The Pulpwood Queen DECLARES Don't Quit Your Day Job!

Everything good that has ever happened in my life is because I have been a reader.  Being a reader is a part of me as my slightly crooked front tooth, the fact that I bite my fingernails, and that I am slightly pigeon toed.  But I never knew you could make a living from being a reader, that came much later to me in life. All I know is what I have learned through my mistakes only now I use the word "discoveries.  Funny how that sounds so much better.  I have discovered you just don't quit your day job and for me that being a hairdressing bookseller.

When I was growing up education was always stressed in our family home.  I never knew what I wanted to be as all the things that interested me were things that I never dreamed you could make a living from, but I tried.  I grew up in the city pool, my dad managed it, so we kids were swimming as babies.  I eventually became a lifeguard.  Great job as you could work on your tan and get paid.  For me that was $2 an hour at the Eureka Country Club.  Sounds like not much but I could fill up my VW bug on three bucks, but that kind of job kind of peters out after college.  This was years before I learned their were professional lifeguards, okay, but the television series Baywatch made me realize that was NOT going to be a possibility.  I love art, creating, but everybody knows being an art major is the kiss of death as far as jobs are concerned.  So what do I do, I go to Kansas State University and become a Design major.  Well, you can dream can't you but it sure doesn't pay the bills.
 
After my second year of college my mother informed me I needed to get a REAL job to help pay my way through college.  So after checking out the job market for a two year college student I pretty quickly learned that cooking hamburgers at McDonald's, (they turned me down as being overqualified), I needed to get a serious career.  I dropped out of college and became a hairdresser.  Makes sense, right?  I know you are laughing.

No, seriously, becoming a cosmetologist was a legit way of making some big bucks.  Vidal Sassoon was on the rise and Farrah Fawcett had driven young girls in droves to salons to emulate that iconic cut.  I excelled at beauty school and became a graduate of Crum's Beauty College in Manhattan, Kansas.  This was to be a means to the end of me getting a REAL education.  I could work my way through college doing hair.

Fast forward to years of searching for my life work, in and out of colleges, seven to be exact to end up with my dream job of becoming a book publisher's representative. (You have to read my book to get the back story which will be mentioned up ahead). 

Ah ha, you could make a living from being a REAL reader.  Then I got fired, downsized, was how my boss explained it.  The big box chains had come in to independent bookstore territory and were shutting them down by the dozens including pretty much all in my four state client base.  I was back to square one.

That is where my book begins, "The Pulpwood Queens' Tiara Wearing, Book Sharing Guide to Life", my life story of how books have saved me over and over again.  My beginning chapter began with getting fired and I aptly titled the chapter, "When Life Hands You a Lemon, Forget Lemonade, Make Margaritas", well I paraphrased that chapter title as it has been some time, 2008, since that book was published.  I ended up going back to cutting and coloring hair.  Yes, that's right I opened my Beauty and the Book, the ONLY Hair Salon/Book Store in the country. 

So that's my day job, I do hair and talk and sell books!  I love it!  I have combined my two passions, creating art, (doing hair), and talking books!

Now my Daddy always told me it never hurts to learn a trade with your hands, that advice has served me well but it is books that have taken me all the places I never dreamed I would go.  Or the people I would meet...including Diane Sawyer of Good Morning America, see photo above.  You see my book club that I started shortly after I opened Beauty and the Book, The Pulpwood Queens, has become the largest "meeting and discussing" book club in the WORLD!  516 chapters, folks, coast to coast, everywhere inbetween and in over a dozen foreign countries.  Diane even asked me and my book club to help Charlie Gipson and her kick off their READ THIS Book Club on Good Morning America.  Who would have ever dreamed that this small town Kansas girl now an East Texan turned hairdressing bookseller would ever have that kind of opportunity.

Then I just recently was sponsored by Random House Publishing to film 12 episodes of an online book club talk show, Beauty and the Book, www.beautyandthebookshow.com!  Who knew I would be flying to California to do shows with the likes of Janelle Brown, Lisa See, and Fannie Flagg, see photo above, and many more from my shop like, Susan Vreeland, Paula McLain, Karen Abbott, Anna Quinlen, and the like.  Oh, the places reading good books can take you!

Then I have this annual Pulpwood Queen Book Club Convention every year called Girlfriend Weekend.  The last two years have brought the likes of Pat Conroy, about fifty authors every year to this sold out venue, see photo of my Pulpwood Queen SIRENS of Katy, Texas!

We won't even mention or perhaps we will the Pulpwood Queen literacy adventures to Europe, trip to Monroeville, Alabama for the 50th Anniversary of "To Kill a Mockingbird", (my favorite book), or cruising to the Bahamas, and now our trip to England in December of this year with The Pulpwood Queens of Houston!

Now back to my day job, doing hair and selling books.  Running the hair salon part is easy.  I have a client base that is spread far and wide.  Authors mecca in to my shop and book club groups too.  We always have fun.  The book part is hard, no doubt about it. I learned right away that the only true books I sell are local, regional, and Pulpwood Queen Book Club Selections so that is what I carry.  But even selling those has become a daily battle.  With online book sales offering the moon and e-readers, my only course of action is hand selling big time.  Now I can talk books all day and night but I need people to come to my shop to do that so why not plan a literary road trip to my little ole independent bookstore/hair salon!  We'll leave the hair dryer on for ya and recently have become a jewelry store too!  We have many Pulpwood Queen branded items for sale.  I only sell what I truly believe in so I think my shop is the best kept secret in the country, perhaps the world afterall, we are the WORLD WIDE HEADQUARTERS OF THE PULPWOOD QUEENS!

Everything I carry I believe is a treasure.  This is my life's work creating beauty and sharing books.  I may never have known what I was going to be when I grew up but God did have a big plan for me and I know now it's all centered around Beauty and the Book!  So again, don't quit your day job, you never know where it may take you!!!
Tiara wearing and Book sharing,
Kathy L. Patrick
www.beautyandthebook.com, official website!
www.beautyandthebookshow.com, official book club talk show site!
www.pulpwoodqueen.com, official blog site!
www.girlfriendweekend.blogspot.com, official Girlfriend Weekend site!
www.booksalive.blogspot, official Christian Book and Author Event site!
P.S. Check us out on Facebook under Beauty and the Book and Kathy L. Patrick.  I'm on Twitter too under Pulpwoodqueen!

The Pulpwood Queen Reports on Second Book Festival She Runs, Books Alive, a Christian and Inspirational Book Festival!

Dear Readers!

As the new facilitator for A Good Blog is Hard to Find, I have been posting on my literacy endeavors so you will get to know me better.  Yesterday, I posted the teaser on my annual Pulpwood Queens and Timber Guys Book Club Convention which we call our Girlfriend Weekend Author Extravaganza!  I run another book festival too and this one is a total fundraiser for my church, The First United Methodist Church of Jefferson, Texas.

This all began during Hurricane Katrina and Ike.  I found my minister waiting tables at the local eatery, The Hamburger Store.  I had run over to pick up a sandwich for lunch and there was Pastor Polly, our minister then, busing and serving tables.  "What in the world Polly? And who are all these people?" I inquired.  Not stopping for a minute, I followed her around as she explained.  All the people in the restaurant were displaced families from Hurricane Katrina.  The restaurant was feeding the families with the help of donations and volunteers and the place was packed.  All these people had lost their homes and were stranded in Jefferson. 

You can read all about it in my book, "The Pulpwood Queens' Tiara Wearing, Book Sharing Guide to Life".  To make a long story short, our church depleted it's food bank, all monetary funds and resources, and our church members too to help these families as we converted our Sunday School rooms into shelters for these families.  Now I don't have a whole lot of money but I do know how to run a book festival.  Books Alive was born with ALL the profits and proceeds going to my church whose sole mission is outreach and mission.  This year marks and 5th year and I know it will also grow to be as big as our Girlfriend Weekend.

More authors will be added just waiting on press kits and such but this is what I do.  To me it's not just enough to be a reader.  We all must pay it forward too.  If you read my book, you'll understand that I wear many hats and even a crown when it comes to promoting authors, books, literacy, and reading.  That's why being able to help facilitate this A Good Blog is Hard to Find is yet another dream come true. 

So here we go on this reading and writing life journey together, please join me, SHARE BIG TIME, and comment!  If there is one true thing I have learned in life is life is about our relationships with others.  To me it's the stories that make the connections!  I am happy to serve all of YOU!

Truly,

Kathy L. Patrick

Author of " The Pulpwood Queens' Tiara Wearing, Book Sharing Guide to Life"

Founder of the Pulpwood Queens and Timber Guys Book Clubs

Beauty and the Book

608 North Polk

Jefferson, Texas 75657

903-665-7520

kathy@beautyandthebook.com

http://www.beautyandthebook.com/

http://www.pulpwoodqueen.com/

Books Alive FUMC Jefferson 2010!

I am proud to announce that the Keynote Speaker at our Books Alive, Christian and Inspirational Book Festival, November 12 - 14th will be Sam Bracken with Echo Garrett of My Orange Duffel Bag"!



Sam Bracken grew up in a family best described as a whacked-out version of The Brady Bunch on an episode of Cops, living in rundown apartments and trailers on the fringes of Las Vegas. Mobsters and motorcycle gang members were his role models. Horrifically abused by his wannabe mobster stepfather Leroy and his sadistic older stepbrother, Sam started drinking and doing drugs by age 9.



Sam's love of sports - track and especially football - became his salvation. His dream of being a professional football player led him to a radical decision as a 13-year-old to quit doing drugs and drinking and find a path out of the dark life he was living. Languished in special education classes until an eighth grade teacher discovered his need for glasses. When Sam was 15, his mom, who'd often worked three jobs to support the family, suffered a mental breakdown and abandoned him to become the den mother of the notorious Hessian motorcycle gang.



Miraculously, Sam was awarded a full-ride football scholarship to The Georgia Institute of Technology. He came back from what the doctors said were career-ending injuries and was a critical part of a Georgia Tech team with one of the best records in the school's history. Sam graduated from Georgia Tech in 1986 with honors and a degree in Industrial Management. In 1993 Sam received an MBA with an emphasis in Marketing from BYU’s Marriott School of Management. Sam is a member of the National Speakers Association.



Today the abused, homeless teen in special education classes has grown into a man who lives the American dream, with a beautiful family of his own. He serves as the global director of Franklin Covey Media Publishing, a division of the world's leading training and leadership organization with services in more than 145 countries. He is the co-sounder of The Orange Duffel Bag Foundation, a nonprofit with the mission of helping homeless teens and those aging out of foster care to connect with hope.



"In Sam Bracken's simple, unique, and poignant telling of his life story, he manages to take away all excuses and inspire readers to move past the valleys of hurts and disappointments in their lives. Bracken's uplifting tale is a must-read!"

- RICHARD PAUL EVANS,

#1 The New York Times bestselling author of The Christmas Box



"I spent five years with Sam Bracken at a time of transformation for him. His is a stunning story of courage, resiliency, and servant-leadership. There are two pains in live - the pain of discipline and the pain of regret...we all choose every day. The difference in Sam and those who are gobbled up by our sick society is that he usually chose wisely. We would all do to read, and heed, his powerful message."

- BILL CURRY,

NCAA football coach and former NFL player



"Change is hard. Everyone wants it. So few get it. In this on-of-a-kind book, Same lays out a fool-proof, step-by-step approach to change through sharing his own remarkable journey from victim to conqueror. This book is a must read for everyone who wants to leave their baggage behind once and for all and become the change they seek!

- STEPHEN R. COVEY,

author of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, The 8th Habit: From Effectiveness to Greatness and The Leader in Me



For more on Sam Bracken and his book and not-for-profit go to:

www.MyOrangeDuffelBag.com

www.OrangeDuffelBagFoundation.com



Invited authors who have confirmed their attendance!:



Judy Christy of Gone to Green, Goodness Gracious Green (releases this fall) and the Hurry Less, Worry Less series of books

www.judychristie.com



Missy Buchanan of Living with a Purpose in a Worn-Out Body:Spiritual Encouragement for Older Adults and Talking with God in Old Age: Meditations and Psalms



Sometimes you just know when you've experienced a holy nudge. A stirring of your soul that moves you in a certain direction. For me, the nudge has been to write about life's journey. I am passionate about many things--- faith, family, friends and especially older adults who need a dose of spiritual encouragement. I find my inspiration in real life experiences that involved my elderly mother and others like her. I'm so glad you stopped by my web site.

I hope you'll find it a blessing.

Grace,

Missy



Carla Stewart of Chasing Lilacs: A Novel



There's just somethin' about the Good Old Days



While writing about nostalgic times, I've learned that every era has its wonders and its woes. Humans at their best and at their worst. The good and the bad. Thankfully, we seem to remember the lazy summers, the music that filled our hearts, the carefree and careless days of our youth. We tend to forget the trauma and angst although it is the sum of all our experiences that has molded us into who we are today.



Today, I'm a writer. One who views the world through a lens of why and what if. I've always had a heart for those who've been trampled on in life, so theirs are the stories I write — in the guise of fiction that is.



How about you? What are your favorite memories? Whether your "good old days" were five years ago or fifty, I'm interested. You're the reason I write.



God Bless.

Carla


Karla K. Morton of Redefining Beauty




www.kkmorton.com



Karla K. Morton, the 2010 Texas State Poet Laureate, has been described as “one of the more adventurous voices in American poetry” with good reason.



In addition to her book/CD, Wee Cowrin’ Timorous Beastie (a North Texas Book Festival Awards Finalist), Morton’s poetry has been widely published in literary journals, and she is currently featured in an episode of Veria TV's The Art of Living Gallery for her promotion of poetry as a healing tool for the soul.



Karla's latest book, Redefining Beauty, is now available! It's a unique poetry collection written during Morton's journey through cancer diagnosis, treatment and recovery.

Gloria P. Jaggers of "Give me a Broom to Sweep Away the Cobwebs of my Mind". Gloria Pearson Jaggers was born in 1925.  She was a 21 year old and attending The University of Minnesota when she left her Minneapolis home and began her adventures in Tokyo, Japan.  She jumped on a n opportunity to move to Guam, and visited Iwo jima in 1946 while the military was still cleaning our Mount Surihachi.  Her life as a military wife took her from Guam to Oklahoma, Taiwan, South Dakota, North Dakota, and Louisiana.
Gloria has  living children, 8 grandchildren, and two great-grandsons.  Gloria retired in East Texas, where she enjoys writing, reading, painting, and reflecting on God's goodness to her.

Patricia Hickman, author of "The Pirate Queen".  “I write about family life and the emotional lives of women. My writing is influenced by the music, nature, and culture of the South with its mountain-walled valleys and impulsive rivers. I tell the stories of a people shaped by the yen of land and shorelines. As a girl, I nursed an innate curiosity for finding extraordinary stories in the lives of ordinary people, as was evidenced in my asking each new person I met to tell me their story.” ~ Patricia Hickman




Patricia Hickman, M.F.A., is an award-winning author of fiction and non-fiction whose work has been praised by critics and readers alike. Patricia first studied creative writing at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock and then went on to do graduate studies in creative writing at Queens University. She writes for major publishers and is currently at work on her eighteenth book, a novel set in the North Carolina Piedmont. Her next novel,The Pirate Queen, will release Summer 2010, a story that takes readers journeying from suburban Lake Norman to the sailing villages of the Outer Banks. She has served as a writing professor at UNCC and taught in writing workshops across the country offering her popular “Creating Characters–Giving Story People Life” workshops and courses on fiction. She, along with her hubby, founded a non-profit charity that benefits moms and children with HIV called The Secret Angels Project. Her fiction is known for its depth of understanding of the human condition underscored by redemptive themes.




Books Alive will be November 12 - 14, 2010 as follows:

Friday Night Author Dinner

Saturday All Day Author Panels

Sunday Morning Worship Service
Books Alive is a total fundraiser for The First United Methodist Church and our Early Bird Special for the entire package is $50 which includes:

Friday night Author Dinner

Saturday Author Luncheon

All author events and for the first 200 you will receive a FREE BOOK!



Checks may be made payable to and sent to:

First United Methodist Church of Jefferson, Texas

Please mark: Books Alive!

305 West Henderson Street

Jefferson, Texas 75657

903-665-3268



Price will go up September 1, 2010 and do book now as tickets are limited. After September 1, 2010, the price goes up $50 a month. The FUMC of Jefferson, Texas is a non-for-profit for all monies sent are tax-deductible.



Details are forthcoming on all events so please check the Event page of http://www.beautyandthebook.com/ often!



Tiara wearing, Beauty and the Book sharing,

Kathy L. Patrick

Founder/Executive Director of Books Alive

kathy@beautyandthebook.com

Pastor Allison Byerley

adbyerley@gmail.com

www.jeffersonfumc.com

Books Alive! Is Back and Getting Better and Better!

When I moved to East Texas twenty plus years ago, I never dreamed I would be dealing with hurricanes. In fact, I moved from California to Texas because I was missing weather. What’s that old saying, “Be careful what you wish for?” Sunny San Diego, California was living like always you were always on vacation, sublime but after while; you miss work and a good thunderstorm. Great weather is boring. Growing up in Kansas, we were forever running for shelter from tornados. Electric storms were terrifying but also beautiful to watch in the night sky. Now with the onslaught of hurricanes, I can now say that I have lived through some beauties, Katrina, Rita, and mostly recently Ike.

Besides weather, I love reading. I am one of those people that forget to eat, sleep, and put off going to the bathroom until I am in dire straits because of a good book. I am a die hard booklover, thus have devoted my life to promoting reading. That is why I own a hair salon/bookstore, Beauty and the Book, and run the largest "meeting and discussing" book club in the country, The PUlpwood Queens! If I ain't reading, I'm not breathing!

A little back-story, one weekend on my birthday and it was one of those life changing ones, I decided to hold for myself a party. Only once in your life are you 49 and I was wanting a life changing experience. You may have heard this story before but like all good stories, they bear repeating. I had told all my family and friends that I had packed a bag, come kidnap me, and take me away for my birthday. I love surprises but I received the biggest surprise of my life. No one came to my party, no one. Talk about a life changing experience.

Now let me preface that by saying earlier in the day friends and family had stopped by to drop off gifts with reasons why they couldn’t join me later. A storm was brewing and it looked like a biggie! That just made my adrenaline run even faster with anticipation of my big surprise birthday. What happened folks was Hurricane Katrina hit!

My town had sandbagged the doors of businesses, we took cover. Jefferson seemed like it faired pretty well. Branches scattered, some trees down, a bit of water damage from the winds but what unfolded in the weeks ahead was something I had not ever imagined. Our town filled with displaced families that weekend from the hurricane. Good folks who drove out in their S.U.V.s, t-shirted and flip-flopped, maybe with the family pet, to ride out the weekend in our fair city that is known as a tourist town for it’s brick lined streets, museums, antiques stores, mom and pop eateries, bed & breakfasts, carriage and train rides on all the bayou. What happened that next Monday changed all of us! The levees broke.

What would you do if you lost everything? Your home and all it’s contents first, then no way to get home as it was flooded. What if you couldn’t get to your work or your bank? What if you were stranded in a town hours and hours away from home with the clothes on your back and maybe a credit card?

I believe that we all are about two weeks away from being homeless. You lose your job, your home, then how long can you go on a credit card? Not long my friends so that is when my church came into the picture. My church, The First United Methodist Church of Jefferson, began to help coordinate the efforts of helping these good folks, people displaced by the hurricane. My shop too became a place where they could go to get internet access, view the latest news on CNN or Fox as most bed & breakfasts did not have televisions, or perhaps get a relaxing shampoo. People were parked on my porch for hours just trying to get out of their rooms with no money to spend, just waiting. I brought out books and began reading in-between appointments to these folks and my children began reading to the children. For awhile we all were able to escape our lives and make time go perhaps a little less painfully slow as they waited for the word they could go home.

We are talking weeks. Weeks of waiting, most folks had to leave the bed & breakfasts as they had other reservations booked or their credit cards were declined. We opened the doors of our church and the community opened the doors of their homes. The Hamburger Store here in Jefferson through their own generousity and that of generous donations fed over 2,000 free meals. I never knew how much I loved Jefferson until that weekend. Our church and our town embraced mission and outreach.

My life was changed during those weeks as I will never look at a possession of mine the same way ever again including my books. What if that had been my family?

What I learned was that life is not about things. Life is about relationships. I had to do something to help but what? Being a bookseller, I didn’t have any real money to help. What could I do? I could do something that I do best. I could hold a Christian and Inspirational Author, Book, and Music festival to be a total fundraiser for the church. We call it Books Alive! You see the church depleted every resource they had from food and clothing bank, to funds to help others, to members of the church digging into their closets and pockets to help others.

The first year of Books Alive!, I emailed all my author friends to see who could come and help me put on this fundraiser. Denise Hildreth was one of the first authors to come aboard and guess what? Most of the authors to come aboard and let me state at their own expense were southern authors. That was nearly three years ago and it’s time again for Books Alive again, November 7 – 9th here in Jefferson, Texas. This will be our biggest year ever!

We have had quite a few more storms since then most recently, Hurricane Ike where we housed a family of almost fifty from Port Arthur, Texas at our church. I personally with my minister, Allison Byerley closed out our Books Alive account to help buy groceries and necessities for these people. We are back again this year flat broke. The family that stayed with us were Hispanic and even insisted on one night before they left cooking up a fiesta for all the volunteers. Great times my friends. The nicest people in the world. What if that had been our family?

I have to tell you I received the best birthday present that year and since then. One that I did not expect, but one that has made me a better person. If you are reading this you are a passionate reader. My books use to be my most cherished possessions but now I see them only as something to give away and share with others. My library use to be in my house, now I house my library in my heart. I have also found that they more you give, the richer your life becomes.

Every chance I get, I read these authors blogs. Everyone is a treasure. I am finding that a book loving community is all the home I will ever need. Share the love and pay it forward. And like me try to remember that your birthday should be worth celebrating by helping others. God made us all for a purpose and this Pulpwood Queen believes that is service to others through reading!

Tiara wearing and Book sharing,
Kathy L. Patrick
Founder of the Pulpwood Queens Book Clubs and author of “The Pulpwood Queens’ Tiara Wearing, Book Sharing Guide to Life
Beauty and the Book
608 North Polk Street
Jefferson, Texas 75657
www.beautyandthebook.com
www.pulpwoodqueen.com
And for more information on Books Alive go www.booksalivejefferson.com

P.S. Photo above of my church this past weekend taken during break as we were unloading a semi-load of pumpkins for our fundraiser, PUMPKIN PATCH!