“‘The worst times to get killed are right after you get here and right before you leave.’ He rolled his eyes toward heaven. ‘And all the days in between.'”
QL 4 PFC Bell, a newly-minted U.S. Army MP, quickly discovers that there’s more than a war going on along QL 4, the main road from Saigon into the Mekong Delta. It’s old-fashioned crime and corruption. He doesn’t want to get involved, just serve out his time and go home, but life for an American MP in Vietnam in 1970 doesn’t work that way. QL 4 leads Bell deep into a swamp of deception, mayhem, and death that insinuates its way both into towns the MPs patrol each day and into the old French villa where they live. A graduate of the University of North Carolina and Duke Law School, James Garrison practiced law as an in-house attorney with Texaco Inc. and its joint ventures until he was paid to go away in a corporate merger. Despite his wife’s expectation (and hope) that he would continue his legal career, he stayed home for the kids—in case they called from wherever they were—and decided to return to his first loves: literature and creative writing. After much study and research, he began work on his first novel, QL 4, based on his experiences as a military policeman in Vietnam, where he had ended up when he was drafted during his first year in law school. Set in the Mekong Delta in 1970, QL 4 is a tale of intrigue, betrayal, and crime among soldiers on the same side in an unpopular war. The title comes from the colonial highway that the American soldiers followed—in the footsteps of the French soldiers before them— south from Saigon into the Mekong Delta. QL 4 has won awards for literary and military fiction, and it was a finalist for the 2018 Montaigne Medal. Find out more about James here.
INTERNATIONAL PULPWOOD QUEEN AND TIMBER GUY BOOK CLUB
Hello Readers! Welcome to the Special “Official Pick Edition” of the READING NATION MAGAZINE, filled with all of The International Pulpwood Queen and Timber Guy Book Club Reading Nation’s summer picks. You’ll also find a cocktail recipe for June’s Official Pick custom made by Breathless Wines, some beautiful art by one of our authors, meet our favorite cousin, a feathered friend, and find even more books to add to your reading list. Wherever you are I hope you’re happy, healthy, and enjoying some sunshine!
Mandy Haynes
Pulpwood Queen Author Creator, Editor of READING NATION MAGAZINE
Because life’s too short not to have fun, we’ve added a mini scavenger hunt to this month’s article. The first twenty people who find this image within the pages and sends an email to mandy.pulpwoodqueen@gmail.com will be entered into a drawing for some fun prizes!
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JUNE OFFICIAL SELECTIONS
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JULY OFFICIAL SELECTIONS
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AUGUST OFFICIAL SELECTIONS
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A TRUE GEM - BOOK CLUB MEMBER BETTY KOVAL
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BREATHLESS BUBBLES & BOOKS COCKTAIL RECIPE
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TO ADD TO YOUR TO BE READ LIST
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WHERE WE’RE FROM
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MEET JAX FREY
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IMAGINATION STATION
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IF OUR PETS COULD TALK
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IMPORTANT INFORMATION
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TIARA WEARING, BOOK SHARING, GUIDE TO LIFE
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CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS
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“Buckle up because Joy Ross Davis takes you on a wild ride that involves family secrets, surprising connections, sacred places, and surreal circumstances.” 6
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THE MADWOMAN OF PREACHER'S COVE tells the story of Lucy Addams, a woman
who was horribly disfigured in a fire that claimed the lives of her husband and children. After the tragic loss of her beauty, her voice, and her family, Lucy became an artistic genius, sculpting lifelike dolls—replicas of the children of Preacher’s Cove. Lucy, and her workshop, are hidden in the back of the local resort—a hotel and restaurant complex owned and operated by her sister, Libby.Following a series of deaths by lightning strike in Preacher’s Cove, a handsome investigative reporter arrives to solve the mystery of the coincidental accidents. Lucy and Libby find themselves facing yet another enemy. As keepers of an ancient treasure—a secret that binds them—they alone know why the deaths have occurred, and more importantly, how to stop them. With the eventual help of Libby and Lucy, the reporter finds a sacred place in the woods called The Hallows—where Druids once roamed, and where his answers are deeply buried. After months of investigating, the death toll rising, a bit of romance, and otherworldly harbingers of Lucy’s dolls, the mystery of Preacher’s Cove begins to unravel. Find out more about Joy here. ISSUE NO.3
INTERNATIONAL PULPWOOD QUEEN AND TIMBER GUY BOOK CLUB
“All of the people involved with this wonderful project have given generously of their time and talents, and you are holding the results of their gifts in your hands right now. Enjoy!” Susan Cushman, Editor Special thank you to Brother Mockingbird Publishing for letting us share bits and pieces of some of these stories in our magazine! 8
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WHAT IT MEANS TO BE A PULPWOOD QUEEN & TIMBER GUY
Where Stories and Storytellers Flourish Julie Cantrell Imagine a magical place that’s a little bit Mardi Gras, a little bit Oz, and a little bit Willy Wonka. Now plunk it in the middle of a small town in rural Texas, where people say Good morning, y’all and laid-back locals gather for breakfast at one of the adorably vintage diners where they greet the cook by her first name as she serves up heaping plates of buttered grits, salsa-topped eggs, and homemade biscuits the size of cat heads. Now add a flamboyant queen, a court of literary powerhouses, and a jester or two for good measure. Sprinkle in a generous dose of laughter, hugs, Wild West barbecue, sweet tea, and a charitable fundraiser. With that, you might have a sense of what happens at Girlfriend Weekend. But you’d still be wise to experience it for yourself because it’s quite like the Grand Canyon or Machu Picchu or the seven wonders of the world. It can’t really be captured by photographs or essays or even the best-told legends. Like anything worth its weight around the campfire, Pulpwood Queens Girlfriend Weekend is as Texas as it gets, with the kind of enchanted spin that only Kathy L. Murphy could master. That’s just a teaser of Julie’s story, but you can read the rest - and stories from over sixty other Pulpwood Queen & Timber Guy members by purchasing your copy here.
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INTERNATIONAL PULPWOOD QUEEN AND TIMBER GUY BOOK CLUB
The Pulpwood Queen’s of Jackson Mississippi ATTENTION INTERNATIONAL PULPWOOD QUEEN AND TIMBER GUY BOOK CLUB CHAPTERS!
Starting June 1, 2022, running through September 1, we are offering a very special price for book clubs to attend our next 2022 International Book Club Convention, January 10 – 16, 2022. For $499, an entire book club can participate in our annual book club convention no matter how many members in your book club. 10
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Before you pay for your package you must submit to us the following: 1. Chapter title and location 2. Leader name or names with address, email address, and phone number. We have to have this information to check you into our Zoom meeting conference. 3. Each member’s name that will be attending with address, email address, and phone number to be able to check them into our Zoom meeting conference 4. All members must have a current membership which will be verified prior to letting them into the conference. We are working very hard on our 2022 Official Reading List and Program for our FULL WEEK of events for another ONLINE and VIRTUAL book club conference. We will more than likely have over 100 featured authors, keynote speakers, celebrities, bloggers, podcasters, and special guests and are planning even more interactive events for all of YOU! Our plan is that 2023 will be a combination of both a LIVE and Virtual ONLINE event. We had such a tremendous success with our first online event and because we had so many authors and book members join us from all over the world, we will offer both. Thank you so much for your support. I will send you a personal email to confirm you are all paid to attend, as well as the PayPal receipt you’ll receive when paying by credit card. This offer is good for the SUMMER ONLY - so get your book club to our reading conference to join this event. Truly, Tiara Wearing and International Book Club Convention Sharing, Kathy L. Murphy CEO and /Founder of The International Pulpwood Queens and Timber Guys Book Clubs Author of "The Pulpwood Queens' Tiara Wearing, Book Sharing Guide to Life" P.O. Box 1220 Hawkins, Texas 75765 - 1220 www.thepulpwoodqueens.com https://www.facebook.com/Pulpwoodqueen www.twitter.com/Pulpwoodqueen www.instagram.com/thepulpwoodqueen Designer at www.shopvida.com/collections/thepulpwoodqueen
ISSUE NO.3
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INTERNATIONAL PULPWOOD QUEEN AND TIMBER GUY BOOK CLUB
Pearl River Mansion by Richard Schwartz Detective Jack Kendall and his assistant, Stacy Young, receive a disturbing call that opens the door to a missing persons case that has tugged at the heartstrings of Mississippi and the entire nation. Now Jack and Stacy hold the key to the most shocking, complex, and emotional case of their careers, and they are all in! As the only heir of Joan Chandler, Tyler Chandler stands to inherit everything a man could want, including Pearl River Mansion—a 450-acre, post-Civil War estate that sits at the end of one of the many fingers of the Pearl River. Tyler’s mother makes a game out of controlling people by trading on her wealth, but Tyler refuses her money— 14
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which always comes with strings—and struggles to make it on his own, trading instead on his intelligence and exceptional good looks. But he’s not as good at the game as she is and finds himself trapped in a marriage that infuriates his mother. It is a destructive battle of wills, and just when Tyler believes he’s winning, fat intercedes… And for the second time in her life, Joan finds a purpose for the alligators that have kept her well away from the water’s edge—and the stakes keep rising. Richard Schwartz, a lifetime resident of Jackson, Mississippi, practices law at Richard Schwartz & Associates, one of the largest plaintiffs law firms in the state of Mississippi. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Millsaps College and a juris Doctor Degree from the University of Mississippi School of Law in 1981. He served as Assistant City Prosecutor for the City of Jackson for ten years, and the City Prosecutor for Ridgeland for two years. Richard stays actively involved in the community and participates with numerous charities, especially those related to children. ISSUE NO.3
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INTERNATIONAL PULPWOOD QUEEN AND TIMBER GUY BOOK CLUB
Among the Maasai: A Memoir by Juliet Cutler In 1999, Juliet Cutler leaves the United States to teach at the first school for Maasai girls in East Africa. Captivated by the stories of young Maasai women determined to get an education in the midst of a culture caught between the past and the future, she seeks to empower and support her students as they struggle to define their own fates. Cutler soon learns that behind their shy smiles and timid facades, her Maasai students are much stronger than they appear. For them, adolescence requires navigating a risky world of forced marriages, rape, and genital cutting, all in the midst of a culture grappling with globalization. In the face of these challenges, these young women believe education offers hope, and so, against all odds, they set off alone―traveling hundreds of miles and even forsaking their families―simply to go to school. Twenty years of 16
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involvement with this school and its students reveal to Cutler the important impacts of education across time, as well as the challenges inherent in tackling issues of human rights and extreme poverty across vastly different cultures. Working alongside local educators, Cutler emerges transformed by the community she finds in Tanzania and by witnessing the life-changing impact of education on her students. Proceeds from the sale of this book support education for at-risk Maasai girls. Juliet Cutler is a writer, an educator, and a designer of award-winning exhibits for museums, parks, and cultural centers throughout the world. Her teaching career began in Tanzania in 1999, and since that time she has been an activist for girls’ education worldwide. Cutler’s literary and professional publications now number more than two dozen, and she has taught writing in many settings including as adjunct faculty for the College of St. Scholastica in Minnesota. Her first book, Among the Maasai, has received critical acclaim through several national and international awards including the Independent Publisher Book Award, the IBPA Benjamin Franklin Award, and the National Indie Excellence Award. ISSUE NO.3
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INTERNATIONAL PULPWOOD QUEEN AND TIMBER GUY BOOK CLUB
The Madwoman of Preacher's Cove by Joy Ross Davis tells the story of Lucy Addams, a woman who was horribly disfigured in a fire that claimed the lives of her husband and children. After the tragic loss of her beauty, her voice, and her family, Lucy became an artistic genius, sculpting lifelike dolls-replicas of the children of Preacher's Cove. Lucy, and her workshop, are hidden in the back of the local resort-a hotel and restaurant complex owned and operated by her sister, Libby. Following a series of deaths by lightning strike in Preacher's Cove, a handsome investigative reporter arrives to solve the mystery of the coincidental accidents. Lucy and Libby find themselves facing yet another enemy. As keepers of an ancient treasure--a secret that binds them--they alone know why the deaths have occurred, and more importantly, how to stop them. With the eventual help of Libby and Lucy, the reporter finds a sacred place in the woods called The Hallows-where Druids once roamed, and where his answers are deeply buried. After months of investigating, the death toll rising, a bit of romance, and otherwordly harbingers of Lucy's dolls, the mystery of Preacher's Cove begins to unravel. 18
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READING NATION MAGAZINE
JUNE BONUS BOOKS
The Small Crimes of Tiffany Templeton by Richard Fifield The Serpent King meets Girl in Pieces in this moving and darkly funny story about a teenage girl coming of age and learning how to grieve in small-town Montana. Tiffany Templeton is tough. She dresses exclusively in black, buys leather jackets that are several sizes too big, and never backs down from a fight. She's known in her tiny Montana town as Tough Tiff, and after her shoplifting arrest and a stint in a reform school, the nickname is here to stay. But when she comes back home, Tiffany may not be the same old Tough Tiff that everybody remembers. Her life is different now: her mother keeps her on an even shorter leash than before, she meets with a probation officer once a month, and she's still grieving her father's recent death. As Tiffany navigates her new life and learns who she wants to be, she must also contend with an overbearing best friend, the geriatric cast of a highmaintenance drama production, her first boyfriend, and a town full of eccentric neighbors--not to mention a dark secret she's been keeping about why the exfootball coach left town. ISSUE NO.3
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INTERNATIONAL PULPWOOD QUEEN AND TIMBER GUY BOOK CLUB
Sharp as a Serpent's Tooth: Eva and Other Stories by Mandy Haynes You'll meet Eva, the young daughter of traveling Pentecostal preachers, who catches snakes while her parents hide behind the bible and a large wooden crate. Eva's life changes when she makes her first friend and realizes there is more to life than fear. In Plans for Sweet Lorraine, you'll meet Lorraine's mama, Cordelia a fiery red-head with a temper to match, and a mind as sharp as the sting from a leather strap. She'll do anything to keep her daughter safe. Even if she has to beat the devil himself. Laurel, the young girl in The Day I Threw the Rock has no idea that she saved someone's life, or that she may have killed someone to do it. She just knows that she should be allowed to wear overalls and play ball like the boys. Junebug Fischer is ready to set the record straight and let you know what really happened the summer she turned fifteen. It's true, she killed someone, but she never killed nobody on purpose. That was purely accidental. When Charlotte's world is turned upside down, her aunt is there to put it back on its axis. Charlotte learns that everything she's been told about her long lost aunt has been a lie, and her aunt teaches her many important lessons. The most important lesson is forgiveness. Cussing Snakes and Candy Cigarettes is proof that there's magic all around us, all we have to do is open our hearts and minds. 20
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JUNE BONUS BOOKS
Outbound Train by Renea Winchester In 1976, memories from a night near the railroad tracks sixteen years earlier haunt Barbara Parker. She wrestles with past demons every night, then wakes to the train's five-thirty whistle. Exhausted and dreading the day, she keeps her hands busy working in Bryson City's textile plant, known as the "blue jean plant," all the while worrying about her teenage daughter, Carole Anne. The whistle of the train, the hum of those machines, and the struggle to survive drives Barbara. When an unexpected layoff creates a financial emergency, the desperate pressure of poverty is overwhelming. Unbeknownst to Barbara, Carole Anne sneaks out at night to walk the tracks so she can work at Hubert's Bar. She's hoarding money with plans to drive her mother's rusty, unused Oldsmobile out of Bryson City, and never return. She only needs one opportunity ... if she can just find it. When Carole Anne goes missing, Barbara finds herself at a crossroad--she must put aside old memories and past hurts to rely on a classmate for help finding her daughter. But this is the same man she blames for the incident years ago. Is she strong enough--or desperate enough--to do anything to keep her daughter safe? In Outbound Train, the Parker women struggle to make frayed ends meet in a town where they never quite do ... at least, not without expert weaving and a bit of brute force. ISSUE NO.3
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INTERNATIONAL PULPWOOD QUEEN AND TIMBER GUY BOOK CLUB
The Gumbeaux Sistahs by Jax Frey “A bowl of my Mama's gumbo and a little wine will solve any problem you've got," said every single Gumbeaux Sistah ever. Five Southern women wage a hilarious war against the ageism problems of one of their deep-in-trouble sisters using their improbable friendships, evil-genius schemes, oh-sonumerous cocktails, and a shared passion for good gumbo.When southern artist, Judith Lafferty, loses her long-time, prestigious museum job to a much younger man, she finds herself devastated, alone in her sixties, and on the brink of financial disaster. Enter the incomparable Gumbeaux Sistahs, who deliver day-old coffee to her front door as a ploy, then go on to kidnap her, feed her excellent gumbo, and come up with outrageous solutions to her problems. Their motives are just good excuses to drink wine, have a great time, argue over whose mother makes the best gumbo, and, most of all, help a sister out. Ageism, dangerous boyfriends, deep loneliness, and any other challenges that can face the over fifty crowd don't stand a chance against these five resourceful ladies. The Gumbeaux Sistahs is a heart-warming, smart story of friendship and unexpected shenanigans that you do not want to miss. 24
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Jax Frey: Born in New Orleans, Jax came into this world with a sense of celebration of southern culture, food, family and fun. Translating that celebration into her writing and onto canvas is her true calling. Her colorful art depicts everything from her dancing Gumbeaux Sistahs paintings to her popular line of original Mini paintings of southern icons. Because over 25,000 of the mini paintings have been created and sold into art collections worldwide, Jax holds a world’s record for The Most Original Acrylic Paintings on Canvas by One Artist from the World's Record Academy. Jax art and gifts can be seen at www.artbyjax.com. Jax is also the co-founder of the Women of Infinite Possibilities, an empowering women’s organization started in Covington, LA, where Jax lives today with her loveable, tornado-of-a-pug named Lucy. The Gumbeaux Sistahs' series of novels is a work of love for Jax After painting the Sistahs for many years, she finally gives voice to these women characters who have something to say and constantly make Jax laugh when she writes about them.
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Come Sunday: A Novel by Isla Morley Abbe is a restless young mother living on the outskirts of Honolulu with her husband, Greg, the pastor at a small church. Their lives are suddenly riven by tragedy when their three-yearold daughter, Cleo, is struck and killed by car. As Greg turns to God and community for comfort, Abbe turns inward and reflects upon her own troubled past. Isla Morley brilliantly weaves the story of Abbe's grief with a gripping tale of her tempestuous childhood in apartheid South Africa---and how Abbe's father, a villainous drunk, held her family hostage for decades with his rage, until they finally began to plot their escape from him. Come Sunday is a spellbinding drama about a woman breaking free of her grief and of her past, and what it takes to revive hope when all seems lost. WINNER OF THE JANET HEIDINGER KAFKA PRIZE FOR FICTION, FINALIST FOR THE COMMONWEALTH PRIZE 26
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Isla Morley grew up in South Africa during apartheid, the child of a British father and fourth-generation South African mother. During the country’s State of Emergency, she graduated from Nelson Mandela University in Port Elizabeth with a degree in English Literature. By 1994 she was one of the youngest magazine editors in South Africa, but left career, country and kin when she married an American and moved to California. For more than a decade she pursued a career in non-profit work, focusing on the needs of women and children. Her debut novel, Come Sunday, won the Janet Heidinger Prize for fiction and was a finalist for the Commonwealth Prize. It has been translated into seven languages. Her novel, Above was an IndieNext Pick, a Best Buzz Book and a Publishers Weekly Best New Book. The Last Blue is her third novel. She has lived in some of the most culturally diverse places of the world, including Johannesburg, London and Honolulu. Now in Los Angeles, she shares a home with her husband, daughter, three cats and five tortoises.
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A Million Little Lies: A Novel by Bette Lee Crosby When Suzanna Duff was ten years old, she lost her mama, and that's when the lies began. At first, they were just harmless little fibs, a way to hide her unbearable loneliness and the truth about a daddy who came home rip-roaring drunk every night. But in time, the lies grew bigger and now, when she is a grown woman with a daughter of her own, they threaten to destroy everything she loves. The irony of this situation is that Suzanna never planned to stay in Georgia, she was simply passing through, looking for a fresh start in New Jersey. Attending that wake with her daughter Annie, was a fluke. An opportunity to enjoy a free meal. It should have entailed nothing more than a solemn nod and a brief expression of sympathy but, Ida Parker, the grieving widow mistook her for her the granddaughter who was carried off as an infant. Too embarrassed to do anything else, Suzanna played along. What harm was there in pretending to be someone else for a few hours? Hours turned into days and days into weeks; strangers became friends, love happened, and before long a year had flown by. Now the past is standing on her doorstep and Suzanna must decide to leave here and disappear as she has done before, or tell the truth and break the hearts of those she loves most. 28
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JULY BONUS BOOKS
Copper, Iron, and Clay: A Smith’s Journey by Sara Dahmen Today, most people are concerned about eating seasonal, organic, and local food. But we don't think about how the choices we make about our pots, pans, and bowls can also enhance our meals and our lives. Sara Dahmen believes understanding the origins of the cookware we use to make our food is just as essential. Copper, Iron, and Clay, is a beautiful photographic history of our cooking tools and their fundamental uses in the modern kitchen, accompanied by recipes that showcase the best features of various cooking materials. Richly illustrated with dozens of stunning color photographs, Copper, Iron, and Clay showcases each material, exploring its fascinating history, fundamental science-including which elements work best for various cooking methods--and its practical uses today. It also features fascinating interviews with industry insiders, including cookware artisans, chefs, entrepreneurs, and manufacturers from around the world. In addition, Sara provides recipes from her own kitchen and some of her famous chef friends, as well as a few historical favorites--all which are optimized for particular kinds of cookware. ISSUE NO.3
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INTERNATIONAL PULPWOOD QUEEN AND TIMBER GUY BOOK CLUB
Crescent City Sin by Nola Nash In the Crescent City, darkness blurs the lines between sinners and saints.Having been brought back through the veil after her death, Zolie wakes to find she's being cared for by the mother superior. Secrets are slowly revealed as Mother Micheaux explains her connection to the past Zolie's father kept hidden all her life. Once her strength has returned, Zolie tries to ease back into her home and life without Louis, but soon finds herself helping a young man who mistakenly shows up at her house looking for his long-lost mother. Feeling compassion for the young man who is far from his home in France, she and the Marchon girls attempt to help him locate his mother while making him feel welcome.Julien, the young man, finds himself strangely drawn to Zolie and slowly loses his heart to her, but his feelings aren't returned when Zolie makes a new discovery that changes her life once more. Jilted, Julien unleashes his grief in the form of magical power he didn't know he had and finds comfort in the friendship of a local madame. Out of control and angry, he succumbs to the darkness inside of him and the taunting voice of a raging spirit hungry for revenge. Can Zolie and her magical menagerie pull Julien back from the edge of hell, or will the past take them all down? Walk down the gritty dark streets of 1830s New Orleans where the line between sinner and saint is as blurred as the line between life and death. 30
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What Lies Ahead by Marci Henna Surprises, revealed truths, love, and laughter fly like pixie dust from Pandora's box when family secrets surrounding Cousin Jewel surface in this timeless sequel to WHEN WE LAST SPOKE. In the 1960's, orphaned sisters Juliet and Evangeline are raised by grandparents, Walt and Ruby. When Ruby (blue-ribbon fiddler) returns from a music tour with unmarried Gemburree sisters, Pearl and Sapphire, a mystery baby comes with them. Add one Charles Wesley, retired fighter pilot turned barbecue king, and the highly secretive mission called the Fireside Gem Society is born. Will the healing powers of hope and love be enough to prepare them for what lies ahead?
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The Last Blue: A Novel by Isla Morley A luminous narrative inspired by the fascinating real case of "the Blue People of Kentucky" that probes questions of identity, love, and family. In 1937, there are recesses in Appalachia no outsiders have ever explored. Two governmentsponsored documentarians from Cincinnati, Ohio--a writer and photographer--are dispatched to penetrate this wilderness and record what they find for President Roosevelt's Works Progress Administration. For photographer Clay Havens, the assignment is his last chance to reboot his flagging career. So when he and his journalist partner are warned away from the remote Spooklight Holler outside of town, they set off eagerly in search of a headline story. What they see will haunt Clay into his old age: Jubilee Buford, a woman whose skin is a shocking and unmistakable shade of blue. From this happenstance meeting between a woman isolated from society and persecuted her whole life, and a man accustomed to keeping himself at lens distance from others, comes a mesmerizing story in which the dark shades of betrayal, prejudice, fear, and guilt, are refracted along with the incandescent hues of passion and courage. 34
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AUGUST OFFICIAL BOOK OF THE MONTH
Panning across the rich rural aesthetic of eastern Kentucky, The Last Blue is a captivating love story and an intimate portrait of what it is like to be truly one of a kind. Isla Morley grew up in South Africa during apartheid, the child of a British father and fourth-generation South African mother. During the country’s State of Emergency, she graduated from Nelson Mandela University in Port Elizabeth with a degree in English Literature. By 1994 she was one of the youngest magazine editors in South Africa, but left career, country and kin when she married an American and moved to California. For more than a decade she pursued a career in non-profit work, focusing on the needs of women and children. Her debut novel, Come Sunday, won the Janet Heidinger Prize for fiction and was a finalist for the Commonwealth Prize. It has been translated into seven languages. Her novel, Above was an IndieNext Pick, a Best Buzz Book and a Publishers Weekly Best New Book. The Last Blue is her third novel. She has lived in some of the most culturally diverse places of the world, including Johannesburg, London and Honolulu. Now in Los Angeles, she shares a home with her husband, daughter, three cats and five tortoises. ISSUE NO.3
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The Last of the Moon Girls: A Novel by Barbara Davis A novel of secrets, memory, family, and forgiveness by the bestselling author of When Never Comes. Lizzy Moon never wanted Moon Girl Farm. Eight years ago, she left the land that nine generations of gifted healers had tended, determined to distance herself from the whispers about her family's strange legacy. But when her beloved grandmother Althea dies, Lizzy must return and face the tragedy still hanging over the farm's withered lavender fields: the unsolved murders of two young girls, and the cruel accusations that followed Althea to her grave. Lizzy wants nothing more than to sell the farm and return to her life in New York, until she discovers a journal Althea left for her--a Book of Remembrances meant to help Lizzy embrace her own special gifts. When she reconnects with Andrew Greyson, one of the few in town who believed in Althea's innocence, she resolves to clear her grandmother's name. But to do so, she'll have to decide if she can accept her legacy and whether to follow in the footsteps of all the Moon women who came before her.
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AUGUST BONUS BOOKS
Boop and Eve’s Road Trip: A Novel by Mary Helen Sheriff Eve Prince is done--with college, with her mom, with guys, and with her dream of fashion design. But when her best friend goes MIA, Eve must gather together the broken threads of her life in order to search for her. When Eve's grandmother, Boop, a retiree dripping with Southern charm, finds out about the trip, she--desperate to see her sister, and also hoping to alleviate Eve's growing depression--hijacks her granddaughter's road trip. Boop knows from experience that healing Eve will require more than flirting lessons and a Garlic Festival makeover. Nevertheless, Boop is frustrated when her feeble efforts yield the same failure that her sulfur-laced sip from the Fountain of Youth wrought on her age. She knows that sharing the secret that's haunted her for sixty years might be the one thing that will lessen Eve's growing depression--but she also fears that if she reveals it, she'll lose her family and her own hard-won happiness. Boop and Eve's journey through the heart of Dixie is an unforgettable love story between a grandmother and her granddaughter.
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A Season in Lights: A Novel in Three Acts by Gregory Erich Phillips Passion, ambition and escape. In the colorful artistic underworld off-Broadway, Cammie, a dancer in her mid-thirties, has just landed her first part in a show since coming to New York City. Yet the tug of familial obligation and the guilt of what she sacrificed to be there weigh down her dancing feet. Her lover, Tom, an older piano player, came to the city as a young man in the 1980s with a story eerily in tune with Cammie's own. Through their triumphs and failures, both learn the fleeting nature of glory, the sweetness of new love, and how a dream come true isn't cherished until it passes. The bright lights of the stage intoxicate, while degradation and despair lurk close behind the curtain. Their sagas are marred by two pandemics, AIDS in the 1980s and COVID-19 today, which ravaged the performing arts community, leaving a permanent scar on those who lived through them. The poignant intersection of their stories reveals a love affair unbound by time, reaching across decades through the notes of a piano's remembered song.
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AUGUST BONUS BOOKS
What’s Not Said by Valerie Taylor Kassie O'Callaghan's meticulous plans to divorce her emotionally abusive husband, Mike, and move in with Chris, a younger man she met five years ago on a solo vacation in Venice, are disrupted when she finds out Mike has chronic kidney disease--something he's concealed from her for years. Once again, she postpones her path to freedom--at least, until she pokes around his pajama drawer and discovers his illness is the least of his deceits. But Kassie is no angel, either. As she struggles to justify her own indiscretions, the secret lives she and Mike have led collide headon, revealing a tangled web of sex, lies, and DNA. Still, mindful of her vows, Kassie commits to helping her husband find an organ donor. In the process, she uncovers a life-changing secret. Problem is, if she reveals it, her own immorality will be exposed, which means she has an impossible decision to make: Whose life will she save--her husband's or her own?
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The Dictionary of Lost Words by Pip Williams Esme is born into a world of words. Motherless and irrepressibly curious, she spends her childhood in the Scriptorium, a garden shed in Oxford where her father and a team of dedicated lexicographers are collecting words for the very first Oxford English Dictionary. Young Esme's place is beneath the sorting table, unseen and unheard. One day a slip of paper containing the word bondmaid flutters beneath the table. She rescues the slip, and when she learns that the word means "slave girl," she begins to collect other words that have been discarded or neglected by the dictionary men. As she grows up, Esme realizes that words and meanings relating to women's and common folks' experiences often go unrecorded. And so she begins in earnest to search out words for her own dictionary: the Dictionary of Lost Words. To do so she must leave the sheltered world of the university and venture out to meet the people whose words will fill those pages. Set during the height of the women's suffrage movement and with the Great War looming, The Dictionary of Lost Words reveals a lost narrative, hidden between the lines of a history written by men. Inspired by actual events, author Pip Williams has delved into the archives of the Oxford English Dictionary to tell this highly original story. The Dictionary of Lost Words is a delightful, lyrical, and deeply thought-provoking celebration of words and the power of language to shape the world. 40
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AUGUST BONUS BOOKS
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Readers are the diamonds in our crowns. It’s my pleasure and honor to introduce you to our “cousin”, Betty Koval….
THE LITTLE GIRL WHO READ AND READ AND STILL READS SOME MORE BY
BETTY KOVAL Once upon a time a little girl lived on a farm way out in the country. She seemed so far away from the source of the books she loved to read. Oh, she remembers that first book in which she read the pictures – MOTHER GOOSE – and how she cherished that book. She memorized it from cover to cover. And then once she could read, I mean really read the words, she could check books out of the town library every Saturday. There was no such thing as a Bookmobile or horse riders bringing books out to the farm, she had to wait every week for Saturday so she could return the six books she checked out and exchange them for more. 42
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A TRUE GEM - BOOK CLUB MEMBER BETTY KOVAL
Being able to check out six books, rather than only the normal two, was at the request of her Mom to the local librarian, Mrs. Poe. She was a dear lady who even gave the little girl some great suggestions as she read through the Children’s section and on into the Mystery section. Things got real interesting then, the little girl just whizzed through these books because she could not wait to find out how the books ended. Now, this is pretty much how she is as a grown woman of the Baby Boomer generation, which makes her in the demographic category of, well let’s not go there! You see, because she is and always has been a voracious reader, she has an active mind and well, quite frankly, she can solve a mystery with the best of them. She has learned more history by reading than she ever did in high school and college courses she has taken over the years. Historical fiction and biographies are favorites. Then there is the GOOGLE option to check out why you have never heard this before. One can go down that rabbit hole for hours, for fact is stranger than fiction! She loves learning so much that even as a retiree she attends classes at UA (Alabama) @ Huntsville. There is this most wonderful source called Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (aka OLLI). This program was instituted by the Bernard Osher Foundation whose namesake is about 95 years young himself. He did this so people who retired would have the opportunity to continue to socialize and continue to use their brain with like-minded people. This is a blatant plug for the program and there are one hundred and twenty-three of them on college campuses across the United States. If you have the ISSUE NO.3
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opportunity, to attend at one of these college campuses, my advice is DO IT, DON’T WASTE YOUR BRAIN. Plus, the added benefit of socializing with others in your demographic keeps you young and vibrant. Now, back to the little reading girl who became a teen reader, then young woman, then a mother and back to such books as Mother Goose (yes, she still had that well-worn copy) and read to her two daughters, who became readers - go figure! They delved into many adventures by visiting “The Little House on the Prairie” books - what fun to imagine what it would have been like yourself! There were also some of her favorite Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys books, even a few favorite classic adventure stories like “The Three Musketeers” and “The Count of Monte Cristo” and oh, lest we not forget “Tom Sawyer” and “Huckleberry Finn” and the Mississippi River. This was special because we lived within a few miles of the mighty Mississippi. Fast forward to the little girl’s 50th birthday and then another move took place, so again, she found a book club to keep her sanity. After all, books were and always had been her best friends. By now, the little girl had accumulated several bookshelves full. Then she met this guy who – GUESS WHAT – was an avid reader as well. Let us just say movers hated to see shelves of books to move! But alas, some would be parted with but very quickly others would take their place. The much older little girl knew there are some among us who believe bookshelves are for some such trinkets and other memorabilia. But not this little lady, no siree, BOOKSHELVES ARE FOR BOOKS, PERIOD, end of statement. She has many of both, 44
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there is not a room in her home without books in it, and by books, she means several. After all, a guest needs a little variety in their selection of reading material, should the need arise. Okay, enough about home decor. Back to the best part of the little girl’s life. Now, she’d been a member of several book clubs over her lifetime but she was introduced in 2009 to the ULTIMATE in book clubs. This one would set her on a path of getting to meet and converse with the actual authors about their books and other interesting subjects (she would list them if she had the room here, but she will attest that many are like cousins and they know who they are). She was able to party with them in some remarkably interesting & wild costumes and be entertained by them as well. Lord, she will tell you, you have not lived until you have experienced one of Kathy L. Murphy’s Girlfriend Weekends! Not only did this grownup little reader meet favorite and new favorite authors, did you know she met new friends that loved to read as much as she did? Well, she was just over the moon to make these new friends and get to see them again every year like a big ole family reunion! The grownup little reader has been to all but two of the Pulpwood Queen Girlfriend’s Weekends since 2010 and she leaves ISSUE NO.3
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exhausted but on a book high like she only experiences once a year! She has even taken her reading husband a few of the years! (Oh, and he ends up buying more books than she does!) The first year he went, he turned to her before the first panel on the FIRST DAY was done and said, “I want to come back next year!” Now, that is saying something! In 2021, she zoomed and still had a ball! The grownup little reader was introduced to this club after her local bookstore owner, Mary Gay Shipley of THAT BOOKSTORE IN BLYTHEVILLE, won the, now coveted, “DOUG MARLETTE AWARD”. This is given each year to the person Kathy believes promotes literacy the most, not only that year but throughout their life. And what do you know? This grownup little reader WON THAT VERY AWARD in 2019! TALK ABOUT SURPRISED! She is quite the talker, mostly about the authors and their books, but she was speechless that day! She has that little boot in a place of honor on (okay, give her this one) one of her Pulpwood Queen bookshelves. Hey, that little boot deserves to be on one of those bookshelves with the very books she has promoted and followed authors to their book signings multiple times. Many times, taking a carload of other readers to support her author friends she has met through the Pulpwood Queens Book Club. This is probably her very favorite thing about the club – being introduced to authors she may never have discovered on her own. Supporting these authors is especially important to this 46
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grownup little reader, maybe THE most important thing! Due to some recent eye problems the grownup little reader has had to opt for more audible and audio books but that does not slow her down. She can tick off a few a month when up to par! Sometimes it may be less, but she is never without a book in her hand or purse, you know in case she must wait even a few minutes somewhere. All this grownup little reader can say is – KEEP READING - any genre, for one can always learn something and the more she learns the more she knows she does not know! READ IT! SUPPORT THE AUTHORS AND READ SOME MORE! SHE LOVES ALL OF HER INTERNATIONAL PULPWOOD QUEEN and TIMBER GUY AUTHORS aka COUSINS AND READER FRIENDS! Some of them may just become cousins next year!
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Breathless Bubbles & Books "Breathless paired with friends is the best pairing of all!" -Rebecca Rosenberg, Author, "Champagne Widows"
June Gift Box Special! Pearl River Mansion by Richard Schwartz and Breathless Brut in gorgeous gift box. $39.
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BREATHLESS BUBBLES & BOOKS COCKTAIL RECIPE
Black Pearl Breathless Cocktail 1 ounce Cognac 1 ounce Coffee Liqueur 3 ounces Breathless Brut Maraschino Cherry (try Luxardo!) Place maraschino cherry in the bo�om of a champagne flute. Combine cognac and coffee liqueur in a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake un�l well chilled. Strain into the flute over the maraschino cherry. Top with chilled Breathless brut. Make this ahead of �me in batch quan�ty with the following direc�ons: 1 – 750ml Bo�le Breathless Brut – chilled Combine the following in a glass bo�le with lid: 9 ounces Cognac 9 ounces Coffee Liqueur 4-1/2 ounces Water* Refrigerate un�l well chilled and ready to serve. *This small amount of water compensates for the dilu�on factor or shaking with ice. When ready to serve add the following to each glass: 1 Maraschino Cherry 2-1/2 ounces Cognac & Coffee Liqueur mixture 2-3/4 to 3 ounces Breathless Brut Cheers! From www.breathlesswines.com Sign up for monthly Breathless newsle�er deals! ISSUE NO.3
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WWW.TROUBLECATMYSTERIES.COM
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TO ADD TO YOUR TO BE READ LIST
Trouble has a sixth sense when it comes to criminals--but ghosts? Is Loftus Manor haunted or is Tommie Sykes being played? On sale June 28 print and digital. Carolyn Haines--USA Today bestselling author ISSUE NO.3
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The House my Father Built (or why I write) I grew up in small-town Piedmont, North Carolina in the 1950’s, in a setting that seemed idyllic, but wasn’t in many ways for many people. There was little back then, in my working-class background, that augured a future of writing anything, much less a novel (and reams of legal folderol). My mother dropped out of school in the first grade and my father quit after the fifth grade. They read the Bible and newspapers (my mother moving her finger across the page and mouthing the words), but no books. I do recall my father reading two books to me, one about Pilot Jack Knight, the other a musty volume we never finished, with a little girl and a scarecrow on a worn cover. My road to writing was uncertain and torturous: a chaotic and sometimes bizarre family life and a summer spent recovering from rheumatic fever, library books stacked beside me on the bed. Like many others who write, I live in multiple worlds—the world of reality, sometimes tragic, sometimes gloriously wonderful; the world of absorbed knowledge from books and experience, Plato to Madame Bovary and blood freshly flowing from a boy’s wounds; and the world of imagination, to which I escaped as a child fleeing the house with my dog, when my mother raged against my father or fell into fits of crying. If you discover this vast and mysterious new world of imagination, you want to explore it, to share it, to write about what you find there. At the end of the day, I write because I’m at war with my own mortality. Our father was a good man. That’s what my brother said in the hospital 52
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WHERE WE’RE FROM
corridor as he pulled out a package of Kent’s and offered me one. Stoic, autocratic, reticent, my father was a mystery to me in many ways. After he died, when I was fifteen, I searched for anything he had written, where he had put down his thoughts, so I could have something more than the memories, something that would replace the conversations I would never have with him as I grew older. The only thing I found was a pocket-size notepad he carried,
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with lists, groceries and the like. And a short letter to a shipmate of my uncle’s, asking to talk with him about Jim’s last moments when their destroyer sank off Newfoundland in 1942. My father built the house where I grew up. It’s in the photo: white stucco, green roof, red brick chimney for a fireplace we never used. He dug the foundation and cellar, framed it in, laid the cinder blocks, applied the stucco inside and out (the paint peeled off the walls in the winter, but it was cool in the summer), installed all the plumbing and electricity, and white-washed the outside almost every year. A few friends at the local Post Office where he worked doing maintenance, cleaning the toilets, and polishing the spittoons in the courtroom, helped him some, my brother says. The house still stands, and it provides shelter and warmth to another family, as it did for ours. I could never build a house; I couldn’t even square a board for a birdhouse in eighth-grade shop. So, this too is why I write, to create an edifice to memorialize what I’ve learned in life and leave something that will last for a while longer after I am gone. James Garrison
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WHERE WE’RE FROM
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I started my full time art career fifteen years ago on the day that I first sold the exact number of paintings I needed to make my expenses that month. I quit my sales job and went into business for myself full time that very day. It was a huge risk and I didn’t care one whit – I was so ready to spend my life creating art. Then at one point about ten years ago, I started to paint the first in a series of paintings I called the Gumbeaux Sistahs. To me they were a group of southern women who are all about loving, respecting, and supporting each other all while having more fun than anyone else.But then, a few years ago, the women in the paintings, the Gumbeaux Sistahs, began to remind me of friends that I have – friends who are crazy, kind, and supportive of each other. Friends that I love. The Sistahs started to suggest stories to me and seemed to have something to say. I decided to give them their voices. Every day, I’d sneak out of my studio for an hour or so and The Gumbeaux Sistahs novels were born. On Oct. 5, 2018, I launched the first book, The Gumbeaux Sistahs, and put the girls out into the world – and, delightfully, the world seems to like them. It’s available on Amazon.com and my website – www.gumbeauxsistahs.com. In 2019, I launched book two, Gumbeaux Love and in October of 2021, book three is due out and called Gumbeaux Magic. 56
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MEET JAX FREY
In general, the books are about this: Five southern women wage a hilarious war against the ageism problems of one of their deep-introuble sisters, using their improbable friendships, evil-genius schemes, oh-so-numerous cocktails and a shared passion for good gumbo. It’s a heart-warming and sometime heart-rendering story that sometimes make you cry and sometimes make you embarrass yourself by laughing out loud. So looking back on my art and writing life I find it interesting to see how one thing led to another like stepping stones: - My former sales career led to me being able to create and sell my own paintings. -The paintings themselves led me to create The Gumbeaux Sistahs novels. -The Gumbeaux Sistahs novels led to creating more paintings which became Gumbeaux Sistahs cover art. I am convinced there are more stepping stones to come and I can’t wait to see what happens. In the meantime, get your Gumbeaux on! Jax Frey
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MEET JAX FREY
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Uncle Wilkensack When I was little, I had an imaginary friend. His name was Uncle Wilkensack. Actually, I had twenty-one imaginary friends because Uncle Wilkensack had a wife, they had seventeen kids and they had two pet alligators. I can still remember the first time I met them. I was sick with what everyone back then called “the croup”, something I had often. I had a really high fever and was lying in bed when Uncle Wilkensack and his wife appeared. It was summer in Tennessee, but they were dressed in winter clothes. A wool coat and a boxy hat on him, a silky fur coat and pillbox hat for her. Dressed up for some fancy shindig, Mrs. Wilkensack completed the look with pearls, bright read lipstick, and circles of rouge on her powdered cheeks. She smelled like White Shoulders perfume as she leaned over they were about four feet tall - to take my hand. Uncle Wilkensack touched my forehead and patted my cheek. They never spoke, just smiled and fussed over me. I felt safe and loved. I was four years old. I didn't meet their kids until later, then the alligators appeared one morning as I was watching Captain Kangaroo in the living room. Unnoticed under the coffee table until Mama came in to vacuum and almost sucked them up with her new 60
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IMAGINATION STATION
Electrolux. I don't know who was more surprised, Mama, me, or the alligators. I raised such a fuss Mama finally gave in and the alligators were spared. As you can imagine, I had lots of fodder for stories! My mama taught me to read before I started kindergarten. I fell in love with books and the magic inside each one. I wanted to do that, I wanted my name on the cover - to be the one who turned words into something magical - to give someone an escape from reality. To make someone laugh, show them the Wilkensack's, and take them on our adventures. I never put those stories down on paper, they were best for telling - but they were MY stories and they showed me that my words had power. I'm not sure when Uncle Wilkensack and his family decided to move on to the next kid that needed them. There were no goodbyes - I probably had my nose stuck in a book and didn't notice them packing their suitcases. But every time I sit down to write, I can't help but think of them and say a little thank you. Mandy Haynes ISSUE NO.3
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Meet Marilyn My name is Marilyn and I'm the chief egg producer at Butterfly Cove Botanicals. You'll see Gabby in the background. She's always too busy talking to pay attention when I take a selfie. When we were in grade school our teacher, Ms. Rhodes Island, told everyone in class: "Gabby talks and talks and TALKS. Other hens can't focus on their arithmetic because Gabby talks so much."
Here at Butterfly Cove, the hens sent the rooster packing because he didn't allow reading during recess. We can't be bothered with such nonsense. You see, we put our beaks together and formed the first ever Chapter of the Pulpwood Poultry Readers Club. Humans think 64
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IF OUR PETS COULD TALK
we only lay eggs, but reading is our passion.
Our favorite book is Click Clack Moo, Cows that Type by Doreen Cronin. We like it because the hens go on strike and stop laying eggs. They are probably reading, or writing their own story. Here's a picture of BeeBee and Mama Red, teaching a human (Jamie Woody) to read. Gurl.. . let me preach, that's a job! When speaking of chickens, humans toss around derogatory words such as, "bird brain," which imply that hens aren't intelligent. Before tossing around such hurtful words, I must ask, have you ever tried to teach a human to read? Gurl. No wonder hens go on strike. The Pulpwood Poultry Readers reside in the mountains of Western North Carolina on the Butterfly Cove Botanical farm with Author, Renea Winchester. ISSUE NO.3
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Upcoming Events For Our Members *Taken from our Calendar of Events All events will be posted on The International Pulpwood Queen and Timber Guy Reading Nation Facebook page and on Kathy L. Murphy's YouTube Channel. We encourage everyone to join us live in 2021. Each event is an opportunity to show support, share stories, and make connections!
Join Kathy L. Murphy and Robert Gwaltney every Saturday at 6:30pm CST for The Pulpwood Queen Book to Film Club. Email Kathy L. Murphy at thepulpwoodqueen@gmail.com for the link up to one hour prior to the event.
Guest Host schedule for Breathless Bubbles and Books: May 31st - June 6th June 7th - June13 June14th - June 20th June 21st - June27th June 28th - July 4th July 5th - July 11th July 12th - July 18th July19th - July 25th July 26th - August 8th 66
Richard Schwartz & Wendy Carter Joy Ross Davis Richard Fifield Mandy Haynes Renea Winchester Jax Frey Marci Henna Nola Nash Bette Lee Crosby
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IMPORTANT INFORMATION
Featured Author Schedule for Tuesday Night Online Book Club For April & May. Email Kathy L. Murphy thepulpwoodqueen@gmail.com for the link up to one hour prior to the event. June 1st June 8th June 15th June 22nd June 29th July 6th July13th July 20th July 27th
Richard Schwartz & Wendy Carter Joy Ross Davis Richard Fifield Mandy Haynes Renea Winchester Jax Frey Marci Henna Nola Nash Bette Lee Crosby
Writing Workshop (2nd Saturday of each month at 10am CST) Email Kathy L. Murphy thepulpwoodqueen@gmail.com for the link up to one hour prior to the event. June 12th
Ruthie Landis Using the Enneagram for Character Development
July 10th
TBA
August 14th Anju Gattani TBA
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“Kathy L. Murphy is a force of nature. She didn’t merely take a lemon and make lemonade. With her drive, courage, imagination, and, most powerfully, her abundant love, she made a big lemon pie with whipped cream and cherries on fop. She is proof that dreams are out there to be realized. Read her book and go forth!” —Rue McClanahan, author of My First Five Husbands . . . And the Ones Who Got Away “Kathy Murphy is the patron saint of writers and readers. If she didn’t exist, we writers would have to invent her.” —Doug Marlette, author of Magic Time
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TIARA WEARING, BOOK SHARING GUIDE TO LIFE
You know Kathy is passionate about connecting readers and authors, but did you know that she once worked as a book publisher’s representative? Y’all it’s all about the story and Kathy L. Murphy has many to tell. Below is an excerpt from book, The Pulpwood Queens’ Tiara Wearing, Book Sharing, Guide to Life “…a couple years later, after having our first child, I decided I was going to pursue a job that was—besides hair—my other true passion. I love to read and I love books. I decided that I wanted to work in a bookstore. Starting as a lowly bookseller, I began working from the ground up in a nearby independent bookstore. Several months later, I was promoted to children’s manager and buyer. I read everything I could get my hands on—books, trade magazines, and book-publisher catalogs. I absorbed the book business like a sponge. I lived and breathed books and began to feel as if printer’s ink was coursing through my veins. I commuted back and forth to the bookstore even through my second pregnancy, and I worked there for most of my children’s formative years. Then I was made an offer I could not refuse. I accepted the job of a book lover’s lifetime: I became a book publisher’s representative. I loved working in the bookstore. Not only were books my friends, but that bookstore and my coworkers became my second family. I compare those years at the bookstore with my first twelve years of schooling and being raised by my family. I had learned everything I possibly could, but now, with my new job offer, it was time to graduate. Here would be the job, the career, that would be my lifelong profession. Being a publisher’s rep was my dream come true, and I would have happily done that job for the rest of my days. You know the expression Every cloud has a silver lining? A friend of mine once reversed it. She said, “Every silver lining has a cloud.” I am here to tell you that, backwards, it is every bit as true.” Read more of Kathy L. Murphy’s journey in THE PULPWOOD QUEENS’ TIARA WEARING, BOOK SHARING, GUIDE TO LIFE. “Kathy Murphy is an American original—a renegade housewife, mother, beautician, and bibliophile, who has made books as much a part of her life as hair curlers and car pools. She has a voice as unique and memorable as many of those she has championed.” —Linda Bloodworth Thomason, author of Liberating Paris
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CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS
Let’s have fun and share some stories! I came up with the idea for this collection because I had such positive responses from readers I shared my works in progress with when I was working on my first collection. I still get emails from some of them who want to know if I’m ready to share a few pages of one of my novels in progress. I’ve been saying I wasn’t…but maybe I am. And maybe we could do it together! Your submission doesn't have to be something you are working on at the moment. Maybe there were scenes that had to be deleted from your last manuscript, or there is something that you love, but haven't worked on in awhile... This book will be a great tool that not only tells who we are - proud Pulpwood Queens and Timber Guys - BUT also shows the reader that we have a diverse group of authors that cover lots of genres. Submissions must read as a short story (DON’T OVERTHINK IT - IT DOESN’T HAVE TO MEET A SPECIFIC STANDARD, IT JUST HAS TO BE ENJOYABLE AND PEAK THE READER’S INTEREST) length can be between 200 to 4000 words. Each submission must have the story behind the piece and a short bio in a separate attachment. Only one submission per author please. If you’d like your work in progress to be considered, send it to mandy.pulpwoodqueen@gmail.com
Deadline for submissions is September 30th
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INTERNATIONAL PULPWOOD QUEEN AND TIMBER GUY BOOK CLUB
If you’re an author member and would like to purchase a page (or more) to feature your book, I have several pages left. If you’re a member of the International Pulpwood Queen or Timber Guy Book Club and have a story you’d like to share in the READING NATION MAGAZINE, I’d love to hear it. Book Club Members that includes you! We love our readers and you will always have a place in the magazine to share your news. I’m looking for pets to feature on our If Our Pets Could Talk page, authors and their art, photos of your local bookstores, and libraries. Or if you have an interesting blog article you’d like to share that you think our reader’s would enjoy Send them, as well as any questions about the magazine, to readingnationmagazine@gmail.com.
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SPECIAL SUMMER OFFICIAL PICK EDITION JUNE 2021
READING NATION MAGAZINE
Guesthouse for Ganesha by Judith Teitelman In 1923, seventeen-year-old Esther Grünspan arrives in Köln “with a hardened heart as her sole luggage.” Thus begins a twenty-two-year journey, woven against the backdrops of the European Holocaust and the Hindu Kali Yuga (the “Age of Darkness” when human civilization degenerates spiritually), in search of a place of sanctuary. Throughout her travails, using cunning and shrewdness, Esther relies on her masterful tailoring skills to help mask her Jewish heritage, navigate war-torn Europe, and emigrate to India. Esther’s traveling companion and the novel’s narrator is Ganesha, the elephant-headed Hindu God worshipped by millions for his abilities to destroy obstacles, bestow wishes, and avenge evils. Impressed by Esther’s fortitude and relentless determination, born of her deep―though unconscious―understanding of the meaning and purpose of love, Ganesha, with compassion, insight, and poetry, chooses to highlight her story because he recognizes it is all of our stories―for truth resides at the essence of its telling. Weaving Eastern beliefs and perspectives with Western realities and pragmatism, Guesthouse for Ganesha is a tale of love, loss, and spirit reclaimed. In 2008 Judith was a finalist for a PEN Emerging Voices Fellowship. In 2016 her debut novel’s first chapter was published in the highly regarded literary journal “PoemMemoirStory.” Guesthouse for Ganesha, a tale of love, loss, and spirit reclaimed, is this award-winning novel published in May 2019. ISSUE NO.3
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“Teitelman paints an intensely beautiful world in which different cultures merge in surprising ways. . . . A rich and moving story about an unlikely pair.” Kirkus Reviews
