Tea with a Twist-Review & Behind-the-Scenes

"FLOWERS, FRUIT, FIESTAS, EVEN FOOTBALL-if you are looking for fun and adventurous new ways to host your friends, Lisa Boalt Richardson's Tea with a Twist will inspire you to throw one of these themed teatime parties."

Tea with a Twist: Entertaining and Cooking with Tea  had the honor of being reviewed by Tea Time Magazine for their May/June 2010 issue. .

To read more, pick up a copy of the magazine on newsstands now.

Behind the Scenes:
I thought it might be fun to reveal some behind-the-scenes stuff for Tea with a Twist.  Some of you might not have realized that my role was more than just an author for the book, but I had a lot of involvement in the photoshoot and creative look for it as well.  Since this was my first book, I had quite the learning curve to not only write and create recipes to go with each chapter, but also had to figure out what I wanted each chapter to look like in pictures.  It was definitely a learn-as-you-go type experience. 

The connection to the fabulous photographer for both my books, Lauren Rubinstein, was a "girlfriend connection".  We both happen to get our eyebrows waxed by the same gal and she hooked us up and I made the pitch to use Lauren to my publisher.  It just goes to show you, you should never underestimate your networking opportunities! 

Lauren and I had a pre-production meeting with the stylist where we discussed my vision and feel that I wanted for the book.  From there, a shot list for the book was created.  After I made a few minor changes to the shot list, it was approved. 

We shot Tea with a Twist in one long hard week.  I was at the photoshoot as the Harvest House representative and made sure the photos were the look I wanted for each party, as well as, staying true to tea.  I did help out with food prep for some of the recipes and learned a ton watching Lauren and Annette (the prop and food stylist) do their magic-and magic it is.   

                                                                

The cover photo for the book came about at the end of one of those long days. We were done for the day, everything had been packed up, and we were talking about the next day's shoot, which included the cover. As we were talking, the light was shining in the window just right onto the table and VOILA, the cover photo was created with arranging a few teacups!

It is so fun to watch those that are really good at their job create beautiful things.  It was also wonderful to watch my words, recipes, and parties come to life!  I feel honored to have a book that is so beautifully done and well received-Thanks Tea Time Magazine for the great review!

Happy Sipping and Reading,
Lisa