"WELCOME TO MAGNOLIA FOREST" …This is how Jennie “JayBee” greeted her guests as they entered her home to discuss Deborah Johnson’s 2nd novel, “The Secret of Magic!”
Gotcha! It was a beautiful sunny afternoon for a literary luncheon as the ladies arrived dressed in summer attire, carrying bags of shoes, Pan-Tees and Petticoats (we will come back to that later)!! In an attempt to replicate Peach's home in the forest, JayBee transformed her sunroom into a whimsical space with candles, fresh flowers, polka dots, and shades of lemon, lime, and coral. As the ladies gathered and “chit-chatted” about their summer, we were served “The Secret of Magic” signature cocktail which consisted of Champagne, Peach Nectar, and Mango Sorbet' …there was also a virgin option with ginger ale in lieu of Champagne.
Opening with a prayer, JayBee then asked members to introduce their guests. Karen introduced her friend and co-worker, Valencia; and JayBee introduced her niece, Celestial, Sister-in-law, Lisa, and friends, Sharon, Natalie and Jackie.
The first course began with a choice of a chilled cucumber soup or she crab soup. Inese, who many of the ladies were familiar with, conducted the food and beverage service.
During the first course, JayBee named her superlatives:
1st to RSVP: Celeste
1st to arrive: Valencia
We began our discussion with Regina’s attention to detail when it came to her appearance and how others perceived her. Roz quickly interjected with comments of Regina’s profession and how this was warranted; also WE as a culture take pride in our appearance because we always had to be one step ahead of the situation to be “considered” equal.
The usage of infamous, familiar and historical names did not seem to distract most of the readers. The concensus was that it only enhanced the reader’s knowledge causing a desire for additional research surrounding some of the characters and events.
There was much chatter regarding the scene when Regina changed her sweater. Celeste, Roz and Karen agreed that Regina’s actions spoke volumes to who she was. She was intelligent, educated, and equipped with the resources to purchase the same "quality" garment that Mary Pickett had the ability to purchase. Yes, she was on the same level with those who thought they were superior, and she possessed the proof!
At this point, we entered The Magnolia Café (JayBee's transformed dining room)’ for the noon buffet. On the menu were three summer salads, deviled crabs, honey baked ham, herb crusted salmon, skewered shrimp, chicken wings, croissants and dinner rolls with apple butter. For dessert - mixed berries, with whipped cream, pineapple cream cheese cake and Cheesecake Factory’s, key lime cheesecake!
Speaking on racial divide and survival; JayBee asked if anyone or everyone considered Willie Willie or Tom Raspberry “Uncle Toms?” Roz said it best when she mentioned that there is always going to be what some people refer to as an Uncle Tom. These men were doing what they had to do for the period they were in.
The symbolism of the forest took all of us in different directions, but ultimately we were all saying the same thing; the forest is where events begin, end, are re-born, and come full circle again.
It is 1:00 and time to Skype in author, Deborah Johnson! Once Celestial connected, she walked her IPad around so Deborah could meet the audience. JayBee thanked her for joining and congratulated her on her accolades (Okra Pick) and all the press the book as received thus far. Deborah Johnson was excited and eager to answer all our pressing questions – why use the fictional town of Revere, Mississippi as the setting for both of her novels – was a question that was brought up several times. Valerie mentioned that she was thankful for the history lesson because she was not aware of the legal and political progression of Constance Baker Motley (Regina’s muse) from civil rights activist, attorney, and state senator.
We were all captivated by the lyrical prose and Deborah Johnson's ability to tell a story within a story. Valerie asked the question about the origin of this idea and "seemingly" difficult task of merging them together.
Celeste and Valerie both mentioned how they were intrigued by the story of Isaac Woodward (or Woodard) and Deborah mentioned that she only became familiar with his story a few years ago - was intrigued - and built her story around it.
Lisa, Celeste, Karen, Twilla, Valerie, Roz, Jennie and Jackie all had questions surrounding concepts and Deborah Johnson’s literary license when writing “The Secret of Magic.” It is often difficult to separate reality from reason when reading. JayBee wondered why Willie Willie did not head north..why west? Roz wanted to know why did he even leave? Deborah reminded us that Willie Willie had in fact committed two murders, and he was a wanted man, due to his age and period, going West was the better literary option for the story. In the readers mind, Peach's' brother and Wynne Blodgett both got what they deserved.
Along with mysticism, whimsy, mystery, and mayhem, Deborah Johnson confirmed that she found an opening to add symbolism and a "nod" toward paranormal activity.
We all appreciated and were captivated by the "twists and turns" and elements of surprise that were interjected within the pages of "The Secret of Magic." Even though the ending was somewhat graphic, the delivery (yet again) exemplified Deborah Johnson's lyrical style of writing.
JayBee signed off the Skype with a heartfelt "Thank You" to Deborah Johnson for participating and sharing her literary gift with the World. We encouraged Deborah to consider taking advantage of all social media outlets (particularly, Twitter) when promoting "The Secret of Magic." JayBee added that she as well as Valerie were "tweeting" about "The Secret of Magic" on Huffington Post, Good Reads, Wall Street Journal, Kindle.com...and others, which resulted in numerous re-tweets and "trendings."
After we signed off of the Skype session, JayBee awarded superlatives to Celeste and Valerie for writing their reviews on Amazon.com. She then presented a game entitled: " Christmas In July - Website - See Saw" The purpose of the game was to discern the members and guests knowledge of the website. JayBee cleaverly crafted questions about items on or mentioned within the contents on our website (i.e. what year did each member join U.S. G.I.R.L.S.?); and it was hilarious to hear the responses and comments. Ultimately it was close with Valerie winning the "Christmas In July" prize of an African-American Angel ornament and holiday tea towel.
Roz won the prize for submitting the most photos of her and family/friends during our summer break. Due to limited space, we could only post a few, but Roz submitted over 20 photos. Roz, Karen, Valerie, JayBee, and Celeste shared photos from PA, NJ, Niagra Falls, FL, GA, CA, NC, SC, New York City, Washington, DC and Las Vegas!! Collectively, that is over 10 pictorial documented destinations - Now, that is what I call an ADVENTUREOUS summer!!
Now, it is time for our: "Shoe Swap – Sip and See" to benefit the women of Hubbard House and "Pan-Tees and Petticoats" to benefit the women and children for the Sulzbacher Center.
Members and guests were asked to bring new or gently used shoes that they no longer wear to swap – the shoes that are not swapped will be donated to the Hubbard House Thrift store to benefit victims of domestic violence. After all the “swapping” was done, we were left with 26 pairs of shoes which should easily bring $500+ to the organization.
We were also asked to bring in at least 2 underwear garments for the economically disadvantaged women and girls living or receiving benefits from the Sulzbacher Center. We collected a total of 603 units to benefit the center, so I would deem our initiative a success! Twilla was awarded an Amazon gift card for donating the most units!!
JayBee thanked all of the members and guests for attending our meeting and presented everyone with an U.S. G.I.R.L.S. signature tote bag, coffee mug, calculator, and sticky notepad. As a token of appreciation for hosting the luncheon in her home, members and guests signed a copy of "The Secret of Magic" and presented it to JayBee.
Thank you JayBee for leading us into the forest to discuss Deborah Johnson’s amazing novel, “The Secret of Magic”
