Hot Pink

Last weekend I was in Jefferson, Texas, for the Pulpwood Queens’ Girlfriend Weekend. This is not your ordinary book festival. Picture a small, historic river town beset by women wearing tiaras, hot pink, and anything leopard print. Throw in about forty authors, some bewildered and jet-lagged and missing luggage, some a bit closer to home, all warming up to the spirit of the weekend, playing at reluctance while their eyes spark with mischief. Scent the air with gumbo, barbecue, enchilada sauce, frozen margaritas, chocolate pecan pie, and red wine.

Enter Kathy Patrick, Head Queen of the Pulpwood Queens, and the author of the recently released book The Pulpwood Queens’ Tiara-Wearing, Book-Sharing Guide to Life – she’s literally the most tireless, enthusiastic and charming supporter of books and reading and authors you will ever meet. She started the Pulpwood Queens about eight years ago, shortly after opening her bookshop/beauty salon, Beauty and the Book, and through sheer force of her exuberant personality has grown it into what has to be the largest book club in the world, with over a thousand members. (The leopard print comes from her childhood fascination with Tarzan, and the tiaras signify her appealing notion that every woman should crown herself a queen.)

Kathy was our fearless leader throughout the busy weekend, introducing such fascinating memoirists as Kim Sunée (Trail of Crumbs) and Heather Hornback-Bland (God Said Yes), and fantastic novelists Judy Merrill Larsen (All the Numbers), Paulina Porizkova (A Model Summer), Andrea Portes (Hick), Janis Owens (The Schooling of Claybird Catts), Lisa Wingate (Talk of the Town), Cassandra King (The Same Sweet Girls), Cai Emmons (The Stylist), Virginia Boyd (One Fell Swoop), Lynn York (The Sweet Life), and Darnell Arnoult (Sufficient Grace). Virginia, Lynn, and Darnell – besides being just about the nicest and most interesting and funny women you’d ever want to meet – give hope to writing groups everywhere by being members of a four-member writing group (fourth member Pamela Duncan was unable to attend the weekend) – unpublished when they started – who have now all been published by major publishers.

By Saturday night, after two full days of panel discussions on writing and reading (and a lot of good food), we were all ready for our Big Hair makeovers to get us ready for the Ball of Hair that would cap off the weekend. Kathy Patrick did the honors for several of the authors, while another handful of us were lucky enough to put ourselves at the mercy of the talented Debbie Rodriguez, author of Kabul Beauty School. I was honored to have my hair done by this amazing woman who operated the first beauty school in war-torn Afghanistan. I didn’t even complain when she decorated my hair with Christmas ornaments off the tree in Kathy’s shop, including a peacock with majestic tail feathers (some said it lent me a Gatsby-esque look) and a large green ball (only visible from the back). Here we all are with our hair and make-up done, pre-costumes.

As for the Ball itself, I watched in amazement the costume contest among the various book groups -- it was a tight contest, but the group all in leopard print dresses won. Visit Kathy Patrick's blog for photos. All in all, an incredible weekend!