiring group of ladies! I enjoy the love and support of many God-fearing women. And I love conversing with bloggers who share my love of books. What a joy life can be. ( :

  12. What a wonderful group of ladies, and such a blessing of support to you and your books, Julie! And so talented. The food and decorations were gorgeous. I love that you honored them in your book. What a fun and lovely idea!

  15. It is fun to read about authors that we read from! Celebrities as well as God’s children!!!Thank you for sharing!

  18. I live in a senior apartment building. We had a book club going for a while. I liked it because it got me reading books that were not my normal “Christian” reading.

  20. Not really a book club but I belong to a pen pal group and we often discuss which books we are reading. It’s so much fun!

  21. Oh my, these ladies sound delightful! This would be a wonderful group to belong to. Thank you for sharing. And Blessings to you Julie!
    Connie
    cps1950(at)gmail(dot)com

  22. Sounds like a great time was had by all. I have not read this one yet, though I do own all your books Julie as you are among my favorite authors. I’m behind on reading though, lol…too many books, too little time. I’m not part of a book club, but am in some author groups and enjoy those.

  24. Getting together with my Christian book club friends is always a highlight of my month. We are a pretty informal group but have, in the past, met with several authors whose books we’ve read. We stay pretty flexible, changing the day, time, and place to meet our needs. For February, we met at the home of one of our members, who served a delicious brunch of Swedish pancakes. Next month we’ll meet at a local coffee shop.

  26. I’m not in a book club, but I do have a great group of friends. We get together often for lunch and dinner and other activities.

  27. What a fun group of ladies–so talented and gracious! I don’t belong to a book club, but we have a group of ladies in our neighborhood that go out to lunch once a week. We enjoy eating and chatting for a while. We call ourselves The Lunch Ladies. We always have such a good time.

  28. I have always wanted to be part of a book club and in the words of Anne Shirley, find other kindred spirits! How did you find your group? You are blessed to be surrounded by such an imaginative bunch of ladies!

  29. I’m in a group of ladies from our church called women’s Missionary Union. We learn about the work of Missionaries in the Southern Baptist Convention and Do different projects to help the people in their mission field.

  30. I love Ivy Hill and can’t wait to uncover secrets and discover whose match was made in heaven in the next book, but like a petulant child, I stomp my feet a little and wait with impatience. We all love your books and put them at the top of our favorites list. I love Ivy Hill’s secret society of Women Encouragers. We all need to be part of that club.

  31. This sounds like a wonderful group of ladies. I’m sure they were thrilled to be incorporated into your book! Thanks for sharing their stories — and soap — with us!

  32. I’m very grateful for the lades the Lord has place in my life! They are such treasures.

    I love these photos. Thank you for sharing them with us.

  35. I don’t have a book club, but I feel a bit like my writer buddies are that celebration of stories for me. I hear about all of the latest great books. Have coffee with them from time to time…just the right dose of nice.

  36. What fun to have an ongoing tea party, ladies!! Yes, The Velveteen Rabbit is indeed a favorite ~ some of us are worn off but… lets the Lord shine through! Thank you for sharing this delightful “tale” of real women in your books. Such fun snippets.
    Our Thursday morning Bible study group has been meeting for years. So good to be known as you are known. My online reader groups have tendered friendships and I have one special lady I can turn to for “How do you do this?” She has taught me the missing component I had, to schedule a review in advance. She is an Anne with an “e” and a kindred for me.
    Kathleen

  38. Aah, I love being able to see who each of the book characters are in real life! And Mrs Klein is such a wonderful lady, I’ve known her most of my life!!

  39. Oh, my goodness! I do have a very special book club group, my beautiful daughters. I also have a very special group of zany friends that encourage and bless me. I have not read your books yet, but this so inspires me to pick them up. I love books about women friendships.

  43. I have the book. I haven’t had a chance to read it yet, but you’ve really made me anxious to get started.

  45. Just finished reading the book with two online friends and loved it. Can’t wait for the next installment.

    What a nice giveaway. Your friend is very talented.

Comments are closed.