READING NATION MAGAZINE APRIL 2022 by Reading Nation Magazine

Ninety-Nine Fire Hoops: A Memoir by Allison Hong Merrill Allison Hong is not your typical fifteen-year-old Taiwanese girl. Unwilling to bend to the conditioning of her Chinese culture, which demands that women submit to men's will, she disobeys her father's demand to stay in their faith tradition, Buddhism, and instead joins the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Then, six years later, she drops out of college to serve a mission-a decision for which her father disowns her. After serving her mission in Taiwan, twenty-two-year-old Allison marries her Chinese-speaking American boyfriend, Cameron Chastain. But sixteen months later, Allison returns home to their Texas apartment and is shocked to discover that, in her two-hour absence, Cameron has taken all the money, moved out, and filed for divorce. Desperate for love and acceptance, Allison moves to Utah and enlists in an imaginary, unforgiving dating war against the bachelorettes at Brigham Young University, where the rules don't make sense--and winning isn't what she thought it would be. 2021 Literary Titan Book Award Gold Medal Winner 2021 Readers’ Favorite International Book Award Gold Medal Winner 2021 Millennium Book Award Grand Prize Winner 2021 The Zibby Awards Winner 2021 International Impact Book Awards Winner 2021 IAN Book of the Year Winner 2021 IAN Outstanding Non-Fiction Award Winner 2021 Firebird Book Award Winner

2022 Feathered Quill Book Awards Winner 2021-2022 Reader Views Literary Awards Winner “The reader can’t help but hang onto her every word . . . A surprising but compelling memoir of resilience and family.” — Kirkus Reviews Allison was born and raised in Taiwan and arrived in the U.S. at twenty-two as a university student. That’s when she realized her school English wasn’t much help when asking for directions on the street or opening a bank account. By recording each of the classes she took––including physical education––and reviewing the tape every night for a year, she eventually learned English well enough to earn an MFA in Writing from Vermont College of Fine Arts. But please excuse her if she misuses the verb tenses or mixes up the genders in third-person pronouns when she speaks. It’s no secret–– English is a hard language to learn. Allison writes in both Chinese and English, both fiction and creative nonfiction, which means she spends a lot of time looking up words on Dictionary.com. She’s a Pushcart Prize nominee and her work has won both national and international awards, including National Championship in the 2010 Life Story Writing Competition in Taipei, Taiwan and the Grand Prize in the 2019 MAST People of Earth writing contest. She’s the inaugural winner of Sandra Carpenter Prize for Creative Nonfiction, first-place winner of the 2019 Segullah Journal writing contest, and first-place winner of 2020 Opossum flash contest, and many more. Her memoir, Ninety-Nine Fire Hoops, was released in September 2021 and continues to receive literary awards.

Timber Rose by J.L. Oakley 1907. Women climbing mountains in skirts. Loggers fighting for the eight hour day. The forests are alive with progress but not everyone is on board. Caroline Symington comes from a prominent family in Portland, Oregon. Much to her family's dismay, she's more interested in hiking outdoors and exploring the freedoms of a 1907's New Woman than fancy parties and money. She plans to marry on her own terms, not her parents. When she falls in love with Bob Alford, an enterprising working-class man who loves the outdoors as much as she, little does she know how sorely her theories will be tested. Betrayed by her jealous sister, Caroline elopes, a decision that causes her father to disown her.The young couple moves to a rugged village in the North Cascade Mountains where Caroline begins a new life as the wife of a forest ranger. Though she loves her life in the mountains as a wife and mother, her isolation and the loss of her family is a challenge. As she searches for meaning among nature, she's ushered along by a group of like-minded women and a mysterious, mountain man with a tragic past. "Oakley does a skillful and confident job of weaving a good deal of historical material into her story of married life, from mountainclimbing to the women's suffrage movement to the early days of ecological conservation. All of it is presented in an appealingly earthy, unpretentious prose style laced with wry humor and some memorable insights into human nature... Caroline's slow awakening to love and happiness is genuinely memorable. Highly recommended.” ~ Historical Novel Society Review November 2014

THE INTERNATIONAL PULPWOOD QUEENS AND TIMBER GUY BOOK CLUB

Hello Readers! Welcome to READING NATION MAGAZINE, THE magazine for readers and booklovers everywhere. This month’s issue is filled with more great books to add to your TBR list, new authors to follow, essays by Janet Oakley, Abbe Rolnick, and John Shay, April’s picks for The Pulpwood Queen Bookclub, book trailers, pet interviews, and so much more. Enjoy! As of March 31st, Reading Nation Magazine has received 78,971 views! PQ & TG Authors - standard pages to advertise your books are only $25 for a limited time - that includes customized graphics that are shared with over 12K readers on several social media sites in addition to the views on Issuu’s site. This is a great opportunity for new members to introduce yourself! If you’d like to advertise in upcoming issues, email me at readingnationmagazine@gmail.com.

Mandy Haynes

Pulpwood Queen Author Creator, Editor, and Publisher of READING NATION MAGAZINE, Owner of three dogs write press

APRIL 2022

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CELEBRATING INDEPENDENT BOOKSTORES

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WITH A LITTLE HELP FROM MY FRIENDS

A LETTER TO MY MOTHER

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CONFIDENCE STARTS WITH A GOOD FOUNDATION READING WITH QUEEN MAMA KAT

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TIARA WEARING BOOK SHARING GUIDE TO LIFE

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IF OUR PETS COULD TALK

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READER RECOGNITION FRIDAYS

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CALENDAR OF EVENTS

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NETWORKING

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FYI

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The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner Hidden in the depths of eighteenth-century London, a secret apothecary shop caters to an unusual kind of clientele. Women across the city whisper of a mysterious figure named Nella who sells well-disguised poisons to use against the oppressive men in their lives. But the apothecary's fate is jeopardized when her newest patron, a precocious twelve-year-old, makes a fatal mistake, sparking a string of consequences that echo through the centuries. Meanwhile in present-day London, aspiring historian Caroline Parcewell spends her tenth wedding anniversary alone, running from her own demons. When she stumbles upon a clue to the unsolved apothecary murders that haunted London two hundred years ago, her life collides with the apothecary's in a stunning twist of fate--and not everyone will survive. With crackling suspense, unforgettable characters and searing insight, The Lost Apothecary is a subversive and intoxicating debut novel of secrets, vengeance and the remarkable ways women can save each other despite the barrier of time. 10

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The Moon Always Rising by Alice C. Early In 1998, fiery Eleanor "Els" Gordon thought the new century would find her married to her childhood soul mate, rejuvenating her family's Scottish Highlands estate, and finally earning a managing director title at her investment bank. Maybe she'd even have the courage to discover why her estranged mother ran home to Italy thirty years earlier. But when 2000 dawns, Els is mourning her fiancé and her father, and she's unemployed, broke, and sharing an antique plantation house on the Caribbean island of Nevis with the ghost--or "jumbie"--of Jack Griggs, the former owner. Jack's jumbie wangles Els's help in making amends for wrongs committed during his Casanova life, and in exchange he appoints himself Cupid on behalf of a charter captain who's as skittish about vulnerability as Els. Meanwhile, Els lures her mother to Nevis in hopes of unraveling the family secrets--but will the shocking truth set her free, or pull her fragile new happiness apart?

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The Passing Storm Christine Nolfi

A gripping, openhearted novel about family, reconciliation, and bringing closure to the secrets of the past. Early into the tempestuous decade of her thirties, Rae Langdon struggles to work through a grief she never anticipated. With her father, Connor, she tends to their Ohio farm, a forty-acre spread that itself has enjoyed better days. As memories sweep through her, some too precious to bear, Rae gives shelter from a brutal winter to a teenager named Quinn Galecki. Quinn has been thrown out by his parents, a couple too troubled to help steer the misunderstood boy through his own losses. Now Quinn has found a temporary home with the Langdons--and an unexpected kinship, because Rae, Quinn, and Connor share a past and understand one another's pain. But its depths--and all its revelations and secrets--have yet to come to light. To finally move forward, Rae must confront them and also fight for Quinn, whose parents have other plans in mind for their son. 12

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READING NATION MAGAZINE APRIL BONUS BOOKS

Spin Me Right Round by David Valdes All Luis Gonzalez wants is to go to prom with his boyfriend, something his "progressive" school still doesn't allow. Not after what happened with Chaz Wilson. But that was ages ago, when Luis's parents were in high school; it would never happen today, right? He's determined to find a way to give his LGBTQ friends the respect they deserve (while also not risking his chance to be prom king, just saying...). When a hit on the head knocks him back in time to 1985 and he meets the doomed young Chaz himself, Luis concocts a new plan-he's going to give this guy his first real kiss. Though it turns out a conservative school in the '80s isn't the safest place to be a gay kid. Especially with homophobes running the campus, including Gordo (aka Luis's estranged father). Luis is in over his head, trying not to make things worse-and hoping he makes it back to present day at all. In a story that's fresh, intersectional, and wickedly funny, David Valdes introduces a big-mouthed, big-hearted queer character that readers won't soon forget. ISSUE NO 13

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Published by Brother Mockingbird and edited by Pulpwood Queen Author, Susan Cushman, this collection of essays by authors, book club members, and supporters of the Pulpwood Queens is a love letter to the founder and CEO, Kathy L. Murphy. An ode to the written word and the place that literature and reading play in all of our lives.

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READING NATION MAGAZINE WHAT IT MEANS TO BE A PULPWOOD QUEEN

Thank you Brother Mockingbird Publishing for letting us share some stories!

Stories Make Us More of Who We Can Be Judy Christie

Stepping into the Shreveport Municipal Auditorium is a sort of mystical experience. The flamboyant 1920s art deco building reels you in, your eyes riveted to the stage where the ghosts of famous musicians surely keep watch, performers such as Johnny Cash, Hank Williams, and a fellow you may have heard of, Elvis Presley. In this very room, Elvis got his start. And in this very room, I met Kathy L. Murphy. I regret that I don’t recall what Kathy was wearing, because she does not merely dress, she gets into costume, but I remember what she said as she spoke from the spot that has hosted so many creative heroes in ISSUE NO 13

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decades past: Stories are powerful. They enrich our lives. They make us more. More than we were before. More of who we are. More of who we can be. As readers thronged around Kathy on this summer day in 2009, I drew a deep breath and watched from across that famous floor. I wasn’t stalking her. Really. I was trying to talk myself into approaching her about my debut novel. But, gulp. In these parts, her Beauty and the Book shop and her tribe of Pulpwood Queens had mythical power. As for me, I was a woman who had just written her first novel at age fifty and had never worn a tiara in my life. Kathy was on her way out of the building by the time I summoned the nerve to introduce myself. I practically ran over to intercept her. Talking at 78 rpm, I told her about my first novel, Gone to Green, a southern story, similar to some she had talked about that day. Might she … possibly… maybe… take a peek at an advance reader copy? She graciously took it, not hinting that she received scores of books every year from authors eager to see what she thought. Because Kathy has a superpower—spotting great books. Nothing against Elvis, but Kathy became one of my creative heroes that day. While I didn’t realize it, by accepting that ARC, she was taking me by the hand on a journey of friendship and stories that would last well 16

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into the future, that would bring me into a family of readers and writers at the annual Pulpwood Queens Girlfriend Weekend, see me dressing up as a fried green tomato and posing with author Fannie Flagg, serving tables with the legendary Pat Conroy, signing books for Pulpwood Queens who drove sixty miles for one of my book launches, and sprawling in a Baton Rouge hotel room telling stories with Kathy and her feisty sidekick Tiajuana Neel, whose hairdos live on in one of my novels and whose spirit lives on in my heart. Kathy also wrought more magic when she invited me to speak at an inspirational book festival she was trying out. While that festival, in the fall of 2009, ultimately merged into Girlfriend Weekend, its power lived on in my life. It was there that I encountered author Lisa Wingate, who became a new friend when we stayed up way past my bedtime in the front room of a Jefferson, Texas, B&B talking about the craft of writing. Nearly a decade later, Lisa and I became writing partners and sold a nonfiction book to Random House. Ah, thank you, Kathy… If you’d like to finish Judy’s story and read more great ones, purchase your copy of The Pulpwood Queens Celebrate Twenty Years today.

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Janet Oakley’s Favorite Independent Bookstore - Village Books One of the secrets of being a good writer, is being a reader. My love for writing certainly came from my many trips to the Wilkinsburg Public Library in Pittsburgh, PA where I grew up. Once a week, my mom would take my brothers and I to this branch library of the original Carnegie Library to return and take out books. Here is where I learned about Narnia and little houses on a prairie; jumped through chalk paintings on a sidewalk with Marry Poppins. Books let my imagination soar. When we went camping every summer for two weeks in either Pennsylvania, New York, or New England, we always looked for bookstores in the little towns nearby. There only independent bookstores back then. Buying a book to read while we tent-camped and hiked, was a singular joy on a hot summer day. Ivanhoe, long a favorite story of mine, came from a shelf in an indie bookstore in Ithica, New York; Shogun and Lord of the Rings came from the shelves in bookstores in Honolulu and Hilo, Hawaii. I have always been a reader, but in second grade, I started to write my own stories. When my husband and I moved from Hawaii to Bellingham, WA in 1977, the second thing on our minds after adjusting to the autumn cold, was to find a bookstore. Bellingham was a small city then and going through the economic slump like the rest of the nation. 18

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READING NATION MAGAZINE CELEBRATING INDEPENDENT BOOKSTORES

Set on a beautiful bay with islands to the west and a 10,000-foot white-headed mountain to the east, one of our favorite places to explore in Bellingham was the rather funky part of town known as Fairhaven. We were elated about the rumors of a new bookstore opening in Fairhaven. That indie bookstore was Village Books.

A community-based, independent bookstore Village Books opened on June 20, 1980. Fairhaven was not the bustling place it is now. It was, in fact, rundown, but it was the dream of Chuck and Dee Robinson to bring a community-based, independent bookstore to Bellingham. The bookstore was set in an old historic brick building. It was small with bookshelves packed full of books. And it had a cat. The Colophon, a sandwich and ISSUE NO 13

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coffee shop next door, provided refreshments after book browsing. When the restaurant moved downstairs, Village Books opened a sister store, Paper Dreams, in the vacant space. The Robinsons’s dedicated interest in not only their store, but the community around them ushered in an era of recovery and creativity in the Victorian-era village of Fairhaven. Serving the community The Robinsons not only helped to revive Fairhaven along with other forward thinking business owners, but set out to bring readers and writers together with author events. One of their first efforts was the Bellingham Book Fest. They invited author Ivan Doig who lived in Seattle and Sharon McCrumb, best-selling writer from Appalachia, to come and share their experiences with Bellingham readers and authors. For someone like me just starting out as a novelist, this was a seminal moment to hear them read their work, talk about their experiences in getting 20

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READING NATION MAGAZINE CELEBRATING INDEPENDENT BOOKSTORES

published, and having events like breakfast with them at Woodworth’s. It was very low key, but this was the beginning of a long tradition of author events with top New York Times bestselling authors coming to the small events space downstairs in the building. A few years later when Charles Frazer of Cold Mountain showed up there was almost a stampede to get a seat. He was amazed at the turnout. Before the pandemic, Village Books was hosting 250 events annually. This number included author and nonauthor events. When Louise Penny did her in-person event on the West Coast just before the pandemic, Village Books was the only store she chose. Held in our historic Mount Baker Theatre, an old cinema palace from the 1920s, the house was packed with readers from the NW and British Columbia, Canada. A wonderful night. I especially appreciate their support of local authors. I have launched all my books at Village Books. Even during shut down of businesses in 2020, I was able to launch The Quisling Factor virtually. The bookstore events person, Claire McElroy-Chesson, learned to pivot and started presenting virtual launches. Mine was the fourth one ever. I had attendance from all over the USA and Canada, presented a Powerpoint talk, and did a giveaway. Since then, many indie bookstores in Seattle region have teamed up with Village Books to present author talks virtually. It’s a lot less expensive for publishers and bookstores and it provides a wonderful for readers to connect with world-class authors. In-person ISSUE NO 13

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author events at Village Books, however, are back along with virtual events. In 2004, Chuck and Dee built a new three-story home for the Fairhaven store—“just steps away from the original location.” The Fairhaven community built a village green outside their basement door with a performance stage, green grass, and a painted screen on the back wall for community movie night. The bookstore, the Colophon Café, and the green are the centerpiece of Fairhaven life and creativity. Harry Potter on the Green and Kid Activities

From the very beginning of the store’s existence, a children’s bookseller focused on literary events for young children from toddler to pre-teen. As I had been 22

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READING NATION MAGAZINE CELEBRATING INDEPENDENT BOOKSTORES

doing hands-on history workshops with schools and museums, I did several book events offering craft activities from the period books such as The Witch of Black Pond (girlhood favorite) and couple of American Girl books. Many well-known children lit authors made their way to the story to meet with young readers. Authors Jan Brett has always been popular. The crowning moment of kid activities at VB, as we like to call the store, was “Reveal Night” of the latest Harry Potter book. Before the book was brought out by a magician on the green at midnight, the bookstore hosted some craft activities. I volunteered to run the magic wand station using chop sticks and streamers. People were lined up around the green in the hundreds as they waited for the book to be revealed, then after the magic happened, pick up their preordered book. I saw many kids start reading as soon as they got theirs. Open Mic Very early on, Village Books offered local writers a chance to read their work out loud. I believe that this is an important step in writing—when you read ISSUE NO 13

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out loud, you often encounter problems with flow and word choice. It’s a form of storytelling, but you’re telling your story to the public. It’s good training, too, for the day when éésince then. Today, though it went through a virtual only period the past two years, Open Mike is in person again, offering not only an once month 7 minute reading opportunities for twelve readers in English, but a Spanish language the hour before. Local college professor and author, Sean Dywer, leads both events. The Chuckanut Radio Hour

One of my favorite events at Village Books is their Chuckanut Radio Hour, (URL: https:// www.villagebooks.com/village-books-chuckanut-radiohour) a recipient of Bellingham's prestigious Mayor's Arts Award. It is a radio variety show that began in January 2007. The format is rich. Each Chuckanut Radio Hour includes guest authors, musicians, performance poet Kevin Murphy, and episodes of "As the Ham Turns" serial radio comedy, performed by the Chuckanut Radio 24

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READING NATION MAGAZINE CELEBRATING INDEPENDENT BOOKSTORES

Players, group of local personalities. Chuckanut Radio Hour's first guest was Erik Larson and has since included, Tom Robbins, Maria Semple, Christopher McDougall, Erica Bauermeister, Simon Winchester, and Garrison Keillor, among many others. Past shows and present can be heard on the local KMRE radio station. Fulfilling the Dream of Community-based Independent Bookstore Since its launch, Village Books has gained a national reputation for its outstanding author events, support for local writers and readers including writing group for all genres from Sci-fi to poetry and promoting literacy. The Chuckanut Writers Conference grew out of a connection with the Whatcom Community College. (URL: https:// www.villagebooks.com/chuckanut-writers-classes) Held on its campus in Bellingham, bestselling authors came to present and read during the weekend conference. The college also offers writer’s workshops at the bookstore several times a year. The forty-two-year-old bookstore continues its outreach to the greater literacy community. A long-time supporter of the Whatcom Literacy Council, (URL: https:// whatcomliteracy.org/ ) they have participated in the annual Trivia Bee. On a Christmas tree in the store every year, paper angels fill the branches with invitations to buy a book for infant to toddler, K-3, middle grad, etc. The books are dispersed to the needy and to families at ISSUE NO 13

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our local Indian nations, Lummi and Nooksack. The bookstore also helped fulfilling the Sumas Elementary School’s Library devasted by last Thanksgiving’s floods that destroyed hundreds of homes. Village Books has continued to grow over the years, opening a second location in Lynden, Washington in 2015. In 2017, Chuck and Dee retired and sold the store to Kelly Evert, Paul Hanson and Sarah Hutton, a highly experienced team already managing day-to-day operations for several years. Seeing themselves as stewards of the store, Kelly, Paul and Sarah have guided the store through shut-downs, changing COVID protocols and shipping challenges to once again open to returning locals and visitors to Fairhaven. For those of us who love Village Books we are so grateful for them for not only carrying on the legacy Chuck and Dee created but moving forward with exciting new ways to connect with readers and authors. We applaud them and our own efforts to support this treasure in our community. (URL: https:// w w w. i n d i e b o u n d . o r g / independent-bookstore-day So, let’s celebrate Independent Bookstore Day on April 30, 2022. I know that I will.

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READING NATION MAGAZINE CELEBRATING INDEPENDENT BOOKSTORES

If you’d like to share information about your local bookstore, send a write-up to readingnationmagazine@gmail.com

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The Moon Always Rising by Alice C. Early Alice is thrilled that THE MOON ALWAYS RISING was chosen as the International Book of the Month for April 2022 by the Pulpwood Queens and Timber Guys. In addition, her novel has been named: Silver Winner, General Fiction, 2021 IBPA Benjamin Franklin Awards; Distinguished Favorite, Women’s Fiction, 2021 NYC Big Book Awards; Winner, Women’s Fiction, 2020 14th Annual National Indie Excellence Awards; Winner, Cross-Genre Fiction, 2020 American Fiction Awards; Finalist, Chick Lit, 2020 Next Generation Indie Book Awards; Finalist, First Novel, 2020 Next Generation Indie Book Awards ; Finalist, Paranormal, 2020 Next Generation Indie Book Awards. Readers who enjoy Women’s Fiction with a splash of bitters, a twist of the magical realism of Alice Hoffman, and a salty rim of the Caribbean romance of Elin Hilderbrand will savor this intoxicating tale. “Early’s prose is tight and lyrical, confidently capturing her characters and their emotional landscapes . . . The 32

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enchanting portraits of Nevis―and of . . . Scotland―help make this an unexpectedly memorable beach read.” ―Kirkus Reviews Readers will come to The Moon Always Rising for its pleasant narrative, for its realistic characters, for the intertwined stories of Els and her jumbie, Jack, but they will stay for the vivid descriptions of Nevis . . . The closest you will get to experience the island without actually stepping foot in it.” ―Paperback Paris “The Moon Always Rising takes your imagination on a trip to lush Caribbean Nevis and the Scottish Highlands in an engrossing story about how love and forgiveness help broken people mend. I especially loved the fabulous ghost (jumbie)―such a unique and intriguing character!” ―Martha Hall Kelly, author of international bestseller Lilac Girls and its prequels Lost Roses and The Sunflower Sisters. Alice C. Early’s award-winning debut novel THE MOON ALWAYS RISING sweeps readers from the highlands of Scotland to the Caribbean island of Nevis, following fiery Eleanor “Els” Gordon, whose life is cracking apart after the loss of her fiancé. To start over in her derelict and haunted Nevis plantation house, Els must discover the power of reconciliation, forgiveness, and love. THE MOON ALWAYS RISING is available in paperback and e-book formats. ISSUE NO 13

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The Queen of Paris: A Novel of Coco Chanel by Pamela Binnings Ewen A Barnes & Noble Pick of Best Indie eBooks of 2020 An iBooks Bestseller in Fiction A Pop Sugar Pick of Books set in Paris “Ewen’s Coco is a proud and image-conscious character, sprung from a painful, lonely childhood to become a selfmade triumph, a Machiavellian madam—” Kirkus Reviews ''Ewen dazzles in this outstanding historical thriller that chronicles the life of Coco Chanel in occupied France...Ewen's Chanel is arrogant and fragile in equal measure, and the author does a marvelous job of digging into the motivations of a woman born into poverty as she defends the fortune she built for herself, making this a refreshingly nuanced character portrait and also a real page-turner. This is top-notch historical fiction.'' -Publishers Weekly (starred review)

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Crazy to Leave You by Marilyn Rothstein COMING Preorder today!

MAY your

24th copy

From the author of Husbands and Other Sharp Objects comes a witty, bighearted novel about the happy accidents that lead to love and second chances. Forty-one years old, the last of her friends to marry, and down to a size 12, Lauren Leo is in her gown and about to tie the knot. There’s just one thing missing: the groom. With one blindsiding text, Lauren is unceremoniously dumped at the altar. In the aftermath, her mother is an endless well of unsolicited advice (Stay on your diet and freeze your eggs). Her sisters only add to the Great Humiliation: one is planted on Lauren’s couch while the other is too perfect. Picking her heart up off the floor, Lauren turns to her work in advertising as she gathers courage to move on and plan her next step. She should know by now that nothing in life goes according to plan. What lies ahead is the road to selfacceptance and at long last feeling worthy. With a new way to measure love and success, Lauren chucks her scale―and finds a second chance in the most unexpected place. ISSUE NO 13

ee’s fourth In R.J. L t Bridge to Mississippi-sery, it’s up to Death Myste d reporter newly-marrielayer Wendy and bridge p Rierson to Winchester homicide a finesse where the investigations a master killer hold hand… The King Falls by R. J. Lee

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THE KING FALLS BY R.J. LEE The murder of a bridge-playing playboy roils a Mississippi town replete with secrets. Wendy Winchester Rierson’s marriage to Ross, her detective husband, has been marred only by her inability to conceive. The daughter of Police Chief Bax Winchester, Wendy has already proven her crime-solving chops by investigating several murders, an experience highly pertinent to her career as an investigative reporter. After she receives an invitation to one of the fabulous bridge parties hosted by King Kohl, scion of a wealthy local real estate family, who has a reputation as a lady’s man and a hard-charging salesman, she’s surprised to get a text canceling the party and inviting her to King’s house for an explanation. Arriving on schedule, she’s nearly run over by Marcus Silvertree, who’s phoning 911 after finding King’s body. Since Silvertree ran a rival real estate company the Kohls drove out of business, he’s a prime suspect. But Wendy thinks a woman may be involved in this apparent crime of passion. King had at least three more possible candidates in his life, two women he’d seriously dated and his part-time housekeeper, who had a major crush on him. King's parents are devastated— 38

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especially his mother, whose dementia causes her to think she’s killed her son. Eventually Wendy uses both her experience and her intuition to reveal an unexpected killer. Oodles of Southern charm and a well-concealed miscreant add up to an exciting page-turner. — Kirkus Review On March 29th, R. J. Lee's fourth BRIDGE TO DEATH MYSTERY NOVEL--THE KING FALLS--will be released nationally. His April book tour stops include the following so far: Friday, April 1st, 5:30--Conundrum Book Store, St. Francisville, LA Talk and signing. Saturday, April 2nd--11AM--Judge George Armstrong Library, Natchez, MS--Talk and signing. Tuesday, April 5th--12 noon--Marshall County Library, Holly Springs, MS--Talk and signing Wednesday, April 6th--1PM--Private Book Club--Oxford, MS--Talk and signing Wednesday, April 6th--5:00PM--Off Square Books-Oxford, MS--Talk and signing Tuesday, April 12th--12:30-Mary Poole Bridge Club-Oxford, University Methodist Church, Room 222, Oxford, MS--Talk and signing Saturday, April 30th--12 noon-Lemuria Book Store, Jackson, MS--Talk and signing ISSUE NO 13

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The Mermaids Michigan by Kamata

of Lake Suzanne

Elise Faulkner is more at home in the waters of her beloved Lake Michigan than on land where her beauty queen mom is always on her back about her lack of a social life; her sister is dating the boy of her dreams; her favorite penpal--the one who wrote about mermaids in Ghana--has gotten married and ended their correspondence; and no one's allowed to talk about her glamorous great-grandmother, the deep-sea wreck diver. Elise is biding her time with books until she can flee. But then crazy Chiara Hanover pops into her life, as does Miguel, a mysterious carnival worker whose dark future has been predicted by a gypsy. 2017 Independent Publisher Book Awards Winner -- Silver Medal -- Great Lakes -- Best Regional Fiction 2017 Next Generation Indie Excellence Book Awards - Best Cover Design - Fiction 2017 Sakura Medal Nominee 2018 Indie Excellence Book Awards Finalist - Best Fiction Midwest 2018 International Book Awards Finalist - Best Literary Fiction 2018 Crystal Kite Award - Shortlist 40

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God, Destiny and a Glass of Wine by Linda Mason Crawford Some people live their lives on a daily basis, navigating through life's hustle, bustle, and the fear of not reaching their full potential. They can't understand how they could have a positive Godordained destiny. Some believe they might possibly be on the right path, but they are constantly challenged by their bad decision-making and choice of unhealthy relationships. Some are convinced that they are destined to fall short of having a good and meaningful life, or of enjoying any journey that is before them. The bottom line is God has a Jeremiah 29:11 for all of his children, including you, his child. Whether you have a clear path of where you are going or you are at a loss as to what you are supposed to do, whether you are excited about your future or fearful and embarrassed of the years behind you, Linda Mason Crawford's book, God, Destiny, and a Glass of Wine, is sure to speak to you, right now, wherever you are. It is bound to help you grasp hold of your of your way. "After all," Crawford says, "this is your destiny. Make a change and walk in it." ISSUE NO 13

"These first known wom en of Champagne/Sparkling winemak ing may not have even realized how stro ng they were until they had to learn and do it all to survive for themselves and their wineries! Reading CHAMPA GNE WID OWS makes it even mor e of an honor to learn a craft still dominate d by men.” —Penny Gadd-Coster, Exec utive Director of Winemaking, Rack & Riddle

Champagne Widows by Rebecca Rosenberg

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Annette G. Anders’s award-winning FULL CIRCLE SERIES features stories about intriguing friendships and keep-you-on-your-toes relationships. Each book explores questions about overcoming deep-rooted fears and pursuing lifelong dreams. The protagonists are facing reallife issues and are likable—but are not without flaws. Readers have called them “multi-dimensional” and “endearingly relatable.” TURN BACK TIME is a book about second chances. Stella and David struggle with their breakup a year ago and can’t seem to move on. When they are unexpectedly crossing paths in France, they need to face their insecurities and 44

APRIL 2022

READING NATION MAGAZINE BOOKS TO ADD TO YOUR TBR LIST

learn to trust each other again—and to believe in their own feelings. IN DUE TIME is a modern friends-to-lovers story. At its center are Naomi and Revan, two lifelong friends who engage in a rousing and emotional game of tug-of-war in their quest to happily-ever-after. Both characters are adventurous and headstrong, making this a laugh-out-loud funny book while also tugging at the reader’s heartstrings. TIME IS ETERNITY is about Josephine and Luca who don’t realize the complexity of their true feelings for each other until one impulsive moment of passion ends in sorrow and despair. To close the void between them, they must question their ultimate goals and priorities in this powerful story about overcoming loss and healing together. TIME WILL TELL is a story about haunting secrets and broken dreams. Sabrina and Scotty are both hurting from loss and betrayal, and each handles their disappointment differently. But through the power of friendship, they work together to overcome their pasts and learn to believe in love again. Annette G. Anders writes contemporary romance with elements of women’s fiction and creates realistic genrecrossing stories with intense scenes. Well-researched travelogue gives each book a unique and additional level of depth.When she isn’t working, Annette enjoys traveling, photography, having lunch with friends, and reading— often under the watchful eye of Ecco, her goofy Boxer. ISSUE NO 13

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Nine Tenths of the Law by Claudia Hagadus Long Two sisters, their mother, and a Nazi thief. In 1939, a beautiful enameled heirloom menorah was looted by the Nazis, grabbed from the hands of its young Jewish owner. Too beautiful to kill, Aurora herself was singled out by the SS for “special duties.” Eighty years later, Aurora’s daughters Zara and Lilly discover the family menorah in a New York museum. Haunted by their mother’s buried memories, the sisters scheme to get it back—but their quest takes a dangerous turn when the menorah disappears, leaving a trail of murder and mayhem behind it. Aurora’s memories, it turns out, are very much alive; and now her secrets can bind the sisters together or tear them apart. “In "Nine Tenths of the Law," Long has written a compelling story about a sensitive subject, a well-paced novel that deals with the restitution of Jewish property through the lens of a loving daughter. Zara struggles with 46

APRIL 2022

READING NATION MAGAZINE BOOKS TO ADD TO YOUR TBR LIST

survivor's guilt and wrestles with the place of religion in her own life. With the realization that some questions can never be answered, that tragedies can not be rewritten, she takes solace in knowing that her mother's greatest legacy -- her daughters and grandchildren -- will live on guided by her spirit.”– Helene Cohen Bludman--Books is Wonderful I am novelist Claudia H. Long, and here you can read all about me, my historical fiction novels, and follow the latest book news and events. I’m a weaver of words, catcher of dreams, and chronicler of the spaces between the lines in the history books: women’s stories, women’s dreams, her-story. In my alternate life I’m a new grandmother of two spectacular grandsons, mother of two marvelous kids, chocolate-loving lawyer-mediator, wife and cook. My books live in rich historical settings that show the lives, loves, and lusts of women immersed in a society that they want to be a part of, but as themselves. Jewish women living as Catholics in colonial Mexico. Professional female writers struggling to effect change in early 20th Century California. Crypto-judaic feminist historical fiction sounds like a mouthful, but at their heart my books are sweeping romantic tales. ISSUE NO 13

on a journey that “The Iron Scar brought me thinking about my me unexpectedly and artfully had the book, as well as own father and my sons throughout colorful world of , and introducing me to the wild, warm me onboard with you Siberia. Thank you for bringing and your son.” r of Along the Way: autho —Martin Sheen, actor and The Journey of a Father and Son “In Watermark, his seventh collect ion, continues his project of retrieving shreds Jeff Hardin of grace from the dusty corners of ache and want. With an attention to form as original and incisive as Mary Szybis t’s, and with a sense of wonder as far-rea ching as Wendell Berry’s, he spins out poems that have a timeless quality—like the hand stitching of a nine-p or congregational singing from a shape- atch quilt, or the eternity-flung stanzas Georg note hymnal, e behind. Jeff Hardin’s poems are vessels Herbert left of wisdom and truth.” —Bobby Rogers, author of Paper Anniversary and Social History

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Burning Bright by Michele Kwasniewski You fell in love with Dani in book one, and you’ve been waiting to see what comes next for our Rising Star. The wait is over! Introducing BURNING BRIGHT, the next title in the exciting young adult series, The Rise and Fall of Dani Truehart! FictionFresh off the debut of her EP, sixteen-year-old Dani Truehart is flying high on a string of number one hits. After locking down her first full-length album in record time and furiously preparing for her world tour, Dani is torn between leaving her loved ones behind and embracing her burgeoning stardom.Dani's fame and fortune explode as her tour moves across the globe. Elated when two of Hollywood's hottest young actors, Kayla Spencer and Trey Connors, befriend her, Dani finds herself living life in the fast lane and recording her second album as she tours. Constantly dogged by the paparazzi, Dani basks in the adoration of The TrueHart Nation, her loyal super-fans who are ready to follow her around the world and go to war with anyone who dares dis their favorite pop star, whom they've 50

APRIL 2022

READING NATION MAGAZINE BOOKS TO ADD TO YOUR TBR LIST

dubbed "The Queen of Harts."With her ego growing as fast has her fame and fortune, a string of platinum hits and her jealous mother desperate for a piece of her wealth, sixteen-year-old pop sensation Dani Truehart navigates the glamor and perils of stardom as scandal threatens to ruin her and everyone who helped make her a star. “Burning Bright is the second book in The Rise And Fall Of Dani Truehart Series by Michele Kwasniewski. Sixteen-year-old teen pop sensation Dani Truehart finds herself free of her mother's greedy clutches when her mentor Martin Fox assumes control of her guardianship. After topping the Billboard charts with her debut album, Dani embarks on a lengthy tour traversing multiple continents. However, when a rare night out with Hollywood stars Kayla Spencer and Trey Connors doesn't go according to plan, Dani slowly begins to understand the downside of being a celebrity. Additionally, her mother is hell-bent on using her daughter's fame for her own benefit. A busy touring schedule and the pressure of being a celebrity soon take a toll on Dani, and she finds herself feeling more lost than ever. Burning Bright is a cautionary tale about the ills of fame where young talented artists get routinely exploited by everyone around them to satisfy their own insatiable greed, leaving the artists to become a shell of themselves. Author Michele Kwasniewski perfectly captures the headspace of a young teenage pop sensation who, underneath all the glitz and glamour, is still a child ISSUE NO 13

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seeking love and approval but finds herself feeling alone and vulnerable all the time. The narrative deals with the exploitation of young artists who struggle to deal with their fame and are in no position to shrug off the people in their lives who try to take advantage of their talents. There are a lot of similarities between Dani and real-life pop star Britney Spears. Highly recommended.” Review by P. Deka for Readers' Favorite “Book two: Burning Bright is bringing full momentum to this amazing adventure we find our protagonist Dani Trueheart on. As Kwasniewski pulls you into the excitement of pop-stardom with her vivid and fanciful illustrations of Dani's newly found elaborate and often risky lifestyle, she effectively imparts her wisdom and her clever sense of humor. This installation leaves me feeling upset for Dani and at her, given her regrettable decisions and I am super eager to know how or if she will recover!” Amazon Review “A fantastic read right from the beginning! In book one, Rising Star, we meet Dani Truehart and follow her journey into the world of pop star fame. Book two, Burning Bright, continues that journey showing us the highs and lows, the good and the bad of that fame. You'll be holding your breath as Dani navigates through her new stardom, making decisions and choices only a naive teenage girl can make. And the ending - Wow! Can't wait to see what happens next!” Amazon Review “Loved the second novel in this series and seeing Dani’s 52

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READING NATION MAGAZINE BOOKS TO ADD TO YOUR TBR LIST

life evolve. Michele writes beautifully making you feel like your backstage with Dani and in her world! Can’t wait to see what’s next for Dani!” Amazon Review I love this book. Great storyline told from a different point of view. Trials & Tribulations of young stardom.” Amazon Review After graduating from Loyola Marymount University with a BA in Technical Theater, Michele Kwasniewski spent over fifteen years in film and television production. Starting out as a film set assistant on movies such as INDEPENDENCE DAY, FACE/OFF, PRIMAL FEAR, and EVITA, she worked her way up to production manager on TV shows including BIG BROTHER, ADOPTION STORIES, EXTRA YARDAGE and MEET THE PANDAS. She is also a proud member of the Producers Guild of America. Michele's colorful experiences in the industry inspired her to write THE RISE AND FALL OF DANI TRUEHART series. Michele lives in San Clemente, California with her husband, their son, and their disobedient dachshund. RISING STAR was awarded Finalist for FICTION: YOUNG ADULT category for the 2021 BEST BOOK AWARDS sponsored by American Book Fest. ISSUE NO 13

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Murder Under a New Moon by Abigail Keam A Mona Moon Mystery - Book 8

Robert Farley is now a bonafide duke, and solicitors from the Duchy of Brynelleth have come to negotiate his marriage contract to Mona Moon. When the three solicitors demand that Mona relinquish Moon Enterprises and live in England full time, she threatens to give Robert back his engagement ring and call off the wedding. She says quite frankly, “I’m not going to give up one of the largest mining conglomerates in the world just so I can host dinner parties at Brynelleth for your snotty friends.” Robert, caught between the responsibilities demanded by Brynelleth and his deep love for Mona, is furious with his solicitors for not being more diplomatic. However, the matter resolves itself when the three English solicitors are caught visiting the notorious bawdy house of Belle Brezing, the most famous madam in the South. Ooops! Events are made worse when one of them turns up dead in the bed of a lady-of-the-evening. Now Mona and Robert must find the culprit before their reputations are torn to shreds by their enemies. 54

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READING NATION MAGAZINE BOOKS TO ADD TO YOUR TBR LIST

Fast-moving events threaten to turn Mona’s world upside-down as she is confronted with seemingly impossible decisions to make. Should she marry Robert Farley or not? Abigail Keam is the award-winning and Amazon bestselling author of several series including the Josiah Reynolds Mystery Series about a Southern beekeeper turned amateur female sleuth. “I hope my readers come away with a new appreciation of beekeeping from my Josiah Reynolds Mysteries.” She also writes the Mona Moon Mystery Series–a ragsto-riches 1930s mystery series which includes real people and events into the story line. The series is about a cartographer who is broke and counting her pennies when there is a knock at her door. A lawyer, representing her deceased uncle, announces Mona has inherited her uncle’s fortune and a horse farm in the Bluegrass. Mona can’t believe it. She is now one of the richest women in the country and in the middle of the Great Depression! The Last Chance For Love Series tells of strangers who come from all walks of life to the magical Last Chance Motel in Key Largo and get a second chance at rebuilding their lives, and The Princess Maura Fantasy Series. ISSUE NO 13

“Taylor’s dialogue is snappy and contempo rary . . . A witty and often amusing marriage drama.” —Kirkus Reviews

What's Not Said by Valerie Taylor

“Valerie Taylor’s prose is crystalline . . . she does not waste words, rather using them to create a tense, nerveshredder that offers full entertainment to readers. What’s Not True is compelling, real, and utterly enjoyable.” —Readers’ Favorite 5-star review

What's Not True by Valerie Taylor

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Untethered: Faith, Failure, and Finding Solid Ground by Laura Whitfield When Laura Whitfield was fourteen, her extraordinary brother, Lawrence, was killed in a mountain climbing accident. That night she had an epiphany: Life is short. Dream big, even if it means taking risks. So, after graduating from high school, she set out on her own, prepared to do just that. Laura spent her first summer after high school on North Carolina's Outer Banks, a magical few months filled with friendships, boys, and beer. There she met a handsome DJ who everyone called "Steve the Dream," and risked her heart. When September came, Steve moved to New York City to become a model --prompting Laura to start thinking about modeling, too. After just one semester of college, still seeking to fill the void left by her brother's death, she dropped out and moved to New York to become a cover girl. But while juggling the demands of life in the big city--waiting tables, failed relationships, and the cutthroat world of modeling--she lost her way. A stirring memoir about a young woman's quest to find hope and stability after devastating loss, Untethered is 58

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Laura's story of overcoming shame, embracing faith, and learning that taking risks--and failing--can lead to a bigger life than you've ever dared to imagine. “. . . Whitfield’s narration is often engaging in its spirited expression of a resolute search for meaning. A candid and inspirational coming-of-age story.”—Kirkus Reviews “The writing is engaging and welcomes the reader into the author’s story and thoughts . . . telling a story that is unique to her yet in which readers will recognize the ebbs and flows of tragedy, challenges, and joy we all experience in life.” —The BookLife Prize “When life falls apart, it's easy to assume you're alone in your suffering. Or worse, that you're stuck there. Untethered is a haunting exploration of life's disorienting darkness, punctuated by lightning strikes of hope. Laura forces readers to confront the vulnerability of being human while offering a rousing call to more abundant life. If you've ever felt blindsided by disappointment and disillusionment, Laura's journey of faith amid failure is not to be missed. Highly recommend!” —Jonathan Merritt, contributing writer for The Atlantic and author of Learning to Speak God from Scratch ISSUE NO 13

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New Beginnings: From Behind the Iron Curtain to America by Antonina Duridanova Burning with desire to share the value of freedom, Antonina takes you from her plight in communist Bulgaria to the free shores of America. Following unfortunate events of life in a totalitarian regime in Bulgaria, Antonina bids goodbye to her homeland and flees to the Western world. She provides true experiences and observations of what life is in a communist societyher family's lands and cattle being confiscated by the agricultural labor cooperatives; the censorship of the press and any literal, artistic, and scientific works from the West; religion being prohibited; and any deviation from the norm leading to detention in a labor camp. Her last crossing of the Bulgarian-Yugoslavian border almost costs Antonina her life and makes up her mind to never go back. She describes her life as an immigrant at the refugee camp in Traiskirchen, Austria, while waiting for an American visa. Antonina is ecstatic when the plane cruises over the 60

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READING NATION MAGAZINE BOOKS TO ADD TO YOUR TBR LIST

Statue of Liberty and lands in the most amazing city in the world-New York. She describes how she could taste, smell, feel, and touch freedom as she gets off the plane, ready to embark on new adventures. Antonina gets educated and becomes a good specialist in taxation, working for the United States Treasury Department. Ultimately, after the fall of the Berlin Wall, she is invited to go back to Bulgaria and fix a broken tax system as a representative of the United States government. Her work in the newly democratic society of Bulgaria paved the way for the country to become a member of NATO, escaping Soviet influence, and later being accepted in the family of the European Union. “This is such a beautifully written piece! You will laugh, cry, be shocked, and be inspired throughout the captivating pages. Antonina has a writing style that makes you feel like you are sitting together talking about these things over a cup of coffee: it’s such a friendly and inviting writing style. Like me, you’ll thank your lucky stars for the freedom we have here in America. It’s hard to understand the depravity and toll communism has on a nation, family, and people; but Antonina unveils the curtain. I’m inspired by this woman who made it through her beginnings and prevailed to become the woman she has beyond every obstacle in her way. Such a sensational victory!” Amazon Review “I really enjoyed reading this book and it was a very easy ISSUE NO 13

THE INTERNATIONAL PULPWOOD QUEENS AND TIMBER GUY BOOK CLUB

read and very informative. The author describes situations and people in such detail that you feel you can "see" what she sees. I admire anyone who can leave their country and come to the USA to start over and assimilate with other Americans, especially when there are so many difficulties to face. I am sure with all the adversities that this author faced it only strengthened her endurance and faith in God. Great Book!!!!!!” Amazon Review “Impressed by Nina's obstinate determinations, fortitude, guts and courage to pursue her dreams to live in freedom!!!!!I would say Thank u Nina!!We need more writer like you !!You unveil the true of the one horrible, murky ,black time in Bulgarian history!! Terror, suppression , disgrace control of the incompetent and ignorant government!! You have been gone through stressful situations and succeeded to keep it together and move on. Of course you are blessed with a wonderful family standing close to you and especially tough mama.Once again I would say you are born under the lucky star!! I am pretty confident that your book already touch the hearts of many generations and wish also to open many minds and eyes too!!!” Amazon Review “I read this book and lots of memories of the Communist regime in Bulgaria came across my mind. We both lived in the same neighborhood and played the same games as kids...later suffering from these communist pressure over our freedom to know more about the western free economy countries. We couldn't' t travel to these 62

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READING NATION MAGAZINE BOOKS TO ADD TO YOUR TBR LIST

countries, we couldn't listen to their music or have their products. We could travel only to the Socialist countries and imported their products. I love this book. It is very real, interesting and exciting story of Antonia's life.” Amazon Review "My name is Antonina, and I am not a writer. It was on the day of my retirement party at the Internal Revenue Service when I promised an agent, an employee of mine, to write a book about my life, and since I always keep my promises, I sat down at the computer to pour out my soul to people about my long journey. I had colleagues, students, and employees who knew certain episodes of my life and were curious if one day I would write a book. Their comments were that I lived an incredible and, by some, extraordinary life, which I should share with the world. My story is exceptional because of my background and the difficulties I had to overcome to live a brighter and fuller life. You are about to discover the meaning of courage, sacrifice, endurance, perseverance, and love for family and friends. You will learn the truth about life under communism and capitalism through my experiences at an early age to retirement. ISSUE NO 13

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Sugar Baby and Other Stories by River Jordan A union soldier who deserted, a scared girl in an abandoned, antebellum home, a gravedigger looking for a wife, seven sisters who will kill to protect each other, a stake-out at a rundown hotel, a Spanish priest trying to save his people from the Spanish flu, a young girl sneaking off with an encyclopedia salesman, an old woman aiming to use her last bullet. a woman framed for murder on All Saints Day, a one-eyed outcast who lives down by the river. The characters in Short Baby and Other Stories are infused by desire, touched by love, and seeking retribution and redemption at every turn. Sugar Baby is storytelling of the highest order, plucking up the reader and transporting them to a world of mystery, spirituality, violence, love, and everything in between. "River Jordan is a holy truth-teller who can make even the bad things in life seem as sweet as sugar. The stories in Sugar Baby and Other Stories are as real as life itself, but the language River uses to coat the pain is something from another world. Writer, storyteller, heart healer. River Jordan is simply the best." Wiley Cash, author, The Last Ballad 64

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READING NATION MAGAZINE BOOKS TO ADD TO YOUR TBR LIST

The Passing Storm by Christine Nolfi "Tautly plotted, expertly characterized, and genuinely riveting, Nolfi's emotional tour de force will capture readers' hearts."--Publishers Weekly “Nolfi has a gift for drawing out her character’s secrets slowly, and crafts interesting depictions that feel real, complicated, flawed, and compelling.” —Booklist “The Passing Storm is a touching tale of healing, hope, and belonging. The characters were richly layered, and the satisfying ending hit a perfect note. You don’t want to miss this unforgettable novel.” —Karen McQuestion, bestselling author of The Moonlight Child “Christine Nolfi proves yet again that she knows exactly how to deliver an emotional, compassionate tale about real people and the complexity of their feelings as they work through grief and loss. It is a triumphant story, and once you dive into it, you won’t want to emerge from its beautiful depths until you reach the satisfying, uplifting conclusion.” —USA Today bestselling author Julianne MacLean ISSUE NO 13

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APRIL 2022

READING NATION MAGAZINE

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THE INTERNATIONAL PULPWOOD QUEENS AND TIMBER GUY BOOK CLUB

Oliver, a novella by Mandy Haynes “Dear God…and Jesus and Mary…” Even though eleven-year-old Olivia is raised Southern Baptist, she likes to cover her bases when asking for a favor. Unlike her brother Oliver, she struggles with keeping her temper in check and staying out of trouble. But Oliver is different, and in the summer of ’72 he proves to Olivia there’s magic in everything. It’s up to us to see it. "Mandy Haynes takes me on a memory journey to the last great childhood of the South, a time when bicycles were a magic carpet that could take a child wherever she wanted to go. The joy of this novella is how easily I slip between the pages and live the adventures with Oliver and Olivia. Sibling love. Kindness. Good intentions gone awry and good deeds fraught with danger. This story echos with my past, and the past of many now homeless Southerners. Once you start reading, you won't be able to put it down." Carolyn Haines, USA Today bestseller, is the author of over 80 books in multiple genres 68

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READING NATION MAGAZINE WITH A LITTLE HELP FROM MY FRIENDS

Mandy Haynes spent hours on barstools and riding in vans listening to outrageous tales from some of the best songwriters, musicians, and storytellers in Nashville, Tennessee. She traded a stressful life as a pediatric cardiac sonographer for a happy one and now lives in Fernandina Beach, Florida. She is a contributing writer for Amelia Islander Magazine, Amelia Weddings, and author of two short story collections, Walking the Wrong Way Home, and Sharp as a Serpent’s Tooth Eva and Other Stories. She is also the editor of the anthology, Work in Progress, which features fifty-nine incredibly talented Pulpwood Queen and Timber Guy authors. Like the characters in her stories, she never misses a chance to jump in a creek to catch crawdads, stand up for the underdog, or the opportunity to try and make someone laugh. *Laughing with John Prine and Morgane Stapleton at The Station Inn and about to cry with Mike and Janet Henderson who surprised me at my book event at Brown’s Diner in 2020. The best of the best!

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Oliver started as a short story I’d planned on putting in my first collection, but every time I’d try to work on edits it kept getting bigger and bigger and wouldn’t fit in Walking the Wrong Way Home. I was inspired to write Oliver after meeting so many intelligent, high-functioning kiddos with Down’s and William’s Syndrome when I worked in pediatric cardiology. In the sixteen years I performed cardiac ultrasounds, I lost count of how many of these patients and their families left such big impressions on me. I loved this story so much and spent years listening to the characters. I put Oliver away thinking it might turn into 70

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READING NATION MAGAZINE WITH A LITTLE HELP FROM MY FRIENDS

a novel, but when I tried to stretch it out, I lost some of the magic. A few months ago Robert Gwaltney and I made a pact to hold each other accountable and finish some writing projects. We’d get up at 4:30 in the morning, text each other, and write until we had to get to our jobs. We’d spend a few minutes while Robert was driving talking about what we’d accomplished. I was supposed to be working on my novel With a New Tongue Spoken, but a new collection of short stories kept yapping in my ear. I worked on those most mornings even though the plan was to work on those once the novel was finished and out making the rounds looking for representation. Then out of the blue - about ten years after the first version was written – Oliver started coming to me in my dreams. Olivia (Oliver’s little sister and narrator of the story) and I compromised and Oliver became a novella. People ask, how did you publish it in such a short time? A combination of luck, great timing, friendship, hard work, and magic that started with Robert’s texts before sunrise. I want to tell you about the incredible generosity of Carolyn Haines. I was tickled to death when she offered to read Oliver and floored when she asked if I wanted her suggestions. Who wouldn’t want advice from a Harper Lee recipient and incredibly talented author of over eighty novels – a former assistant professor at the ISSUE NO 13

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University of South Alabama who taught graduate and undergraduate fiction writing classes? I wasn’t surprised when she said Olivia reminded her of herself (she’s a little spitfire who speaks her mind) but I was surprised at how much she liked the first draft. Other than one spot where she pointed out where I got lazy – which I fixed real quick because she was absolutely right – there weren’t any other critiques. She did suggest I add a hint of foreboding to build what was coming (like the great teacher she is) and that suggestion made me look at the story from a completely different angle. This is what a great editor does – just like Suzanne Hudson did with my first two short story collections, Carolyn did with Oliver. They both made me step away from the role of a writer and think like a reader. I went to bed thinking of Carolyn’s words and woke up the next morning with an idea that turned into one of my favorite scenes. It never would’ve happened without her advice. Next, I reached out to Claire Fullerton hoping she would have time to give it a read and (fingers crossed) write a blurb because she’s been so supportive of my writing in the past. She took it one step further. Claire took out her red pen and corrected some grammar mistakes and typos my editing software missed. I still can’t believe how lucky I am. When I thanked Claire, she replied, “My pleasure – it takes a village!” And Kathy L. Murphy took time from her busy schedule to read it and gave it five diamonds, said Olivia reminds 72

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READING NATION MAGAZINE WITH A LITTLE HELP FROM MY FRIENDS

her of Scout… It doesn’t get much better than that! Y’all, I can’t tell you enough how much I love this “village” of supportive and encouraging authors who make up the Pulpwood Queen and Timber Guy community. Since I’m an indie published author and I have this weird post self-isolation ritual of making a book cover for every project I’m working on, all of the edits were done and rewrites approved, there was no reason to put Oliver back in a folder. A project that started ten years ago took three months to finish. Thanks to a little help from my friends.

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Your Heart is in my Hands: a Letter to My Mother Ruthie Landis Dear precious Leelee, I call you by the name you loved the most, the name your grandson, Sasha, gave you when he was a baby. You took to it immediately and it stuck. It has been five years since your transition and I celebrate you today, as I celebrate you always, for the magnificent person you were in this lifetime, as my mother, best friend, and heart support. I throw rose petals upon your grave laden with ice and snow, as well as your little Gabby’s ashes. I place her little cast paw prints upon your headstone. Last week I had to put little Gabby to her final sleep. You had called her home to you after having left her or loaned her to Ed and me these last five years since you left us. I still think of you and miss you terribly every day. Though she had her idiosyncratic quirks, she was truly a “dear” as you called her, and she tethered me to you and I suppose helped me through my loss of you on this human plane, though as I write this the keen bite of grief 76

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READING NATION MAGAZINE A LETTER TO MY MOTHER

is just as fierce, grabs my heart like a clamp, tightens my jaw and throat, and waters my eyes, cascading tears down my cheeks. I don¹t know if you know this, but Gabby, weighing only six pounds, would daily lay her little fluffy body on my heart, her tiny face placed between my breasts looking up at me with loving eyes. Her job was to warm my heart, even after a hard day. Something always softened in me when she did this, like melting butter she transformed the harshness of life with her presence in this, almost ritualistic, placement of herself upon me. As I held her for the last time, as the vet kindly sedated her, my hands were under her holding her little beating heart. Though she couldn¹t breathe and get oxygen from her irreparable collapsed trachea, her heart still beat strong, until the medicine entered her, and it beat its last beat in my hands. In that moment I both experienced the miracle of life and the excruciating pain of death. I realize that every day we make decisions through our actions that affect people’s hearts. Whether we are kind or cruel, tuned in or insensitive, compassionate and understanding or self absorbed, we have impact. I remember, when Dad was having heart surgery, he and I made a hypnosis tape for the operation, and we told his unconscious mind to trust and allow the surgeon to hold his heart in his hands with expertise and humility. Dad came out of that surgery transformed in many ways, ISSUE NO 13

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physically and emotionally. You and Dad both had such loving hearts. I visited with your first cousin, Paula, yesterday, and we reminisced. I shared my new book with her, and we both choked up a bit as we realized you had never gotten the chance to read it but would be proud. I know you would have kept a copy of it next to your bed because that was how deeply you loved me. That’s the kind of thing that was you, as you cheered on those you loved. I want you to know that there is an essay in my new book devoted completely to the Heart, and that in life my heart is my primary collaborator. You modeled that to me in so many ways. The last few days I have heard Gabby crying a gentle cry, especially in the kitchen where she waited patiently for her human food treats while we ate. I know you would not be surprised to hear this. I wish I had indulged her even more, because, why not? It gave her such pleasure. I remember after you died, with her never leaving your side until your last breath, she cried almost nonstop for a month. The vet called this keening. So now she has returned to your arms, perhaps, I hope, is scampering around with delight, and when I lie down after a difficult day, I will feel her warm, gentle imprint on my chest. I will always try to remember that we all must be conscious and intentional about all the beating hearts around us, attending to theirs as well as our own, with awe and compassion. We must be aware, that in some 78

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fashion, we each hold the heart of another in our hands, a formidable responsibility, indeed.

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I usually use this spot for interesting things I find on our authors websites, but this month’s article is a little different. Click the image on the next page for a special find that’s -

APRIL 2022

READING NATION MAGAZINE TOO GOOD NOT TO SHARE

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The National Hobo Museum and Hobo Days Celebration Rita Quillen

Did you know there’s a National Hobo Museum and an annual Hobo Days gathering honoring the American itinerant workers and wanderers along our country’s highways and railways? I didn’t either until I got into the research for my novel WAYLAND. The main character, Buddy Newman, was one of those Depression-era hobos 82

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who rode the rails looking for a way to survive. Like many of them, he was an artist and a quite intelligent and educated person. When I finally got the chance to go to the National Hobo Museum in Britt, Iowa, my book was already out. I would have loved to have had the opportunity to go to it while I was still working on the book because they have an absolutely amazing collection of relics and memorabilia that I’m sure would have stirred my imagination to the extreme. I was amazed by their examples of the “tramp art” that many of them made and sold as a way to make money, I particularly enjoyed all the examples of objects bearing the famous hobo language, a series of symbols and markings that hobos used to give each other information about a particular locale: where it was safe to go, where there might be work, food, medical care. ISSUE NO 13

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Every summer, Britt and the Museum host a gathering of hobos-yes, there are many who still live that lifestyle—to the town for a big celebration, parade, car shows, arts and crafts, and all kinds of entertainment and education for the public about the hobo community, culminating of the naming of the Hobo King and Queen. They set up a “jungle,” complete with the little campsites of their members and huge pots of stew and other food for anyone who wants it, and they also hold a business meeting for their Hobo Foundation, formed in the 1970s by three of the prominent hobos.

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READING NATION MAGAZINE A TRIP TO THE NATIONAL HOBO MUSEUM

If you are a history buff at all, you would enjoy the museum. It’s a part of the American story, particularly from the late 1800s through the 1930s, that many people don’t know. If you would like to know more, go to https:// www.britthobodays.com/hobo-museum. They also have a Facebook page you can follow with lots of interesting posts and more pictures.

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Speed Round with Zoe Disigny First book you read that left an impression? How old were you? The All About Books Series, especially All About Electricity. I don't remember a thing about the book now, nor do I know anything about electricity to this day. But for some reason, out of all the other All About Books I read, the one about electricity, in particular, thrilled me. I was around eight years old.

How far do you live from your childhood home? My family moved around a lot. So, I listed my childhood homes below in order of first home to last and how far each one is from where I now live. Garden City, New York (born here) = 2463 miles by air Norfolk, Virginia = 2345 miles by air St. Claire, Michigan = 2345 miles by air Ft. Thomas, Kentucky =1893 miles by air Cincinnati, Ohio = 1889 miles by air 86

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West Covina, California = 28 miles by air Who is your favorite author? Eeek! An impossible question! It's like asking what your favorite food is. Depends on my mood. But most recently, I was swept away by A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles and Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens. I love the way both of them write.

What book is your all-time favorite? Another impossible question, but The Lessons of History by Will and Ariel Durant "wowed me" when I read it way back when, and it's still so relevant today. I think Sophie's World by Jostein Gaarder is an amazing book, and I'm also in love with the Griffin and Sabine Trilogy by Nick Bantock—a visual/verbal delight.

Did your parents have a phrase or saying that you find yourself using? My dad made up words all the time, so there are lots of "Fazzy-isms" in our family (as we call them). For example, instead of saying good night, he said, "dreamerISSUE NO 13

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skeemers." To which my sister and I replied, "ratzlesnatzle."

What's the name of the first story or essay you wrote that was published? What was the name of the publication? Only an Art Class is a personal essay first published by the Potato Soup Journal in 2020.

What's the name of the first manuscript you published? The Art of Traveling Strangers

What word best describes your writing process? Sunrise or sunset? Sunrise

What's your favorite color? Red

What's the first thing you notice about someone when 88

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you meet them? Their smile (or lack thereof) What's the best compliment you've ever gotten? You're my hero (from my daughter) Describe yourself in 5 words Stubborn, focused, serious, work-oriented, (but also) fun Tell me the nickname your parents used to call you when you were little Are you ready for this? My dad called me Smooie-Pooie. In which subject were you worst at school? Math In which subject were you best at school? English What advice would you give your young self? Stop trying to be popular. Just be you.

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cats. If you could live anywhere in the world, where would that be? Paris Tell me one secret about yourself that might surprise everyone I was backstage and taking videos during Elton John's sold-out performance at Dodger Stadium in 1975.

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READING NATION MAGAZINE GOOD THINGS CAN COME FROM DIFFICULT TIMES

John Shay Writing a children’s picture book about an ongoing global health crisis was not easy…

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I became a grandfather on March 13, 2020, just three days after the World Health Organization declared the novel Coronavirus a global pandemic. That stark juxtaposition of familial joy and a global health threat led me to think about my grandson's life and the world that he was inheriting. This inspired me to write Panda Demick to give grandparents, parents, and other caretakers a way to talk about the pandemic to children in an uplifting and life-affirming manner. From the very beginning, I knew that the story of Panda Demick needed to be bigger than the coronavirus. It needed to offer insight into how a tiny part of nature emerged and how its arrival was a reflection of our ongoing social and environmental challenges. That larger context for the story is tied directly to my career as an earth scientist; I hold degrees in both chemistry and geophysics. My first jobs out of university were working for The Greenhouse Gas Project and the Deep Sea Drilling Project at Scripps Institution of Oceanography in La Jolla, California. It was while working at Scripps that I met my wife, Joan, who holds a doctorate degree in oceanography. As a result of those early jobs and my marriage, I have held a front-row seat to the hard-fact science behind climate change and its impact on ecosystems worldwide. Those personal insights, combined with the emerging COVID-19 pandemic, lead to the story of Panda Demick. Beautifully illustrated by my good friend Jenny Zandona, the book shows the environmental imbalance 92

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that preceded the arrival of the Coronavirus through the eyes of Demick, a young panda who lives in a park. Demick is saddened when his animal friends tell him about the environmental struggles facing the world. During that struggle, the Coronavirus emerges and tells Demick what needs to be done to keep all of his friends safe and how to begin healing the world. Following Demick’s lead, daily life is forced to slow down and people come together to help each other. The story illustrates how the pandemic forced people to rediscover what's truly important in their lives. The story provides context for what children are experiencing and how good things can come from difficult times and that new beginnings are always possible. Writing a children’s picture book about an ongoing global health crisis was not easy. While the pandemic remains ongoing, the need to provide caretakers with ways to talk to children about it is very real. I believe, now more than ever, that art and literature can have a profoundly positive impact on a child’s life. The book was written in loving memory of those lost worldwide to COVID-19. Visually, this can be seen in one of the book’s illustrations which contains an empty pair of white nurse shoes as a tribute to the doctors and nurses lost to the pandemic. Their unwavering courage and sacrifice will always be part of the COVID-19 story. To date, over 200 author-signed copies of Panda Demick have been gifted to nurses and doctors nationwide. Feedback from those front-line healthcare workers has ISSUE NO 13

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been very positive and heartwarming. My wife, Joan, remains active in the sciences as president of an earth science company in Seattle, WA. My daughter Dana is a grants manager, overseeing critical earth science research, and my son David is a mechanical engineer building robots for space exploration. My grandson, Kai, remains an infinite well of inspiration to me and I look forward to being his “PopPop” with a front-row seat to all the adventures he undertakes. In thanks to Mandy Haynes and Reading Nation Magazine, I have gifted 5 signed copies of Panda Demick to infusion nurses at Seattle Cancer Care Alliance. John Shay, Author John Shay is a retired Earth scientist and high tech entrepreneur living in Seattle, Washington with his oceanographer wife, Joan. When he's not drawing or writing, he can be found rebuilding their century-old farm house or tending to his beloved fruit trees and raspberries. The birth of his grandson at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic inspired him to write the story of Panda Demick. 94

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Jenny Zandona, Illustrator Jenny Zandona is an illustrator specializing in children's literature, having illustrated multiple books including "Flap Your Wings, Little Robin", written by Andrea Legg. Having grown up in the Pacific Northwest, Jenny finds inspiration in the ever awe-inspiring beauty of nature, where the day-to-day is a phenomenal sensory expedition. She enjoys swimming, sweets, and morning coffees with her husband, dog, and cat; James, Crow, and Tama, in their too-small-for-fourcreatures bed. Jenny’s goal to portray lush characters, emotions, and textures keeps her busy as she continues to pour her being into every new illustration.

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Foundations— The Infrastructure of Well Being Or Underwear Abbe Rolnick Since before I knew the questions to ask, or the concepts of construction, government, or business, my curiosity sought to understand the insides. My Bubbie use to say to me, “It is what is on the inside that counts.” I interpreted this to mean, either that the outside didn’t count, or that the inside held all the mystery. Later I’d learn about the concepts of superficial beauty, but my deep connection to infrastructure began with not understanding the nuances of adult speak. A few years ago, I attended the Citizens Police Academy Class, six weeks of learning the art of policing. On the police website there is a picture of me dressed in bomb gear—gear that weighs three times my own weight and flatters the Pillsbury Doughboy with a look of machometal. I volunteered to feel and understand the heat, the claustrophobic sense of maneuvering under stress. I became the comic relief, the Police Doughgirl, waddling along the halls, attempting the impossible, swallowed within a purpose. Carpenters create from the inside out. The large building 96

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READING NATION MAGAZINE CONFIDENCE STARTS WITH A GOOD FOUNDATION

constructed in front of my restaurant, which blocked my view and hindered entrance to the parking lot, became my nine-month fascination with the diggers, the pillars of rebar, framing, plumbing, wiring, lifting of walls. The bridge overhead connected my business to the new edifice that now houses the bank where I deposit my meager earnings. I marvel at how easy it is to see only the result and to forget the innards of the world. As I grew up, I often wondered about size. I believed that my short stature came from my Bubbie, and that my chest also skipped a generation, donning me with breasts twice my frame size and overwhelmingly larger than my mothers. Looking at my small infrastructure, I knew that a problem brewed. How to run and play? What to do with the flopping? I needed a flopper-stopper, an over-theshoulder-boulder-holder. There was a name for this–a bra. Bra engineers liken the design of a bra to building a bridge. The challenge of vertical forces of gravity blended with the horizontal earth movement of wind resembles the forces women experience running or turning their body. Not only must a system be designed to enclose and support a semi-solid mass of variable volume and shape, but its adjacent mirror image. Two breasts must function as one. The vast possibilities of designs multiplied once bra engineers realized the complexities of asymmetrical shapes, that each breast had its own form, and that distributing the weight evenly over the torso not only had ISSUE NO 13

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to work in the front but in the back as well. Here is a trick my Bubbie taught me. If the band that encircles the body rides up the woman’s back, the bra is too loose. If the band digs into the back, the bra is too tight. Since women can’t see backwards, they can test this by reversing the bra on the torso, so that the cups are in the back. Trust me, if engineers built bridges this way we would have pointed armor that arched toward water. The wear and tear on our vast system of bridges eventually gives in to gravity. Sagging follows. The inevitable but fixable problem historically is one of infrastructure. Designers created the wonder bra that pushes up, or the jogging bra that flattens down. And it is here that I venture to declare my age, and evoke the adult speak of my Bubbie. We must be concerned with inner beauty, not the superficial aesthetics of fleeting beauty. While the government wisely uses our taxes to repair roads and bridges, I alone can shore up my droppers. On a mission, I ventured into the lingerie department at Macy’s Department Store. Greeted by thousands of hanging breast bands, I panicked. The history of the feminine mystique lay before me. I was not here to flaunt my cleavage, nor to add volume with padding or jiggle gels. Echoing the voices of my youth and my aged body, I still wanted function instead of fashion. To my delight, I found comfort. Among the offerings I found a cross between a jogging bra and soft formed cup with back clips. It didn’t matter if I was short or tall, lopsided, or 98

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voluptuous. The material held a memory – soft and forgiving. With my foundation secure, I now move with a sense of beauty and ease. No one can see what lies behind the sweater, only I know. My advice remains simple: confidence starts with a good foundation. Abbe Rolnick grew up in the suburbs of Baltimore, Maryland. Her first major cultural jolt occurred at age 15 when her family moved to Miami Beach, Florida. To find perspective, she climbed the only non-palm tree at her condo-complex and wrote what she observed.

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READING WITH QUEEN MAMA KAT!

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Saturday, April 16th, 10:00 a.m. CST, Mama Kat/Kathy L. Murphy welcomes Kerry Madden-Lunsford, author of Ernestine’s Milky Way Click here for the link or you can find it on the website in the calendar of events An empowering picture book set in the 1940s about a determined five-year-old girl who embarks on a journey to deliver milk to her neighbors in the holler. Every morning, Ernestine shouts out her window to the Great Smoky Mountains, “I’m five years old and a big girl!” When Mama asks Ernestine–who helps with chores around the farm while Papa is away at war–to carry two mason jars filled with milk to their neighbor, Ernestine isn’t sure she can do it. After all, she’d need to walk through thickets of crabapple and blackberry by the creek, not to mention past vines of climbing bittersweet. But Ernestine is five years old and a big girl, so off she sets. Along the way, one mason jar slips from her arms and rolls down the mountainside into the river, and Ernestine is sure it’s lost forever . . . until her neighbor’s son shows up with a muddy jar–and there’s a surprise inside! With tons of flavor and a can-do spirit, here is a celebration of American history and a plucky girl who knows that helping a family in need is worth the trouble. ISSUE NO 13

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THE PULPWOOD QUEENS' TIARA WEARING, BOOK SHARING, GUIDE TO LIFE celebrates female friendship, sisterhood, and the transformative power of reading. It includes life principles and motivational anecdotes, hilarious and heart-warming stories of friendships among the Queens, and stories from Kathy L. Murphy about the books that have inspired her throughout her life, complete with personalized suggested book lists. 102

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CHAPTER 3 There’s No Place Like Home “The Road to the City of Emeralds is paved with yellow brick.” —L. Frank Baum, author of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

The following books led me to discover that there really is “no place like home,” even if home wasn’t exactly like Father Knows Best or Leave It to Beaver, the television shows of my youth. These are books that helped me to understand my family a little better. Family by J. California Cooper Set in the South before the Civil War, the voice is of slave Clora, who is the granddaughter of a slave and whose mother was a slave who killed herself. Clora tries to kill her children, then succeeds in killing herself. The story unfolds as Clora narrates as a spirit watching from above. Body of Knowledge by Carol Dawson Victoria Grace Ransom weighs over 500 pounds and lives in her family’s ancestral home in West Texas, where a silent feud has been battling among her family members for decades. She passes the time being told family stories by ISSUE NO 13

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the maid. This book has one of the most surprising endings I have ever read. Mad Girls in Love by Michael Lee West A young bride and mother gets in a fight with her husband and hits him in the head with a frozen rack of ribs as he tries to drown her in the sink. Thinking that she has accidentally killed her husband, she flees, only to find out she may have left him for dead but he lives—and with revenge. He divorces her and takes full custody of their little girl. The young mother is devastated and all the while her own mother is in a mental institution and writes letters to Pat Nixon in the hopes of getting her grandchild back for her daughter. And that is only the beginning! Big Fish by Daniel Wallace I love this book because it is about a son who just wants to learn the truth from his father, the storyteller. His father has told fanciful tales throughout his life, and now he is dying. Get a box of tissues—I cried like a baby over the ending. Comfort Creek by Joyce McDonald Mama has run off to become a country singer, Daddy has lost his job, and eleven-year-old Quinn and her sisters are living in a swamp without water and electricity. Need I say more? The Tender Bar by J. R. Moehringer This is the memoir of a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist who essentially grew up in the neighborhood bar. Living in a rundown house overrun by cousins, with a father he can 104

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only hear by listening to him on the radio, J.R. escaped to the Irish Catholic bar looking for a father figure. The bar was his saving grace and also his downfall. Miss American Pie by Margaret Sartor This book is made up of the actual diaries of Margaret from the time she was in the seventh grade to her graduation from high school. What makes this such a compelling read is that she truly captured my time growing up in the 1970s. Too bad I burned my diaries in the trash barrel after I caught my mother reading them. Luckily, we have Margaret’s!

Pick up your copy of THE PULPWOOD QUEENS' TIARA WEARING, BOOK SHARING, GUIDE TO LIFE to read more.

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Hello, my name is Bear dog, and my memory of my early years is hazy, but I was found wandering in rural Idaho, covered by burrs. You can imagine what a mess that was! The rescue group Happy Tails brought me to Bellingham, WA, where my beloved Aunt Brenda fostered me. She knew that her friends Sara and Thor had recently said a sad farewell to their beloved golden retriever Worf, so she urged them to take me home for a trial visit. We all fell in love – except for Turtle cat, who did not trust me. (She came around later.) I LOVE people, and like to make f r i e n d s everywhere. Aunt Brenda takes me to hospice and nursing homes to comfort the sweet people there, and I get lots of petting. Thor and Sara take me hiking all the time. Life is good! Woof!

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Hello, my name is Turtle cat, and as you see, I am a peaceloving flower child. When that big black dog came into our house, I was plenty suspicious and would give him the stinkeye from high places. I might have been a bit jealous, because I was also a rescue kitten, born on Sara’s birthday, and I expect always to be first in her heart. But Bear dog won me over, and now we are best of friends and share lots of kisses. Peace and Love and cuddles!

These sweet furbabies are the owners of Sarah Stamey.

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CALL TO ACTION! FRIDAYS ARE ALL ABOUT OUR READERS! PLEASE JOIN OUR FACEBOOK GROUP - THE OFFICIAL INTERNATIONAL PULPWOOD QUEEN AND TIMBER GUY BOOK CLUB. LOOK FOR THIS GRAPHIC IN THE FEED.

LEAVE A COMMENT IN THE FEED UNDER THE GRAPHIC. 108

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READERS INTRODUCE YOURSELF - WE WANT TO GET TO KNOW YOU! TELL US WHO YOU’RE READING AND IF YOU MENTION ONE OF OUR PULPWOOD QUEEN AND TIMBER GUY AUTHORS YOU’LL BE PUT IN A DRAWING FOR SOME BOOKISH SWAG FROM THE PULPWOOD QUEEN HERSELF, KATHY L. MURPHY. AUTHORS MIGHT POP IN WITH SOME SURPRISE GIVEAWAYS! HAVE FUN!

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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 special guests every Saturday at 6:30pm CST for The Pulpwood Queen Book to Film Club. Go to the PQ website to see which movie will be discussed. Links to join are posted on our Official PQ Facebook group under Events. Guest Host schedule for The Pulpwood Queen Presents Her Picks: April 3rd – 10th Sarah Penner, The Lost Apothecary April 11th – 17Tth Alice C. Early, The Moon Always Rising: A Novel April 18th – 24th Christine Nolfi, The Passing Storm April 25th – May 1st David Valdes, Spin Me Right Around 110

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Featured Author Schedule for Tuesday Night Online Book Club Links to join are posted on our Official PQ Facebook group under Events and on the PQ website. April 5th Sarah Penner April 12th Alice C. Early April 19th Christine Nolfi April 26th David Valdes

Writing Workshop (2nd Saturday of each month at 10am CST) Links to join are posted on our Official PQ Facebook group under Events and on the PQ website. April 9th Kathryn Ramsperger PLOTTING FOR PANTSERS: The Step Into Your Story! (TM) Method Most writers realize their ending or beginning early on, but many don’t think about the middle of their books until they arrive there. That’s why Kathy Ramsperger created her own form of outlining, with pantsers in mind, which can work with as little as three chapters.

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Pat Conroy Literary Center 601 Bladen Street Beaufort, SC 29902 Thursday through Sunday noon-4:00 p.m. Other times available by appointment ISSUE NO 13

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Camp Conroy 2022: June 13th-25th Sponsored By: Pat Conroy Literary Center Camp Location: Beaufort Middle School Summer Camp: Build-A-Book Program For Registration and Submission Guidelines: https:// campconroy2022.eventbrite.com Camp Conroy is sponsored by the Pat Conroy Literary Center in beautiful Beaufort, South Carolina. Camp Conroy is a two-week summer camp providing young campers, ages 8-14, with a hands-on, collaborative program building a book start to finish. Campers work with instructors and special guests to create, revise, and compile their content for their anthology of stories, essays, poems, artwork, sculpture, and photographs. Campers also review outside submissions from young creatives who wish to submit their works for consideration and potential publication. Campers focus on editing, revision, production, and building a book mock-up in preparation for their final Camp Reading and Reception as well as the book’s final print delivery for publication. Camp Conroy 2022 is celebrating its fifth year and registration will open on March 15, 2022. For young creatives interested in submitting to the Camp Conroy Writing & Art Contest, the deadline for submissions is May 31, 2022. 116

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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 Reader Members that includes you! 122

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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’ art, photos of your local bookstores, and libraries. Fun content and free advertising if you’re an author - winwin.

As of 3-31-22 Reading Nation Magazine has received a total of 78,971 views! PQ & TG authors - standard pages to advertise your books are only $25 for a limited time. That includes customized graphics that are shared with 12K readers over several social media sites. This is a great way for our new authors to introduce yourselves to the community and get your books in front of readers! If you’d like to submit your stories, send an email to readingnationmagazine@gmail.com.

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WHEN YOU PURCHASE YOUR FAVORITE PULPWOOD QUEEN OR TIMBER GUY AUTHORS BOOKS HERE, EMAIL KATHY AT THEPULPWOODQUEEN@GMAIL.COM SHE MAY HAVE SOME SWAG FROM THE AUTHOR FOR YOU!

Looking for some fun gifts for yourself or a book-lover in your life? Visit the New Swag Shop

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APRIL 2022

NATION MAGAZINE The Queen of Paris: A Novel READING of Coco Chanel by Pamela Binnings Ewen

Legendary fashion designer Coco Chanel is revered for her sophisticated style--the iconic little black dress--and famed for her intoxicating perfume Chanel No. 5. Yet behind the public persona is a complicated woman of intrigue, shadowed by mysterious rumors. The Queen of Paris, the new novel from award-winning author Pamela Binnings Ewen, is fiction based on facts, some uncovered only within the past few years, and vividly imagines the hidden life of Chanel during the four years of Nazi occupation in Paris in the midst of WWII. Coco Chanel could be cheerful, lighthearted, and generous; she also could be ruthless, manipulative, even cruel. Against the winds of war, with the Wehrmacht marching down the Champs-Élysées, Chanel finds herself residing alongside the Reich's High Command in the Hotel Ritz. Surrounded by the enemy, Chanel wages a private war of her own to wrestle full control of her perfume company from the hands of her Jewish business partner, Pierre Wertheimer. With anti-Semitism on the rise, he has escaped to the United States with the confidential formula for Chanel No. 5. Distrustful of his intentions to set up production on the outskirts of New York City, Chanel fights to seize ownership. The House of Chanel shall not fall. While Chanel struggles to keep her livelihood intact, Paris sinks under the iron fist of German rule. Chanel--a woman made of sparkling granite--will do anything to survive. She will even agree to collaborate with the Nazis in order to protect her darkest secrets. When she is covertly recruited by Germany to spy for the Reich, she becomes Agent F-7124, code name: Westminster. But why? And to what lengths will she go to keep her stormy NO 13 past from haunting herISSUE future? 129

READING NATION MAGAZINE APRIL 2022

Articles inside

Abbe Rolnick

Stories Make Us More of Who We Can Be by Judy Christie

If Our Pets Could Talk

Spin Me Right Round by David Valdes

The Passing Storm by Christine Nolfi

The Moon Always Rising by Alice C. Early

The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner

THE PULPWOOD QUEENS' TIARA WEARING, BOOK SHARING, GUIDE TO LIFE

READING WITH QUEEN MAMA KAT!

Speed Round with Zoe Disigny

The Passing Storm by Christine Nolfi

The Queen of Paris: A Novel of Coco Chanel by Pamela Binnings Ewen

Sugar Baby and Other Stories by River Jordan

God, Destiny and a Glass of Wine by Linda Mason Crawford

The Mermaids of Lake Michigan by Suzanne Kamata

Crazy to Leave You by Marilyn Rothstein

Rita Quillen

Ruthie Landis

Janet Oakley’s Favorite Independent Bookstore - Village Books

John Shay

With a little help from my friends...

Antonina Duridanova

Laura Whitfield

Abigail Keam

R.J. LEE

Michele Kwasniewski

Claudia Hagadus Long

Annette G. Anders

Alice C. Early

Pamela Binnings Ewen

Timber Rose by J.L. Oakley

Allison Hong Merrill