Blog

As we pick up with Kathy L. Patrick and her Pulpwood Queens Book Tour they are driving onto Memphis, home of THE King to continue their adventures. Here's more about their glamorous life on the road as the tour starts to blur!

So I am up to my ears in weather, driving, having the time of my life with my girlfriends and now headed to Memphis.We all said hey to Elvis at Graceland and then drove the most incredible drive of my life to Nashville. We stayed with my good friend and author, Denise Hildreth. She gave us the fastest tour of Nashville ever and I vaguely remember driving the wrong way on the circle drive that led to the Parthenon.

Wait, weren't we in Tennessee. Yep, it was the Parthenon. Of course, I took pictures. Supreme southern dining that night at The Loveless Cafe with another author friend joining us, River Jordan. Now I think we did Atlanta next, in Georgia. Then we stayed with my author brother, Michael Morris and his wife Melanie in Birmingham, Alabama. I adopted them as they are the perfect brother and sister. You see I make up the rules as I go. You want a perfect brother and sister, adopt them. I did and it works.

Every thing after that eveining started to blur. Were we in Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi! I know we crossed the Mississippi River a couple times.

Now I know I visited bookstores in Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, Arkansas, Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and then a grand tour through Texas. I know as I blogged everyday from the road and you can read all about it at my Pulpwood Queens Blog. You'll have to scroll back for quite a ways as I got in the habit of blogging every day and now no one can stop me. Thank God I have another venue to get all of these book adventures out of my system.

We had a blast on my book tour. I started almost fifty more chapters of the Pulpwood Queens and met a kazillion book lovers along the way.

Did I also mention that besides the bookstore talks, the big hair makeovers, we also did radio, print, and television shows from start to finish. I have finally figured out why Brittany Spears went whack ---- too much fun and hardly any sleep. I guess, I have reached the age though where I have attained the maturity to realize that shaving my head bald is not a good look for a 51-year-old mom turned author.

So what did I learn from my own book tour?

First when an author arrives at my bookstore, I not only roll out the hot pink carpet, I kiss their feet. I'll rub them too. Well, if they have time to get a pedicure. But I have a scathingly brilliant idea, wouldn't it be cool if an author could take her publisher with her on book tour. Think of the fun. Think of the bonding. Think they would get it that we kill ourselves out there on the road and for what? Why in the world do we put ourselves in that kind of position? I will tell you why, because reading is just that important. I would climb the highest mountain, ford the widest river, all to promote literacy Just have that hot tub jacuzzi ready and waiting, okay?

So next time you hear of an author on book tour, go. Go and support this book adventurer. Lend them your support, an arm or hey, even a wheelchair will do. I blogged somewhere on the book tour, "Has any author every died from touring for their book?" I had no idea it was the Boston Marathon, the Ironman competition and a NASCAR race all rolled into trying to look glamorous and fashionable. Thank God for clip on hair dos and a Pulpwood Queen Posse.

I did joke with the girls that if I croaked from the book tour, think of the book sales! Take that Margaret Jones, talk about book love and consequences.

Seriously, when my menopausal brain hot flashes back to my first ever book tour, I can assure you, I'll never forget the good times and the bad. But it is just like they always say, "Life is not about the destination, but the ride." And I say "If I'm riding the road on book tour, somebody better be reading to me something." The Pulpwood Queen Posse sure did and these are the books that were either handed to us to read or recommended to us from the road. I gave them five diamonds in my Pulpwood Queen Tiara and made them official Pulpwood Queen Book Club Selections too!

The Chicken Dance by Jacques Couvillion
Serena by Ron Rash (not yet published)
The Shadow and the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
Same Kind of Different As Me by Ron Hall and Denver Moore

Last, I would like to say that I believe that I am probably the only author who brought more books back with them from book tour than they left with, (if you remember, I mentioned two cases in my previous post). I just counted my stash. I returned home with 52 books. So bye for now, I have got to get back to reading! But I will check back with you really soon!

---Kathy L. Patrick