Retreat Author Announcements 2026

Summary

Books With Your Besties - Episode Summary: "Retreat Author Announcements 2026"

Release Date: June 14, 2025

In this vibrant and engaging episode of Books With Your Besties, hosts Emily and Ashley delve into exciting announcements regarding their upcoming retreat, spotlighting both returning and new authors who will be attending. The episode is a blend of heartfelt stories, humorous anecdotes, and detailed information about the retreat, making it a must-listen for avid book enthusiasts and members of their community.

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1. Welcome and Introduction

The episode kicks off with Emily and Ashley expressing their excitement about the retreat and the significant author announcements they’re about to reveal.

• Ashley [00:07]: “We're super excited to be here to talk about retreat and make some really big announcements about authors who are coming.”

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2. Anecdotes Leading into Author Announcements

Before diving into the main announcements, Ashley shares a humorous story about her interaction with author Lucinda Berry, highlighting the playful rapport between the authors and the hosts.

• Ashley [00:24]: “Lucinda Berry's new book... she wrote back and she's like, didn't I screenshot it and tell you, like, your psycho the way you sleep? And I'm using it for a character.”

• Emily [01:10]: “It's like, some of our authors are funny.”

This story sets a lighthearted tone and underscores the close relationships Emily and Ashley have with their featured authors.

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**3. Returning Authors Spotlight

The hosts introduce the three authors returning to the retreat, emphasizing their popularity and the unique contributions they bring.

a. Lucinda Berry

Lucinda Berry is celebrated as the original author who has been a staple at the retreat. Her dark and distinctive writing style has garnered a dedicated fan base.

• Ashley [03:25]: “Lucinda just writes really dark, really different stuff... she just has a huge fan base of people who adore her.”

• Emily [03:43]: “Having a book chat with just Lucinda would be so fun.”

b. Kara Ruda and Heather Gudenkopf

Both Kara Ruda and Heather Gudenkopf are returning favorites from the previous year, known for their thrilling and clever narratives.

• Ashley [05:03]: “Two of the killer authors are returning. That's Kara Ruda and Heather Gudenkopf.”

• Emily [05:24]: “Kara, people were just like, she's amazing and we love her. She's so funny. She's so clever.”

Heather Gudenkopf is particularly noted for her engaging personality and the humorous interactions she shares with the hosts.

• Ashley [05:51]: “Heather's like, sometimes I say, can you lay over here with your legs in the laundry room a little bit?”

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**4. Introducing New Authors

Expanding the retreat's literary lineup, Emily and Ashley announce three new authors who will be joining the event for the first time.

a. Jason Rakulik

Jason Rakulik is highlighted for his epic storytelling and unique writing process.

• Ashley [07:18]: “Jason Rakulik. Hidden Pictures is just one of those books that I'm so jealous when somebody's reading it for the first time.”

• Emily [07:30]: “He's just fun and just so down to earth.”

b. Sarah Pekkanen

Sarah Pekkanen brings a collection of gripping novels to the retreat, with a new release eagerly anticipated by fans.

• Ashley [08:36]: “We've read everything she's ever written... She's just really cool.”

• Emily [09:05]: “The Locked War. That's what's coming out. That looks so good.”

c. Ashley Winstead

Ashley Winstead is praised for her prolific writing and engaging personality, balancing her professional life with her passion for writing.

• Ashley [10:20]: “She holds a PhD in contemporary American literature and a BA from Vanderbilt... she drinks red wine, works on public policy and dreams up adult novels.”

• Emily [10:53]: “She lives in Houston, where she drinks red wine, works on public policy and dreams up adult novels. I love your life.”

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**5. Retreat Event Details

Emily and Ashley provide comprehensive details about the upcoming retreat, highlighting significant enhancements and new features aimed at enriching the attendees' experience.

a. Extended Duration and Location

The retreat will now span three days instead of the previous two, allowing more time for interactions and activities.

• Ashley [11:27]: “Retreat is going to be back in Scottsdale at the Scott Resort. We have full buyout of the whole hotel for those three days.”

b. Author Expo

A new addition to the retreat is the Author Expo, which will feature approximately 25 authors. This expo offers attendees the opportunity to meet, interact, and engage with authors, fostering a vibrant literary community.

• Emily [12:50]: “We will also be hosting an author expo. It is not huge. It's 25ish authors... You get to walk around and Talk to these authors, meet them, hope maybe they'll sign your book.”

• Ashley [13:56]: “We're just so excited to be able to give these authors an opportunity because that's how they get their books into the world.”

c. Ticketing and Early Bird Discounts

The hosts announce a special early bird discount exclusively available to their Patreon members, encouraging prompt registration for the retreat.

• Emily [16:35]: “This is $30 discount for our early birds. This is only announced on Patreon for our members today.”

• Ashley [16:47]: “Tickets are on the site and they're $30 off until we publicly share this later.”

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**6. Community Feedback and Enthusiasm

Emily and Ashley share positive feedback from their community, highlighting the retreat's welcoming atmosphere and the strong bonds formed among attendees.

• Ashley [15:22]: “We just had a member who reached out and said... I'm coming because I had such a good time, and I feel like that's just the vibe of retreat.”

• Emily [16:11]: “It’s just the vibes are so good because people are there because of something they enjoy.”

This segment underscores the retreat's role not just as a literary event but as a community-building experience.

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**7. Closing Remarks and Final Announcements

As the episode draws to a close, Emily and Ashley reiterate the excitement surrounding the retreat and encourage listeners to secure their tickets early.

• Ashley [17:32]: “Keep your eyes here because we might be getting more authors, which would be mind-blowing because we already have an incredible slate.”

• Emily [17:54]: “She'll bring it and you guys can pretend like I'm an author just so you have some.”

The hosts conclude with heartfelt thanks and a final push for ticket sales, reinforcing the community-centric and enjoyable nature of the retreat.

• Emily [18:39]: “Thanks for listening.”

• Ashley [18:45]: “Happy reading.”

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Notable Quotes

• Ashley [00:58]: “Why am I not in the acknowledgments? That's me.”

• Emily [03:43]: “Having a book chat with just Lucinda would be so fun.”

• Ashley [05:51]: “Heather's like, sometimes I say, can you lay over here with your legs in the laundry room a little bit?”

• Ashley [13:56]: “We're just so excited to be able to give these authors an opportunity because that's how they get their books into the world.”

• Emily [16:11]: “The vibes are so good because people are there because of something they enjoy.”

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This episode of Books With Your Besties serves as an enthusiastic preview of the upcoming retreat, showcasing the hosts' deep connections with their authors and their commitment to fostering a dynamic and supportive literary community. Whether you're an existing member or a prospective attendee, the detailed announcements and infectious excitement make this episode a compelling listen.

Transcript

[Emily]

Hi, I'm Emily.

[Ashley]

I'm Ashley.

[Emily]

And this is Books with youh Besties.

[Ashley]

Besties. We're super excited to be here to talk about retreat and make some really big announcements about authors who are coming. Right. Whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop. Before we start that, can I just tell you one quick story because it's going to make you laugh.

[Emily]

Yes.

[Ashley]

And this will lead right into authors who are coming to retreat. I started reading with my ears. Lucinda Berry's new book.

[Emily]

Yeah.

[Ashley]

Is no spoiler at all. I wouldn't do that. But in the very beginning, she's talking about a particular character and how weird she sleeps. She's like, she sleeps on her stomach with her arms under her chest and her legs crossed like a dead person. And I stopped and I was like, why am I not in the acknowledgments? That's me. And she wrote back and she's like, didn't I screenshot it and tell you, like, your psycho the way you sleep? And I'm using it for a character.

[Emily]

She did tell us that. Also, what was the name that the authors last year said they were going to use in a book?

[Ashley]

Shemar.

[Emily]

Was it Shemar?

[Ashley]

I think it was.

[Emily]

You're literally going to name a character Shemar, right?

[Ashley]

And make it. And I forgot, like, you know, she started writing the book like a year ago, so. So I forgot. She told us that. And I'm listening to the book and I stopped and I immediately texted Lucinda. And I was like, why am I not. Where's my check? Why am I not in the acknowledgments? And she was like, well, because you're an absolute psycho. I was like, well, yes, of course.

[Emily]

Yeah. I remember that whole conversation where she was like, that's bonkers. I'm going to put that in a book. And then. Yeah, the Shemar thing is because I was telling the authors last year at retreat that I have a hard time picturing characters and I. They're never very attractive in my mind. I'm getting better at that, actually. I think they gave me some tools. So now they're really. They're really good looking. But they were always like, kind of, you know, Geneva's like, like their absolute tr. I'm like, I don't know. They just aren't the most attractive people. Except for there's always one character who's Shemar Moore. So they. Except I think they were gonna name the character, like Lamar Bore or something.

[Ashley]

Like, it was Geneva. I remember. She's like, I'll Name him exactly like Lamar Floor and. Oh, but nobody else would know.

[Emily]

Anyway, that's how fun retreat is, is that the authors are funny.

[Ashley]

I know. Well, leading into it, do we want to just jump right into who's coming and why? We ask them and how excited we are?

[Emily]

Yeah, let's do it. Let's talk about our three returning authors that we are excited to have back.

[Ashley]

Yes. Do we want to start with our og, the original author who.

[Emily]

Yeah. We have our forever invitee who may never. Who may stop coming on her own, but just know it's her choice, Lucinda Berry.

[Ashley]

Lucinda Berry, who? If you haven't listened, we did a quick 10 questions with Lucinda. I think it's on that episode Emily, where we talk about how she initially was going to come as a guest and, like, what she's coming. And that's how we decided to start inviting authors, because we were like, she could come and just be our author at book club.

[Emily]

Right. So she's coming back. She was our first author two years ago. We had a retreat before that with no authors or two, actually. So she was our first author last year. She came along with four other authors. So she is back.

[Ashley]

We love having her. She just writes really dark, really different stuff than some of what we read. And she just has a huge fan base of people who adore her.

[Emily]

Yeah, she's so much fun. Fun. So we're glad she's coming back and we're hoping to ask her to do maybe a book club. Can we say that?

[Ashley]

Yeah, she'll do anything.

[Emily]

Probably. That's going to be our ask. Wouldn't it be fun to sit in a room with her and, like, have a book club discussion about a specific book and the author's there to chat about it.

[Ashley]

Think about how much fun we had when we did a book chat with her about the Perfect Child. And people just got to ask her. And she answered all of these questions about, like, real life experiences she had had that contributed to writing this book. So having a book chat with just Lucinda would be so fun.

[Emily]

Yes. And do you remember we had a book chat in Denver before we had an author come? There were like 65 of us and we sat at round tables and we did small group discussion and then like, bigger questions that we answered about the book. I think that would be so fun to do with Lucinda, too, where we all answer questions about our thoughts about things. I mean, at least just like a tiny intro to that, like, some of it. I think it would be a fun time.

[Ashley]

I love that because I Feel like authors in less. Somebody is either leaving a book review. Right. Which usually people leave them only if they love books or hate books. They don't really get to ask their audience many questions, like, what do you want? Like, let me ask you about your experience with the book. It's always the other way around. I think Lucinda especially would absolutely love that.

[Emily]

Yeah, that's a good time. Okay, so we have Lucinda Barry.

[Ashley]

Yes.

[Emily]

We have invited the Killer Author Club to come and host a podcast up their podcast and interview some of our, maybe our new authors. We'll see. We'll see who they interview. We don't have that all dialed in because obviously that's something to work with them on.

[Ashley]

But they.

[Emily]

Two of the killer authors are returning. That's Kara Ruda and Heather Gudenkopf. So two favorites from last year, man. I mean, Kara, I think was like the sleeper. Everyone knew that they would be excited to meet Heather Gudenkopf. But then Kara, people were just like, she's amazing and we love her. She's so funny. She's so clever.

[Ashley]

Well, and Cara just had a book come out. Jill is not happy. And we got to co host Killer Author Club and kind of interview her about it. And it's such a fun, fast paced summer thriller. And then Heather has a new book coming out and I just can't wait for that. Of course, I'll look up the title. I'm forgetting the title. And was it Heather last year at retreat that. That said sometimes she has her husband lay down or was that Kara? Else, like, what would a dead body look like?

[Emily]

It was Heather. Heather's like, sometimes I say, can you lay over here with your legs in the laundry room a little bit? I love her.

[Ashley]

I also. Heather's family comes back. Oh, my God. I was just gonna say that I stole your thunder. Go for it.

[Emily]

No, I was gonna say, please bring Molly and Jane, the sisters and their husbands and all just so delightful.

[Ashley]

And I hope Kara brings Harley because every book is about basically killing your congressman. Husband and her husband. Congressman. She's always like, don't be afraid.

[Emily]

I know. Such a fun group. So those are our three returning authors. And then we also have so far three new authors. That this is the first time we are putting this out into the world. Are we sure we're gonna do this, Ashley?

[Ashley]

The audacity. We have to ask these authors to come. And the fact that they say yes still to this day doesn't feel real.

[Emily]

I know. And the fact that we may end up with another author Is also crazy. So we don't. We aren't gonna obviously announce anything until we have them confirmed. But our three confirmed are. Drumroll. Ashley, go.

[Ashley]

Do you want me to say all free? Yes. That took the excitement away from the announcement. Ashley Winstead. I still cannot believe it. Jason Rakulik. I still cannot believe that. And see Sarah freaking Pekin.

[Emily]

Yeah.

[Ashley]

That's not her actual middle name. I just inserted that.

[Emily]

No, we don't know that. It could be.

[Ashley]

I'm so excited. Let's talk about each one because, I mean, let's start with Jason, because Hidden Pictures is just one of those books that I'm so jealous when somebody's reading it for the first time.

[Emily]

I know. It's epic.

[Ashley]

Absolutely epic. And just the last one at the wedding, which we just used as a book of the month, and he sat down with us in an interview for. Was one of my favorite books of last year.

[Emily]

Such great books. Both incredible. And we know he's working on things. Nothing to announce but that he's writing, which is wonderful.

[Ashley]

Yeah. I'm a little bit worried, though, because he and one of our members who said I could say her name, Aggie, became like best friends on our group chat call and had a side conversation about being Polish and making sausages in their garage for, like 10 minutes. So I think they're going to just see each other and be like Aggie, Jason.

[Emily]

Yeah, they'll just hang out. That's cool. And bond the Polish folks over there. I'm sure that there'll be some other subset who, like, jump in and join also.

[Ashley]

But I'm just so excited to have him just because we've interviewed him about both books and his process is a little different than the other authors we have anyway. Yeah. And he's just fun. Like on our interviews.

[Emily]

He's just fun and just so down to earth.

[Ashley]

Yeah.

[Emily]

I mean, they all are, but just so grounded, and I love that. Okay, let's talk about Sarah Pekkanen. Have you heard of her?

[Ashley]

I don't know if we've read anything. We've read everything she's ever written.

[Emily]

I know. We've read her as Book of the Months. We read two of her partnership. No, three. Did we read all three of her or. Not all three, but three of her partnership books with Grer Hendricks. So the golden couple, which we all loved. An anonymous girl, which we all loved. And the wife between us.

[Ashley]

Yes.

[Emily]

I can't remember if all three were actually Book of the Months, but I. Either they were or they were bonus books.

[Ashley]

That we were, like, reading 100% book of the Month. And then we did Gone Tonight, which.

[Emily]

Is Sarah Pekkanen Solo.

[Ashley]

Just one of my favorite books, literally, of all time. I love so much. And what was the one before Gone Tonight?

[Emily]

No, after House of Glass.

[Ashley]

Glass.

[Emily]

Just last year. That's also a solo project. So she's just. I mean, the fact that we're, like, naming five books that just our book club has read of hers. And she has a new book coming out.

[Ashley]

She does. And it's coming out, like, oh, also, how did we forget to talk about an anonymous girl?

[Emily]

I just.

[Ashley]

Did you. I'm sorry. See this?

[Emily]

Don't you listen?

[Ashley]

No, but we did that as a backup, like, our secondary book one month. And I. Oh, my God, I love that book so much. I'm just looking at pictures of all her books right now.

[Emily]

Oh, yes. And then. Yeah. The Locked War. That's what's coming out. That's coming out soon.

[Ashley]

It looks so good. And then did we talk with her for Gone Tonight?

[Emily]

Yes.

[Ashley]

Look back. I'm pretty sure we did.

[Emily]

I think so, too.

[Ashley]

I'm pretty sure we did before we. Before we had the podcast, like, just in an interview. If. If we still have that, which I think we do, we'll put it on Patreon so people can hear her talk about that book.

[Emily]

That's a good idea.

[Ashley]

Yeah.

[Emily]

Okay. And then we have Ashley Winstead, who we've also read a ton of.

[Ashley]

Yeah. And who. I can't believe, like, the way she's cranking out books, I'm like, we just read. This book will bury me. I'll keep this in the other thing about Ashley Winstead that I just absolutely love. This is. This is part of the description of just, like, who she is as a person. She holds a PhD in contemporary American literature and a BA from Vanderbilt. And this is the part I love. She lives in Houston, where she drinks red wine, works on public policy and dreams up adult novels. I'm like, that's. I love your life. You drink wine, you advocate and work on public policy, and you write books.

[Emily]

That's absolutely awesome. Yeah. I think people. I was first introduced to her through. In my Dreams, I Hold a Knife, which is, like, absolutely beloved. The Last Housewife. I read Midnight in the Darkest Hour. We used for a book of the month. This book will bury me. We just read and did a podcast episode on. She's just really cool.

[Ashley]

She is. And she's gonna. We'll have an interview with her soon. She's gonna sit down and chat with us about this book will bury me. So we'll have that interview soon. So we should have at least one interview with each author that's coming so you guys can get to know them before retreat.

[Emily]

Yes. And then we may have more announcements. But that's, that's. I'm so excited. And retreat is going to be back in Scottsdale at the Scott Resort. We have full buyout of the whole hotel for those three days for Thursday, Friday, Saturday. And we've added a day so that we have more time with authors and doing really cool stuff. And there is some really fun stuff coming. I don't want to tell a lot. Do you want to tell anything?

[Ashley]

I don't want to tell too much. I just think people who are coming who know it used to be two days and now we're adding a full third day. Should we talk about the expo?

[Emily]

Yeah, totally. Yeah.

[Ashley]

Okay. You guys were not prepared for this episode. We're just. We just decided it's time to tell you.

[Emily]

Yeah. We just have been working so hard on this and it's been all under wraps except for that some of you sneaky pants have found our website and just went and got info. But you basically, if you're listening to this, you're gonna have like three days, right? Ish.

[Ashley]

Yeah.

[Emily]

For early bird tickets.

[Ashley]

Yeah. Also people have sneaky been calling the Scott because we didn't release the like our booking link and trying to book and then they message us and they're mad. They're like, I can't book because apparently you guys booked the whole hotel and I have to have some sort of a code. And I'm like, yeah, you do. So some people have sneaky politely asked us for the code. So rooms at the Scott are already being booked.

[Emily]

I love that. And I think, you know what, as of this, go for it. They can book their room at the room rate and buy their ticket. And I think the one thing that yeah, we should talk about is the author Expo. So beyond having these six plus authors coming that will be hosting a panel for you, some book club kind of more breakout sessions, all of that and interacting with you, we will also be hosting an author expo. It is not huge. It's 25ish authors. We do have a cap and a capacity, but we are actually going to start taking applications for thriller. Only authors that want to come and share their work with you. So you get to walk around and see and if you're an author, you can apply on our website. You get to walk around and Talk to these authors, meet them, hope maybe they'll sign your book. You can buy books from them. Some of them may have giveaways or swag. It's going to be super cool. And we are only. We're vetting them to make sure that they are in our genre and books you're going to be interested in.

[Ashley]

I know you and I have both been so excited because I'm sure people are aware we get emails daily from independent authors, smaller publishing houses being like, please give this author a shot. Like, please have them on your podcast. Please do these things. And we're just so excited to be able to give these authors an opportunity because that's like, that's how they get their books into the world. It's through people like our members. And if they have a chance to come to this expo with four to 500 people and share their work. I love the six authors that are coming, but I'm almost more excited for the expo and just giving people who've worked so hard to get these books into the world a place to share them.

[Emily]

I'm so stoked, too. No, I know, because we don't have the bandwidth, obviously, to be taking on all of these books and authors and everything for ourselves individually, but we're like. But we want to connect you. Yeah, I am super stoked to meet all of them and have the, the chance to go and walk around and see what work they're doing. And I think it's going to be really cool.

[Ashley]

I want to tell these publishing places that reach out to us to be like, can you go on our Patreon and say, look, if you all, every person here became. Became a member, these girls could just quit real life and read these arcs all day long and have reviews for you. I'm so excited. I'm just so excited for a retreat. Oh, can I share that email that we got that I sent to you yesterday? Because I just think it shows the power of our members. Yeah.

[Emily]

Yes, read it.

[Ashley]

I won't read the whole thing. I'll just basically kind of summarize it because I don't want to bore everybody, but we just had a member who reached out and said basically she had purchased a ticket. She had, like, sneaky found a way to get her room at the Scott and she's coming back. And she literally said, I don't care who the authors are. And I know a lot of people do come for the authors, but she just said, I don't even care who the authors are. I'm coming because I had such a good time, and I feel like that's just the vibe of retreat. Yes, we're there to support the authors. Yes, we are there to support their work. And to us, these are like celebrities, right? Like, these authors are like our celebrities. But also, it's just this community where people come solo, come with a friend, and you leave with four or five more because it's just so much fun. It's so welcoming.

[Emily]

I think so too. I just. Everybody's just happy. It's one of those. Just the vibes are so good because people are there because of something they enjoy. Nobody's there being like, well, I'm at a work conference. This is hell. People are like, I am here because I am stoked about reading thriller books. Yep. So I just. I love that. I love the vibes. I love that email. I'm so happy with how excited people are who are sneaking in and finding it. Yeah, it's gonna be fun.

[Ashley]

So for people who are listening, we're gonna just put this on pretty raw on Patreon today and. And tickets are on the site and they're $30 off until we publicly share this later.

[Emily]

Yes. This is $30 discount for our early birds. This is only announced on Patreon for our members today. Our paying members. And we'll go out to our book of the month members. That's it. Everybody else will get this announcement Friday. So buy a ticket. You can book your room. Actually, the booking link will be up on our website, and it's a code. What's the code, Ashley? The creepy book club code.

[Ashley]

It's just they. Our link wasn't up to use yet. That's like the direct link for the group rate. So that'll be up on the site.

[Emily]

That'll be up. And if you call, you can say you're coming with the creepy book club, and then they give you the group rate. Things don't start until Thursday at, like, Registration is maybe 3 at the earliest. So coming in Thursday morning is also a great idea.

[Ashley]

And keep your eyes here because we might be getting more authors, which would be mind blowing because we already have an incredible slate.

[Emily]

And if we don't, then I'll just write, like, a super quick little novella and, like, just print a bunch of copies on, like, from a word doc, like, on paper, and I'll bring it and I'll. You guys can pretend like I'm an author just so you have some.

[Ashley]

We'll just change one word. The title of your book will be the.

[Emily]

All right, shmerity. About a woman in a coma.

[Ashley]

Okay, one last thing and then let's get let our people go. But I'll tell you, I did, I was talking with Lucinda and then I was talking with Heather independently just about other things and I didn't spill the beans about other authors who were coming and I just love this world. They immediately Lucinda was like I love Ashley so much. I cannot wait to have her there. And Heather was like Sarah Pekkanen, like what is happening? So I love that they also all just are so excited to be together.

[Emily]

I know it's going to be super great.

[Ashley]

It is. Aggie and Jason can just be best friends and hopefully he shows up for the panel when they're not hanging out.

[Emily]

Thanks for listening.

[Ashley]

Thanks, guys. Go buy your tickets. Thanks for listening.

[Emily]

For more content, find us on Patreon at the creepy book club.

[Ashley]

Happy reading.