Home > Pulpwood Queen Blog > Archives > 2006 > October > 05
Thursday, October 5, 2006
Miss American Pie: A Diary of Love, Secrets, and Growing up in the 70’s
I had the most amazing experience happen the other day all because of an email sent to me by my friend and author, Will Clarke of “Lord Vishnu’s Love Handles� and his latest “The Worthy�. Will had emailed me that I just had to check out this author’s book, “Miss American Pie� as he met the author at the Southeast Independent Bookseller’s Association. He did not just think she would be a perfect read for my club, he knew she would. I emailed Margaret. Margaret replied almost immediately (see email message below) and had the book sent to me overnight.
Let me preface this story by saying, I hear about most books that I select by word of mouth. Mostly from other authors, like Will, but also from the authors themselves. I do have a handful of fantastic publisher publicists that have me in their radar. They do send me advance galleys, sometimes a manuscript, but most books come from the authors themselves.
To have the authors email me directly and call is a dream come true for me, as authors have always been my heroes. I worship them as being an avid reader; I am amazed at the brave acts of telling their stories in a way that touches me. Sometimes so deeply that I have to make their book a Pulpwood Queen Book Club Selection.
That is what happened when I read “Miss American Pie� as Margaret’s book will be a book club selection this coming spring. She is coming to my annual Girlfriend Weekend to be a featured author, January 19 – 21, 2007 to be held at The Marshall in Marshall, Texas. I am sure you will read an interview of her in The Marshall News Messenger that is our official sponsor for the event. In the meantime, read the letter I wrote Margaret and you will see why I loved this book so much. I would love to hear from you too on great reads. Oftentimes, my Queens turn me on to book that just stops me in my tracks.
You will be hearing a lot about “Miss American Pie�, mark my words. As a child of the 70’s I am just mad as hell I burned my diaries from those days. (I caught my mother reading them). Lucky for us, Margaret’s were found up in her attic. This book is a slice of America that is a telling of the time and temperament of our neck of the woods, as much as, Anne Frank’s diaries. They may not have had as tragic of consequence but the importance of what Margaret had to say is no less. She has captured an era with the innocence of a teenage girl growing up in a small southern town during a time of social change in America. Check out her website at www.margaretsartor.com for more on Margaret and “Miss American Pie: A Diary of Love, Secrets, and Growing Up in the 70�s. Just so you will know Margaret Sartor is a photographer, a well-known photographer, featured in many photography books. She found her diaries in her attic from the age of 13 to 18 and they were published verbatim.
Last but not least, Will Clarke just made Rolling Stone magazine of which you can read all about as I have copied the feature to below or for more on Will check out www.booktourvirgin.blogs.com/.
Now read our emails and tell me why you shouldn’t just run out and get a copy of this book.
Tiara wearing and Book sharing,
Kathy L. Patrick
Founder of the Pulpwood Queens Book Clubs
www.beautyandthebook.com
Dear Kathy,
I am thrilled! This is so much fun! What a brilliant fun way to do a bookclub. I once fantasized out loud about putting free copies of my book in the waiting rooms of hairdressers (like Gideon Bibles in hotel rooms) and I thought it was such a great idea but my publisher didn’t go for it. I get what you’re up to here!
OK. So, first thing is that I will personally send you a copy of Miss American Pie today, then I will pass this on toBloomsbury and hopefully convince them of the necessity of my attending “Girlfriend Weekend” in January. (And I have just the vintage wardrobe for it — that I never get to wear anymore since that time I wore a 50s coctail dress with crinolines to the Vice-President of Duke’s dinner party and well, you can imagine the looks of most of the other women faculty? — so I am aiming for the stars.)
I am off right now for a day of uninteresting but necessary meetings, but I will take a book to post to you and check out the rest of your website later and be back in touch soon. Thank Will Clarke for me — what a delightful young man!
Your fellow book sharer and tiara-wearer-wannabe,
Margaret
Dear Margaret,
I just finished your book and my first thought? Quote me on this, “This is the best book I have ever read�. I wept openly as I finished the book and mostly because every sentence, every word, I lived those experiences and you have truly captured my era. I also cried, as I did not want the book to end. Now I have to go back to the beginning.
I received your book Saturday, read the first few pages, and very reluctantly had to put it down as the first of my seven color appointments had arrived and was waiting in my chair. As I always do, I after I got this new high school majorette client settled and into the routine of color foil highlights, I started to tell her about the book. I showed her the cover and let her read while I foiled her hair. Next client, my niece, same thing then I had a whole crew of my high school daughter’s friends all come in together to get their unique colors done. As I was foiling Adam’s black and deep crimson foils, I asked Lindsey whose color was processing to read from your book. She started at the beginning with “January 1. It rained today. We were going to the movies�. By the time she had gotten to the second page, all the kids were laughing and hanging on every word. Now I was doing color on Adam 18, Lindsey, 15, Mallory, 16, Emily, 16, with their friend, Nick, 17 watching. My youngest daughter Madeline, 12, and her friends, Kaitlyn, 12 and Taylor 11 were also in various stages of flopping on the floor on leaning against the walls sitting on the floor. I had a shop full of teenagers and they weren’t just listening to your book. They were having the time of their lives. By the time you got to saying the word “shitty crazy�, they were hooked. I have never seen kids have so much fun hearing a book read aloud.
Now I am crying as I write this because of your book, I have had the best two days of my life. I was able to time warp back to when I was a teenager (just turned fifty and hot flashing) and I was able to be included in my teenagers and their friend’s lives. I so endorse this book that I am “shitty crazy� going to do just that.
I just announced my book club selections and made you the Bonus Book for this spring but I am switching places and making your book, the book club choice of the month. I will make Eat, Pray, Love, the Bonus Book Club Selection.
Now after we read seriously half your book aloud, one of my daughter’s friends insisted on reading silently. We about killed her as she refused to read out loud and she kept laughing hilariously.
My last appointment was my daughter’s drama teacher for retouch on her highlights. She got caught up in the story and before the now evening was over, Lindsey decided she was going to use an excerpt from your book for her competition piece at U.I.L. with her as instructor, stamp of approval Then I told the group you were coming to Girlfriend Weekend. Utter chaos, the room was out of control.
My mission is to promote literacy. Your book has just made my mission so easy. Congratulations, as far as I am concerned you have written the book of the century. If CBS Sunday Morning does not feature you, you have no fear. Kathy L. Patrick is going to be shouting your name from the mountaintops.
Some time back I discovered Jeanette Wall’s “The Glass Castle�, before the Vanity Fair piece, before Oprah and made her my January 2005 official book club selection. She was Keynote at Girlfriend Weekend and just heard this week her paperback just made #1 on New York Times. Now she is nominated for a Quill Award. I know a good book when I read one, but beyond that, I know an important book when I read one.
You are on your way Margaret. You have written a book though set in the 1970’s will be timeless. Your mention of Anne Frank’s diary gave me chills as I see your book as becoming the read for understanding our time during the 1970’s.
It is an absolute pleasure to meet you and know that we are really going to meet you in person and hear you speak during Girlfriend Weekend. Now I have to figure out a way to feature you even more in the best possible light, stay tuned.
Every time I read a book, it changes me. I become a much better person. With your book, I feel as if I have been “born again� and inspired to reenergize my efforts on my mission to promote literacy and get America reading.
I just wrote this letter right off the top of my head, just like the words in your diary. I would love to post both your letter and mine on my blog site with an intro on how this all came about. I have found that people are fascinated by how I make author connections and your story is just too good not to get out in a big way.
Anxious to hear your reply,
Kathy L. Patrick (known as Murphy in high school)
Founder of the Pulpwood Queens Book Clubs
www.beautyandthebook.com
P.S. My blog for reference is found on my website, please check it out as the latest is all about my 50th birthday trip to New Orleans
