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July 2006
Take it to the Limit!
I never know who is going to walk into my Beauty and the Book. One time I was visited by a couple of the guys in the cowboy musical group “Riders in the Sky�. They stayed for hours while we talked about Ranger Doug’s book “Singing in the Saddle: The History of the Singing Cowboy. His real name in case you want to purchase the book is Doug B. Green. Another book written about their group is “It’s the Cowboy Way: The Amazing True Adventures of Riders in the Sky� by Don Cusic. They loved the shop and I told them I grew up in my grandparents store, Maloney’s Shoe and Saddle Shop, which was a western store that specialized in boot and shoe repair. A very interesting group of musical artists, who I love, had a great interest in reading and books. Sometimes we forget that the “stars� so to speak have regular lives too. Check out their website at www.ridersinthesky.com and read about how Joey wrote some of the music for the new Disney film “Cars�.
Since spring, my doors have been graced by some of the film people from Shreveport, mostly from the Kevin Costner film. First Kevin’s wardrobe assistant was in for a pedicure then his director of photography wandered in for a haircut. Amazingly enough, we mostly talk about books, not the movies.
Then just as I was finishing a haircut on my good friend David Ham, a man stuck his head in the door looking for my fellow used bookseller, Fred McKenzie. As he ducked back out, I looked up at David as I rang up his haircut on my register and told him, “David that was Don Henley.�
“No way, how could that be him. He looked so normal.�
“David, I assure you that was Don Henley.�
About ten minutes before a woman that I recognized from Music City Texas and come in to my shop to ask me a question. Now I recognized her right off the bat, as she is always the volunteer who works the door, though I have forgotten her name. She had not forgotten mine.
“Kathy, I bet you could tell me where I could get a double boiler.�
Now in all my days of taking calls for weird requests and information, this one had me stumped. Evidently, double boilers are not even available at Wal-mart anymore. I told her I got mine at The Pampered Chef but maybe some of the antique stores that carry second hand cookware might have one.
She was on a mission to cook homemade custard.
My daughter then called, could I run her her swimming suit. I poked my head in Fred’s shop and told him I would be right back, Madeleine needed her swimming suit. That is when Don Henley turned around and smiled. In the shop with him was the woman from Music City and evidently they were shopping together. A ha, I thought. Don wants some homemade custard. Fred started to introduce me to Don but I interrupted him by telling him, that I would know Don Henley anywhere. Hadn’t I sat in the nosebleed section of the outdoor amphitheatre in Kansas City with binoculars watching Linda Ronstadt, Don Henley of The Eagles and Dan Folgleberg in concert. Hadn’t I stood in line at the Walden Books even though at the time I worked for Barron’s Books to meet Don Henley and get his book signed? Hadn’t I gone with 13 of the Pulpwood Queens to see Don Henley in concert at Music City Texas where we took up the whole 8th row? I recognized those freckles, twinkly eyes, and persona instantly.
The woman then mentioned that, “Remember, Kathy is the one that shared the stage with you Don at Richard Bowden’s birthday party?�
Now David Ham was right behind me taking this all in and blurts out, “What? Kathy, you did what?�
Then very much to my embarrassment had to explain that I opened Richard Bowden’s 60th birthday party dressed as Marilyn Monroe and sang “Happy Birthday, Mr. President� to Richard who also is the President of Music City Texas. Don seemed to get a kick out of me squirming telling the story. Richard and Don also grew up together in Linden and were instrumental in getting Music City Texas going as a not-for-profit and bringing in name acts to East Texas.
Don Henley had closed the birthday roast and brought the house down with his tales of growing up with Richard in Linden, Texas. I especially loved the story about blowing up frogs with firecrackers. Hadn’t all boys done cruel things like that as kids? But Don Henley and Richard Bowden? I had to laugh.
Don Henley was buying some books on Caddo Lake and purchasing Fred’s books, “Hickory Hill� and “Avinger, Texas, U.S.A.� Fred had mentioned Don’s dad in the books and Don wanted to read of the history and genealogy of our area covered in Fred’s books.
I slipped out the door to take Madeleine her suit.
When I got back, Don Henley and his friend were gone. Fred and I had a nice long chat about the visit. If someone had told me that in my life I would get to meet people that I had looked up to and revered, I would have gone, “NO WAY�. I loved The Eagles. My friends and I in college, after a night in Aggieville at Kansas State University, would walk back to our dorms singing The Eagles tune “Take it to the Limit! Take it to the Limit, one more time.� My parents to this day say everytime they here an Eagles song they think of me as I played their 8- Track tapes over and over on my Dyno-mite player. Never in my wildest dreams would I ever think that I would meet Don Henley in person or have a conversation.
I am telling you reading and books take you wonderful places. I lived in California for some time and never met a celebrity in person which reminds me of their song “Hotel California�. Shoot, part of the reason I moved to California was that song. It was so cool.
I have lived in Jefferson now almost twenty years and I meet celebrities every month, sometimes weekly and daily. The one thing that I have found to be true about each and every experience is that books can be a bridge. Next week you will get to read about my tale doing Art Garfunkal’s hair and makeup for his concert that will be this coming Saturday night. Let us just hope it won’t be a “bridge over troubled water�. Sorry, but I could not resist. So for more on that story check this blog site at www.marshallnewsmessenger.com
I also would love to hear from all of you. Have you had a celebrity experience? I would love to hear your story so please post a comment.
Until next time singing, “All alone at the end of the evening, though the bright lights have faded away….�
Kathy L. Patrick
Hairdresser to the Authors and “STARS�!
Summer of 06
Do you remember the book “Summer of ‘42� by Herman Raucher that was later made into a movie starring Gary Grimes and Jennifer O’Neill? I remember when I read it I found it a beautiful coming of age story about a young man and his relationship with an older woman who was really a young widow. The book and movie really captured the angst of youth and a first summer’s love, a loss of innocence. Now as an almost fifty year old mother, I hear the record needle screech across the vinyl to an abrupt stop, and think. What was I thinking? I have two teenage daughters and if the case were reversed, I would probably croak from the scandal of it all. Time changes the way we think and the way we think about what we read.
That got me thinking about the best books I read when I was a teenager. “Love Story� by Eric Segel stands out as well as “Everything You Always Wanted to Know about Sex but Were Afraid to Ask� by David Reuben, M.D. These two books went around my junior high with brown paper bag fake covers at school and on school bus trips. Everyone knew that if a teacher spotted your reading these scandalous books, they would be confiscated never to be returned. I laugh to myself and imagine now just how many teachers read those free copies.
My oldest daughter asked me this past year if I had any Kurt Vonnegut books. Her friend Nick Reisenauer had told her that they were pretty good and she wanted to read them. I remember that I had loved Kurt Vonnegut books. “Breakfast of Champions� stood out in my mind. Knowing that all my books of my youth were in the attic in storage, I went to Fred McKenzie’s Books on the Bayou across the hall from my Beauty and the Book to see if he had a copy. Fred deals in used books. Floor to ceiling, packed to the rafters, Fred has books. I found an old paperback copy of “Breakfast of Champions�. I decided that I would read it again as for the life of me I could not remember what his books were about or what I loved about this book. I was shocked. I read the book cover to cover and found myself snickering at myself. I have become a prude. The book was smart; a fun read but more than a tad bit provocative. I found myself questioning if I should let my daughter Lainie read the book. Then I remembered of all the tons of books I have read in my life that book stood out for me as a book that was highly entertaining. I loved that book when I was her age and went on to read “Slaughterhouse -5�, “Cat’s Cradle�, I would not censor my daughter’s reading.
I am not sure if I fully understood what I read then as I did at 49. I just remember that I loved reading it. I gave the book to Lainie. This made me think that this book and others could be a nice bridge between my daughters struggling for their own independence, and I trying to be their mother and still have them not hate me. Books have seemed to work. I just read “My long and short life� by Melodie Bowsher and passed it on to my daughter who loved it so much she passed it on to her best friend Addison Reilly that prompted me to invite author, Melodie Bowsher in for my annual Girlfriend Weekend. Below is the copy that is verbatim from amazon.com on the book:
Ashley Mitchell thinks she has the perfect life: popularity, a hot boyfriend, and great fashion sense. But Ashley’s world falls apart when her mother is accused of embezzling a million dollars, and no one can find her. Before she can say Dolce & Gabbana, Ashley’s life goes from perfect to pathetic. With questions growing about her mother and her money quickly disappearing, Ashley is forced to make some drastic changes in her life. With nowhere else to go, she moves into an old camper behind a gas station and takes a job in a quirky San Francisco coffee shop where she wouldn’t have been caught dead a month ago. But life at Mad Malcolm’s Cyber Café isn’t what she expected. At the Madhouse she finds friends, confidence, and courage to start putting her life back together. But will Ashley ever have the chance to share her new life with her mother?
This heartfelt coming of age story will resonate with every daughter who ever took her mother for granted, and every young woman who must step out on her own and not just survive, but thrive.
About the Author
Melodie Bowsher grew up in Kansas and received a degree in journalism from Kansas State University. After graduating, she went to work in the Wall Street Journal’s Dallas bureau where at age 20 she was the first woman ever hired by that newspaper as a staff reporter. Melodie later moved to San Francisco where her two kids provided the research for this, her first novel.
Upon reading this on amazon.com, I am now on a mission to e-mail Melodie and will do as soon as I finish this blog. I cannot wait until Girlfriend Weekend. You see I grew up in Kansas too and I went to Kansas State University. I will then share that with my daughter.
I had read “The Devil Wears Prada� by Lauren Weisberger and was going to make it an Official Pulpwood Queen Book Club Selection but did not as it was discovered in a big way, like the New York Times Bestseller list. I try to select books that are written by first authors, their first books, or authors that have yet to be discovered. I set the book aside. Unbeknownst to me, my daughter saw the book and read it. “Mom, Mom,� she cried. “I read your “The Devil Wears Prada� book. Mom, I loved it.�
I told her that they had sold the movie rights and Meryl Streep was to play the Miranda Priestly character. We both adore Meryl Streep. “Mom, Mom, we have to go to that move!�
Now my oldest daughter is 16, usually the last thing on her my mind is going to the movies with her mother. She is usually off with her boyfriend, Russell, or her friends. Yes, books can be a bridge and they certainly have helped me get through a summer where usually I have to go, “No way, and I letting you do that.� Or “I don’t care if their mom’s are letting you go, I say no and that is the end of this discussion.�
I also e-mail both my daughters as I have found they will answer my e-mails. They absolutely refuse to respond when I ask them to help around the house and they are all in it with me. I sign my e-mails, Your mean mom. We laugh about it as when I put my foot down, I put my foot down, and it is a big foot.
Summer of 06 so far has turned out to be a great one. I hope my girls will remember this one as a summer of great reads, ones that they will not censor and pass on to their children someday. My sixteen year went with me to Shreveport for one of meetings for my International Book Club Author Extravaganza. As we had our meeting in the coffee shop of the Barnes & Noble, she was stacking up the books she wanted to read. She bought “The Burn Journals� by Brent Runyon “The History Boys: A Play� by Alan Bennett and “The Great Gatsby� by F. Scott Fitzgerald.
Today I am kidnapping both the girls with their friends to go shopping and then to the local water park. I plan on taking them camping just one more time before school starts this fall. They will be gone before I know it but I guarantee that when communication gets sparse, books can take you places where no one else can. Empower your kids to be readers. Make this a summer of great reads and great memories. I have saved all the books on my library shelves that have spoke to me through the years. I hope that someday when they check out those shelves and I am long gone they will go. “Oh my God, check this out. Mom, read Carlos Castaneda’s books. Look here is “The Clockwork Orange� by Anthony Burgess. And look at this “Life is Just What You Make It: My Story So Far� by Donny Osmond. Wasn’t that a group once? The Osmonds?�
Well, that last read was really read because my younger sisters, Karen and Karol were the biggest Donny Osmond Fans in the whole wide word. I always like Marie Osmond, the sister as she sang country. You want to get to know someone, check out what he or she is reading. That will speak volumes on who they are and what they have become. For me, I am a reader and my one true wish for my two girls is that they will be readers too. Reading has taken my fabulous places that I never even dreamed. Reading has made my life very happy. Books have been my bridge to adulthood and will take me on my journey on the roads ahead. I have built a home of books, just like the Bible, books are my rock, my foundation.
Happy Summer of ’06 reading,
Kathy L. Patrick
GOOD NEWS!
I use to get embarrassed thanking God aloud in person. Sum it up to my First Christian and Congregational Church upbringing back in rural Kansas. Thanking God was done privately, in silent prayer. Now that I live here in the Bible belt, I have learned that a typical greeting is a hug and a casserole with blessings before the meal. Everyone is in a prayer group, a prayer circle, Bible study, shoot I just love my Mayberry RFD inspired Sunday School Class. I have found that my prayers have been answered. I have seen the light!
I have changed from a shy, introverted girl from Kansas to a gospel loving middle-aged woman who is now not afraid to share my passions and dreams. When I put God first, family second, friends next, then work, I have changed for the better. Today, I want to shout it from the mountaintop, “THANKS BE TO THE GLORY OF GOD!� I received GOOD NEWS!
Many things have been happening that have shown me that the right priorities make things happen in a good way. This week Gary Ford of “Southern Living� Magazine e-mailed me to call him. He had something new going, concerning Texas and books, with the magazine. He told me he wanted to feature me, quote “FINALLY�. I about spilt my coffee and broke my coffee cup banging it on my side table reaching for my cell phone at the house. I could not call him fast enough.
Gary answered the call and we had a nice long chat. He explained that “Texas Livingâ€? runs six times a year in the magazine, January, March, May, June, August and November. Each time there is a new issue, he would be changing his new component of www.southernliving.com, “I Love Texas.”
Part of “I Love Texas” will be a regular feature called “Southern Living Texas Book Club.” This will be mainly reviews of books by Texas authors and/or publishers. He would like to feature “Five Questions For…” a different author each time. He also wants to include book event news, such as author appearances, festivals, and other book events (the type that I host). He would like to mention my Christian Book Festival, BOOKS ALIVE!, November 3-5, 2006 which is the event Beauty and the Book and The Pulpwood Queens are sponsoring as a total fundraiser for the First United Methodist Church to be held at the First United Methodist Church in Jefferson, Texas. In addition, he would like to mention my annual Pulpwood Queen Girlfriend Weekend to be held at The Marshall in Marshall, Texas, January 19-21, 2007 sponsored by The Marshall News Messenger.
Another part of the book section would be mine, entitled something like “What the Pulpwood Queens are Readingâ€?. He would ask me to give me a couple of lines or so about the “hot” books my Pulpwood Queen Book Club members are reading.
Hold me back Nelly, I was more excited than Sally Field accepting the Academy Award. “Yes, Yes, Yes!� I cried as one of the first things I did when I moved to Texas was subscribe to the southerner’s lifestyle Bible, “Southern Living� Magazine. I wanted to embrace all things Texas and Southern. I also signed up to take a Texas History course with Panola College because by God, I wanted to be able to say “Remember the Alamo� and mean the mission, not the car rental place.
I love everything southern, the people, the food, the music, the churches, the small town charm and hospitality, and the history! Bring it on, as I devoured chicken friend steak, hot water cornbread, turnip greens listening to southern music. Nothing beat a rousing choir in church or kids walking with cane poles, a can a worms to go fish on the banks of the bayou. If I have to cook for company, where’s my “Southern Living� magazines. My favorite bread, pie, and coconut chicken kabobs are all variations of the recipes from “Southern Living�. The most glorious thing of it all is southerners embrace being from the south.
When my daughter placed First Place in the Marion County State Fair and 4-H show for her Chicken Pot Pies we went on to competition at the Texas State Fair. One of the highlights was attending the “Southern Living� Cooking School! “Southern Living� live, no how cool was that!
“Southern Living� always gives me great ideas for decorating, gardening, great places to travel, and we even made the Top 100 Places to Go in the South one year. However, the one thing I always turn to first in the magazine is the book section that is the first thing I read.
So God has been blessing me with this GOOD NEWS! Not only am I thrilled to be in the magazine that I consider the southerner’s lifestyle Bible, I just keep thinking about all the authors that I can showcase that deserve to be read in a big way. What with something like 7 million people reading the magazine, maybe some of those folks will discover the authors that I pick which are usually first time, first book authors, or yet not discovered in a big way.
Now you are going to have to put a rock on my head to keep me from floating up to the ceiling. I swainee that my co-worker, Marla has had to bat me down several times in my salon with a broom this week to get me back to the task of doing hair and putting good books in to the hands of all who grace my doors!
Sometimes we only pray to God when things go really, really wrong. I realize since I have become a “southerner� that you pray big time when things go really, really right too! So I am praying and I want to thank Gary Ford “Southern Living� Magazine for this amazing opportunity AND all my literacy promoting friends in the media for helping us on our mission to get the world reading good books!
Get ready as their will be a teaser in the November 2006 issue. I always think to myself that Margaret Mitchell pitched her book like 38 times before her book got published, what if she hadn’t perservered? That’s why I select the books I do, as they could be the next Harper Lee, Tennessee Williams, Eudora Welty, William Faulkner! So get read to read “Southern Living� and the read the books I recommend!
Tiara wearing, Book and “Southern Living� sharing,
Kathy L. Patrick
To write a book, or to not write a book. Was that ever a QUESTION?
This blog is late as I had a more pressing writing project. I have been in the final editing process of my book, “The Pulpwood Queens’ Tiara Wearing, Book Sharing Guide to Life� to be published by Hachette Book Group USA, formerly known as Time/Warner Book Group.
I had sent the manuscript to my agent, Marly Rusoff of Marly Rusoff & Associates. She had found some grammatical errors, was going to tweak it a bit, go over it one more time to proof, send it back to me to proof and then send on to my editor, Amy Reinhorn at Warner Books. I stayed up most of the night last night to reread for the umpteenth time my story, the story of how books saved me and why I am on a mission to get America reading.
My book is a simple story. Nothing fancy, I have always been a reader not a writer that explains why it has taken me nearly five years to complete. If nothing else comes from the publication of my book, I have learned more about myself in the past five years than I could have possibly imagined.
They say one out of every two people want to write a book. I am sure that is true as we all have great stories. My advice to anyone who ever want to write a book? Do not just talk the talk, walk the walk. Write it first then tell everybody.
My family is sick of the book. My husband refuses to read it because as he put it, “Why should I, I have lived the story.� He has a valid point. My two girls just quietly leave the room when I announce, “Hey, girls, listen to this.� They have heard it all before. The only thing in retrospect that I wish that I had of done was not told anyone I was writing the book, until it was finished.
However, how could I? These stories were so great I just had to share, and share, and share. Well, you get the picture.
Therefore, if this book ever does come out I have decided that after I make the announcement of the publication date, I will just stop and be quiet for a moment. Oh, whom I am kidding, me be quiet? Never! No, I am going to have the biggest party for myself, even bigger than my birthday parties I throw for myself. Why? Because I have lived to tell the tale. Writing this book, I think, about killed me. It was the hardest thing I have ever done in my life. I bow to author’s feet, shoot I will kiss them because writing a book is hard. Let me dig ditches any day and I swear it would be easier.
I gained ten pounds for every year I worked on the book. That is right. Thank God, the book did not take ten years or you would have to roll me around on book tour. I am in the second week of getting back to my pre-physical non-published author self and killing myself walking the track, panting for breath. A slice of pie is a great reward for a page of work but after nearly 400 pages, that is a lot of pie. Believe me, the fat needed cutting on my book and on me.
So I will continue to huff and puff around the track and dream of that publication date.
Right now, I am sick of writing, I am ready to read for I am a reader. Bring it on authors, bring it on publishers. I am now gearing up for a much slimmer version of myself and three book festivals ahead. I have a lot of catching up to do for body, mind, and spirit.
So now, if you are thinking about writing a book, write it. Just do not tell me or anybody else until it is done. Believe me, it would have been a lot easier, and you won’t have to hear everyday of your life. How is your book coming?
I also have put a new plan of action into play for the next book. Instead of a slice of pie as a reward for a well-written page, I am changing that to one mile on the track. I will eat a whole pie when the pub date is announced to celebrate, call it even. Where to get the best pie? Come to Jefferson, Texas and go to The Hamburger Store which has a homemade three berry made with rhubarb that is killer warmed with a scoop of Blue Bell Ice Cream. Come to momma!
So now back on track, back to reading and stay tuned for more literary adventures with the Pulpwood Queen. Be watching for the pub date and the book, which will be hot pink with leopard trim, you can’t miss it!
Tiara wearing and my First Book Sharing!
Kathy L. Patrick
Founder of the NOW International Book Club, The Pulpwood Queens!
Booking it to Book Group Expo!
Head Queen Margie Dilday of my Pulpwood Queens of Squire Creek Country Club and I had finally arrived in San Jose, California for Book Group Expo, the first ever book club convention in the country. I was to speak on Saturday morning and then Moderating a panel of Sunday with southern authors, Loraine Despres of “The Bad Behavior of Belle Cantrell, Ronlyn Domingue of “The Mercy of Thin Air, River Jordan of “The Messenger of Magnolia Street, and Michael Morris of “Slow Way Home”.
Margie and I walked the short distance from Hotel St. Claire where we were staying to the San Jose Convention Center. I have never been so impressed with a venue. We were handed darling hanging name tags that were just like the manila pockets in books at libraries, Book Group Expo book bags and our program.
As we walked through the airing convention center, we could see women from book clubs gathered in groups, a marketplace resplendent with booths of books and related book items. The center was a full four sided booth on wine tasting from California wineries. Wow, I thought, “I hope we have time to shop.”
We headed to the green room prior to our meeting and there we met all our moderator, Lauren John who is a librarian at San Francisco’s Town and Country Club. She has led book discussion groups in public libraries, living rooms, and synagogues. She is also the author of “Running Book Discussions: A How to Do It Manual for Librarians. I shared the panel with Leslie Sbrocco, who is an award –winning author; writer, speaker, expert, and television Host of KQED’s Check Please, whose entertaining approach makes learning about wine and food fun. “Wine for Womenâ€? is her first book. Both women were more than friendly as we helped ourselves to coffee and croissant and sank into the chairs to get to know each other and prepare for our panel.
As our Book Group Expo volunteer motioned that it was time that we took the stage in our salon, we entered the room and it was packed with women. Wearing my tiara, the sound man miked us for sound and we were ready to go.
As Lauren introduced us, I scanned the crowd and we began our stories. The hour flew by and before we new it we were ushered to autograph tables in the back of the market place. Since my book, “The Pulpwood Queens’ Tiara Wearing, Book Sharing Guide to Lifeâ€? has not been published yet, I signed Girlfriend Weekend postcards that The Marshall News Messenger had made up for me to promote out event at Book Group Expo. We had a blast talking to the California book club attendees. Lauren quickly sold out of her “Women and Wineâ€? book and then we were off to attend some panels ourselves.
As I sat in on all the wide array of author salons, I was amazed by the diversity and quality of the authors. You would be doing yourself a great service by going to www.bookgroupexpo.com and I would highly recommend that any booklover attend. Never have I had so much access to authors in such a comfortable and relaxed setting.
Highlights for me on the weekend was of course meeting all my author friends but what really kicked the event off was listening to Khaled Houseini who wrote “The Kite Runner. He spoke eloquently on his book and remembrances from his homeland of Afghanistan. I also met a young man by the name of Siddharth Dhanvant Shanghvi who was there promoting his debut novel, “The Last Song of Duskâ€? that I can’t wait to read.
Hearing Dorothy Allison speak who wrote “Bastard Out of Carolina and then meeting her was a special treat as I have loved her writing for years. Author, April Sinclair had me in stitches talking about her book, “Coffee Will Make You Black� and the list could go on, and on.
Sunday I met all my southern authors back in the green room and I also have to mention that they also just happened to all be Pulpwood Queen authors. Loraine Depres, www.lorainedespres.com, I met last Girlfriend Weekend and she is most famous for writing the episode of “Who Shot J.R.?â€? on the popular television show. I became hooked on Loraine’s writing when she wrote her first book, “The Scandalous Summer of Sissy LeBlancâ€?. What a romp of a read!
Michael Morris I adopted years before as the man who would make the perfect brother and he is. I me his wife for the first time, Melanie and she is the perfect sister. If you haven’t read Michael Morris’s books, www.aplacecalledwiredgrass.com ,you are doing yourself a great disservice. He is a writer to watch with “A Place Called Wiregrassâ€?, “Slow Way Homeâ€?, “Live Like You Were Dyingâ€? and now as soon as he finds a publisher home, “The King of Florabamaâ€?. If I was a publisher, I would put him at the top of my list and his body of work is amazing and he is divine storyteller that touches your heart and soul.
River Jordan,www.riverjordan.com and Ronlyn Domingue, www.ronlyndomingue.com, I had never met but we soon became friends. River began her talk by explaining that even though she grew up in the south, being from a broadcasting background, she had lost her accent. When Michael spoke he assured everybody that he would more than make up for River’s lack of accent which got a huge laugh from the crowd. Ronlyn sat in a yoga position and I have never been that limber. An eloquent speaker she unfolded her story as beautiful as a flower blooming. I was well pleased with the amazing talent of my panel and thoroughly enjoyed this great excuse to talk books big time. Again, it was too soon over and we headed back to the author autograph tables.
Now some people talk of heaven as a place where there are quiet streams, rainbows and puffy clouds floating by. My idea of heaven was Book Group Expo, did you hear that God. Put me in a place with authors and I will no that I died and had gone to heaven.
I headed over that afternoon to sit in on “The Book Club from Hell� and about died laughing. Amy Tan and her co-horts in literary crime put on a hilarious skit where they reenacted a book club meeting. I seriously almost wet my pants when my friend and author, Kathi Kamen Goldmark burst into the book club meeting talking on a cell phone and apologizing for not having read the book. She reminded the book club that she had bought the book though. They had the crowd in the palm of their hand as all of us were guilty of all these book club disgressions.
I ran into my new author friends, Kurt Wisner of “Honeymoon with my Brother� and his brother Kurt at the autograph tables. They stopped signing books to give me brotherly hugs and I was touched as Kurt still had the African lunch box I had given him when he was at my shop with his “Honeymoon with my Brother� passport stamps inside. They had a line that wrapped all the way to the Lonely Planet Booth. Check out their website at www.honeymoonwithmybrother.com to see why.
More to come on Book Group Expo so check back next week!
Tiara wearing and Book Sharing,
Kathy L. Patrick
www.beautyandthebook.com
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