READING NATION MAGAZINE JANUARY 2022 by Reading Nation Magazine

Happy New Year!

WORK IN PROGRESS Edited by Pulpwood Queen author, Mandy Haynes

Readers love to read works in progress and we have a great group of diverse writing styles and authors! In the second International Pulpwood Queen and Timber Guy Anthology, WORK IN PROGRESS, fifty-nine of our authors share their work with you and the story behind the story. Have you ever finished a book and wondered, “What made the author think of that?” Or wondered if there was a chapter in the original manuscript that didn’t make it through the final edits? Maybe you’d like to get a sneak peek at what an author is currently working on. Work In Progress includes fifty-nine excerpts from some talented authors’ works in progress in different stages of the writing process, followed up with the story behind the story of the piece, and the story behind the author who wrote it. Where did the idea come from? What were they thinking during the writing process? Why did they delete a chapter, or change a character? Find out the answers to these questions and more inside…

My Sweet Vidalia by Deborah Mantella In July 4, 1955, in rural Georgia, an act of violence threatens the life of Vidalia Lee Kandal Jackson's pre-born daughter. Despite the direst of circumstances, the spirit of the lost child refuses to leave her illequipped young mother's side. For as long as she is needed--through troubled pregnancies, through poverty, through spousal abuse and agonizing betrayals--Cieli Mae, the determined spirit child, narrates their journey. Serving as a safe place and sounding board for Vidalia's innermost thoughts and confusions, lending a strength to her momma's emerging voice, Cieli Mae provides her own special brand of comfort and encouragement, all the while honoring the restrictions imposed by her otherworldly status.Vidalia finds further support in such unlikely townsfolk and relations as Doc Feldman, Gamma Gert and her Wild Women of God, and, most particularly, in Ruby Pearl Banks, the kind, courageous church lady, who has suffered her own share of heartache in their small Southern town of yesteryear's prejudices and presumptions. My Sweet Vidalia is wise and witty, outstanding for its use of vibrant, poetic language and understated Southern dialect, as well as Mantella's clear-eyed observations of race relations as human relations, a cast of unforgettable characters, an in-depth exploration of the ties that bind, and its creative perspective. My Sweet Vidalia is a rare, wonderful, and complex look at hope, strength, the unparalleled power of unconditional love, and a young mother's refusal to give up. "My Sweet Vidalia is a five-star novel that will pull at your heartstrings from the very first page until the last. Definitely a book to put at the top of your list of must-reads. "―San Francisco Book Review

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Hello Readers! HAPPY NEW YEAR! 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, an essay and beautiful art by Ruthie Landis, Author interviews, a special road trip with Kathryn Ramsperger, book trailers, pet interviews, and so much more. If you’d like to join this great community of authors and readers, go to www.thepulpwoodqueens.com to find out more - we’d love to have you! Wherever you are I hope you’re healthy, happy, and enjoying a good book.

Mandy Haynes

Pulpwood Queen Author Creator, Editor, and Publisher of READING NATION MAGAZINE, Owner of three dogs write press JANUARY 2022 10

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PULPWOOD QUEEN BOOK CLUB JANUARY PICKS

WHAT IT MEANS TO BE A PULPWOOD QUEEN

WATCH THIS!

TO ADD TO YOUR TBR LIST

SPEED ROUND

AUTHORS AND THEIR ART

AUTHORS INTERVIEWING AUTHORS

ROAD TRIP

TIARA WEARING, BOOK SHARING, GUIDE TO LIFE PULPWOOD QUEEN’S BOOK SHOP

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CALENDAR OF EVENTS

101

PULPWOOD QUEEN SWAG

103

NETWORKING

105

FYI

109

IF OUR PETS COULD TALK

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January’s Official Pick Work In Progress edited by Mandy Haynes Work In Progress is a collection of excerpts of works in progress by several authors of The International Pulpwood Queen and Timber Guy Book Club Reading Nation followed by a description of each excerpt. Some of the works in progress are current, others are from manuscripts that have been put aside for months, or even years. Have you ever wondered how an author came up with the idea for a story? Or if there was a chapter deleted from one of your favorite novels in its final edits? Maybe the original ending was different than the one that was published... In Work In Progress, fifty-nine of our International Pulpwood Queen and Timber Guy Authors share the stories behind their works in progress with you.

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January’s International Pick Purple Lotus by Veena Rao Tara moves to the American South three years after her arranged marriage to tech executive Sanjay. Ignored and lonely, Tara finds herself regressing back to childhood memories that have scarred her for life. When she was eight, her parents had left her behind with her aging grandparents and a schizophrenic uncle in Mangalore, while taking her baby brother with them to make a new life for the family in Dubai. Tara's memories of abandonment and isolation mirror her present life of loneliness and escalating abuse at the hands of her husband. She accepts the help of kind-hearted American strangers to fight Sanjay, only to be pressured by her patriarchal family to make peace with her circumstances. Then, in a moment of truth, she discovers the importance of self-worth--a revelation that gives her the courage to break free, gently rebuild her life, and even risk being shunned by her community when she marries her childhood love, Cyrus Saldanha. ISSUE NO. 10

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January Bonus Book Market Street Madam by Randi Samuelson-Brown Market Street Madam tells the story of Annie Ryan, a woman who is running a second-rate brothel in 1890s Denver with an eye toward expansion. By chance she encounters Lydia Chambers, a society woman suffering from a laudanum habit and a bad marriage, who owns a prized property on the infamous Market Street. Annie's fortunes at the brothel turn on her niece Pearl, a pretty young girl swept up in Denver's underworld of jealousy, booze, and vice--until murder stalks the good-time girls and puts everyone's future in doubt. A rollicking tale of blurred lines, flowing booze, played-out miners and upstairs girls, Market Street Madam delivers a compelling look at the intrigues of the Wild West, where women were enterprising and justice could be had . . . for a price.

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READING NATION MAGAZINE PULPWOOD QUEEN BOOK CLUB JANUARY PICKS

January Bonus Book River, Sing Out by James Wade Attempting to escape his abusive father and generations of cyclical poverty, young Jonah Hargrove joins the mysterious River--a teenage girl carrying thousands of dollars in stolen meth--and embarks on a southern gothic odyssey through the East Texas river bottoms. They are pursued by local drug kingpin John Curtis and his murderous enforcer, Dakota Cade, with whom River was romantically involved. But Cade and Curtis have their own enemies, as their relationship with the cartel controlling their meth supply begins to sour. Keeping tabs on everyone is the Thin Man, a silent assassin who values consequence over mercy. Each person is keeping secrets from the others--deadly secrets that will be exposed in savage fashion as their final paths collide and all are forced to come to terms with their choices, their circumstances, and their own definition of God. ISSUE NO. 10

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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.

Thank you Brother Mockingbird Publishing for letting us share some stories! JANUARY 2022 18

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As we’re getting ready for our 2022 Virtual Pulpwood Queen Book Club Convention/Girlfriend Weekend I thought this was the perfect time to share an excerpt from one of my favorites from The Pulpwood Queens Celebrate Twenty Years anthology - enjoy!

Where Stories and Storytellers Flourish Julie Cantrell

….When that first novel hit shelves, I did not understand the “game” of publishing, as many have called it. Nor did I understand the cruelty that some people can dish out when a debut novel finds its way to the New York Times bestseller list. The words from a few fellow authors were harsh and unexpected, and while I have never told anyone about these heartbreaking blows, Kathy seemed to know they were par for the course. She hugged me and told me how much my story meant to her, and in her kind reassurances, she offered the balm I hadn’t even realized I had been seeking. In that one noble act, she made me ISSUE NO. 10

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believe I not only had delivered a story that had worth, she made me believe I had every right to be there with the “real authors,” and that yes, I had every right to be recognized as one of them too, just as much right as the other scribes in the room, even though I had never taken a writing class. Kathy dared to believe in me, and whether she knew it or not she gave me the confidence to start believing in myself. My admiration for her ran deep from the beginning, and she has served as a steady friend and mentor to me ever since. That first weekend proved life changing for me. Those authors and readers I met in Jefferson have shaped my spirit in ways I never could have imagined. Many of them have become some of my closest friends in the years since, and I now look forward to returning each January to Girlfriend Weekend, as if it’s a family reunion of sorts, a place for me to reconnect with my soul sisters. After my initial Girlfriend Weekend, I returned home with a new lens. This trip had been my first time to travel away from my family and it awakened me to an entirely new reality, one in which women could be completely, uninhibitedly free to express ourselves as intelligent, brave, creative spirits who loved to dance and laugh and dress in silly costumes just for the fun of it. There was no judgment allowed at Girlfriend Weekend. No shame. No JANUARY 2022 20

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criticisms. No condescending arrogance. No pressures to conform. All sorts of opinions were voiced, openly, and no one dared bat an eye as words flowed and ideas were shared. And that’s Kathy’s magic. She has this incredible ability to bring together people from all walks of life—from the most liberal-minded creatives to the most conservativeminded southerners. People who have never roamed more than a few miles from where they were born to globetrotting internationals who are recognized as our nation’s literary elite. People who have never written anything and those who have stood on stages as one of the world’s most accomplished authors. She then puts us all together in feather boas and rhinestone tiaras and leopard skin leotards, dancing with us under a disco light where we all dare to celebrate our combined love of story. Story. That’s what it all comes down to in the end. The fact that every one of us has a story. And by writing and reading and sharing and listening, we learn to love one another through the power of story. Story heals us and inspires us and, ultimately, story unites us. Kathy took a gamble on me when I was fresh out of the chute. I was the underdog, the one with the unproven track record, the long shot. But Kathy believed in me because she believed in my story. And I know I’m not the only one ISSUE NO. 10

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she has supported whole heartedly through this crazy maze of publishing. Kathy not only dared to read my book, she dared to share my book with others by selecting it for one of her recommended book club reads. In doing so, she helped my novel find readers who likely would have never discovered my work otherwise. In the end, this little story that could launched my career as an author. And for each of my books published after Into the Free, Kathy has shown the same loyal support and enthusiasm. If there’s anything rare in this world anymore, it’s that kind of steady friendship that aims to elevate another soul while selflessly seeking nothing in return. That’s Kathy, and as we all know, such a positivity reverberates, and thus, the Pulpwood Queens as a whole exude this same kind of generosity where love one another is the only rule. If you ever get a chance to meet Kathy, you’ll be glad you did. And if you ever get a chance to join us at the Pulpwood Queens Girlfriend JANUARY 2022 22

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Weekend, please come. All are welcome here, and we’d love to hear your story.

Pulpwood Queen Authors Jennifer Mueller, Lisa Wingate, Kathy L. Murphy, Christa Allan, Julie Cantrell, and Pulpwood Queen Reader Jan Ward.

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READING NATION MAGAZINE WATCH THIS!

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READING NATION MAGAZINE WATCH THIS!

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My Musings by Ruthie Landis This journal is all yours. It invites you to set one appointment with yourself each week to connect with the hidden crevices of your being in a unique way. That's why, in MY MUSINGS, there are fifty-two weekly journal prompts and activities. There are a few bonus activities to play with as well, at the beginning and end of your journal, plus one at the beginning of each seasonal section. Do whatever intuitively suits you. Perhaps you want to draw or make art in addition to writing. That's why there are no lines on your pages; nothing is here to limit you. If you are a musician, maybe the prompt becomes the muse for a new song. The title MY MUSINGS means exactly that. This is completely your own. Let it meet you where you are. JANUARY 2022 28

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“My Musings is special because the prompts are so thought provoking. I was expecting the usual brief prompts, such as “what is your favorite book and why?” or “who is your best friend and how do they make you feel?” or the hiring manager’s favorite, “where do you see yourself in five years?” Instead, these prompts set the scene with descriptions and photos and then present a prompt you probably have not thought about. And since the book asks for weekly writing, there’s more time to think about it without quickly feeling like you are running behind. Highly recommended!”

Award-winning workshop designer, body-centered psychotherapist and coach, writer, teacher, actress, and director, Ruthie Landis has been designing powerful and interactive group experiences for over thirty years. Among the many disciplines she practices, she is a master of the Enneagram, and uses its wisdom in nearly every aspect of her creative, professional, and personal life. She works in constant collaboration with Body, Mind, Heart, Nature, Intuition, and the Creative Force. Her intention is to endow the people of the world with a backpack for their life's journey. This backpack is plentiful, filled with a rainbow of resources to navigate and explore. ISSUE NO. 10

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How the Deer Moon Hungers by Susan Wingate MACKENZIE FRASER witnesses a drunk driver mow down her seven-year-old sister and her mother blames her. Then she ends up in juvie on a trumpedup drug charge. Now she's in the fight of her life...on the inside! And she's losing. HOW THE DEER MOON HUNGERS is a coming of age story about loss, grief, and the power of love. For those who love reading books like Where the Crawdads Sing and My Sister's Keeper. HOW THE DEER MOON HUNGERS is book club fiction. DISTINGUISHED FAVORITE IN THE 2021 NYC BIG BOOK AWARD FIRST PLACE AWARD 2021 CIBA SOMERSET LITERARY AWARDS JANUARY 2022 30

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SILVER AWARD 2021 eLIT BOOK AWARDS WINNER OF THE 2020 SABA BOOK AWARDS FOR BEST FICTION AUTHOR SILVER AWARD FOR YA FICTION in the 2020 Moonbeam Children’s Book Awards FINALIST AWARD in the 2020 Shelf Unbound Indie Best Book Awards BEST FICTION in the 2020 Pacific Book Award BEST BOOK COVER in the July 2020 Book Cover of the Month Awards "Vivid characters, a disarming storyline and gratifying ending. What more could a reader want? Everything that can go wrong in Mac’s life does—her parents divorce, her sister dies, and she’s arrested for something she didn’t do. She has to learn how to assimilate it, learn from it, and move forward. But that won’t be easy.” ―Terry Persun, Amazon Bestseller “In Susan Wingate’s novel How the Deer Moon Hungers, the hidden horrors of juvenile detention facilities are ISSUE NO. 10

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exposed.” ―Foreword Clarion Reviews – 5-Stars “Wingate weaves a yarn that is absorbing, balanced, and deft.” ―The Book Commentary “I would strongly recommend this book to people in their late teens and upward.” ―Jo Niederhoff, San Francisco Book Review “Susan Wingate is gifted at capturing these shifting nuances as events continue to pull characters apart and put them back together like puzzles, albeit in a different way. HOW THE DEER MOON HUNGERS carries the reader through this process, creating a powerful and memorable saga that is hard to put down and lingers in the mind long after the story is over." ―Diane Donovan, Senior Editor, Midwest Book Review “An amazing story!” —Kathryn Lane, Award-winning author of the Nikki Garcia thriller series “A girl comes into her own following a tragedy in Susan Wingate’s poignant novel.” ―Aimee Jodoin, Foreword Clarion Reviews “Mac and Tessa are part of my life now.” ―Billie Hobbs, JANUARY 2022 32

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Independent Editor “I was terrorized. Then, I cried.” ―Elizabeth Ajamie Boyer, author of Memories of War Susan Wingate is an Amazon bestselling and awardwinning author of over fifteen novels. Susan writes across fiction genres often setting her stories in the Pacific Northwest where she and her husband, Bob live. Susan’s writing has been published in journals such as the Virginia Quarterly Review, the Superstition Review, and Suspense Magazine, and several others. Susan is represented by Chip MacGregor. Susan's Memberships Include: PENAmerica, the International Thriller Writers, the Mystery Writers of America, the Women's Fiction Writers Association, and the Pacific Northwest Writers Association. She writes about big trouble in small towns and lives with her husband on an island off the coast of Washington State where, against State laws, she feeds the wildlife because she wants them to follow her. Her ukulele playing is (as her Sitto used to say) coming along. ISSUE NO. 10

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Sweet Jane by Joanne Kukanza Easley 2021 Eric Hoffer Book Award Finalist 2020 PenCraft Award Winner Women's Fiction 2020 International Book Awards Finalist - Literary 2020 Readers Favorite Book Awards Finalist - Literary 2019 Faulkner/Wisdom Writing Award Finalist A drunken mother makes childhood ugly. Jane runs away at sixteen, determined to leave her fraught upbringing in the rearview. Vowing never to return, she hitchhikes to California, right on time for the Summer of Love. Seventeen years later, she looks good on paper: married, grad school, sober, but her carefully constructed life is crumbling. When Mama dies, Jane returns for the funeral, leaving her husband in the dark about her history. Seeing her childhood home and significant people from her youth catapults Jane back to the events that made her the woman she is. She faces down her past and the ghosts that shaped her family. A stunning discovery helps Jane see her problems through a new lens. JANUARY 2022 34

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Five Will Die by Trace Conger WHEN A SERIAL KILLER STALKS A SLEEPY OHIO TOWN, EVERYONE IS A SUSPECT. Nothing ever happens in Lincoln, Ohio. Sheriff Tim Burke likes it that way. That’s why he moved to the tranquil town after a panic disorder, triggered by a gruesome unsolved case, forced him to retire from Cleveland’s Homicide Division. These days, the only thing Burke has to worry about is who spray-painted the side of Walt Tanner’s barn. That all changes when someone slips a note under Burke’s door. A note claiming five people will die in Lincoln. At first, Burke and his two deputies dismiss it as a prank by local teenagers, the same troublemakers he singled out for defacing Walt’s barn. Then the first body turns up. Then the second. Five Will Die is the latest thriller from Shamus Awardwinning author Trace Conger. ISSUE NO. 10

"Lee vi vidly c apture life in s a q u ir southe rn tow ky n ruled by a r i ch heighte elite, and ns inte r es t with a expose plot that s past secrets and a b u d d in roman ce."-Bo g o k lis t Grand Slam Murders by R.J.Lee

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Sugar Baby and Other Stories by River Jordan This collection is for the lionhearted lovers of great stories. They don't flinch or pull punches.They are mysterious and magnificent. They are unforgettable.

“Sugar Baby is like River Jordan herself: thrilling, tender, tough, and shot through with light." Silas House, author, Southernmost "River Jordan writes with the lyricism and grace of a gospel hymn, and the tales that weave through Sugar Baby ring like the chorus of a choir, rising and falling and then rising again, like all good sinners do." Michael Farris Smith, author of Nick and Blackwood

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"Southern Gothic indeed. SPLENDID, Beautiful, haunting, and ultimately a family story that operates on tribal loyalty, devotion, acceptance - it's ALL there. Unique, suspenseful with an air of mystery." Claire Fullerton, author, Little Tea "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 “River Jordan is the torchbearer for Southern Gothic literature. Her sublime writing conjures up vivid characters of the rural South, their hardscrabble landscape and the determination to persevere. Sugar Baby is a beautiful collection of short stories that will linger in the imagination long after the last page has been turned.” Michael Morris, author, Man in the Blue Moon

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The Queen of Paris: A Novel of Coco Chanel by Pamela Binnings Ewen “Ewen (The Moon in the Mango Tree) 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 diving 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.” Publisher’s Weekly – starred review “Empathetic yet unsparing. The Queen of Paris is an engrossing historical novel that reveals another room in the House of Chanel: beyond the timeless elegance, simplicity, and jasmine-scented perfume was a desperate woman, trapped by a maze of circumstances, and her own troubled mind.” Foreward Reviews Husbands and Other Sharp Objects JANUARY 2022 40

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Husbands and Other Sharp Objects by Marilyn Simon Rothstein After a lifetime of marriage, Marcy Hammer is ready to get herself unhitched--just as everyone else in her life is looking for a commitment. Her new boyfriend, Jon, wants to get serious, and her soon-to-be ex-husband, Harvey, is desperate to get back together. When her headstrong daughter announces a secret engagement to Harvey's attorney, Marcy finds herself planning her daughter's wedding as she plans her own divorce. Now with two huge events on the horizon, the indomitable Marcy soon realizes that there's nothing like a wedding to bring out the worst in everybody. From petty skirmishes over an ever-growing guest list to awkward confrontations with her sticky-fingered new in-laws, pulling off the wedding is going to be a challenge; seeing her divorce through is going to be a trial. And trying to make everyone happy might prove to be impossible--because in the end, Marcy alone must make a choice between something old and something new. ISSUE NO. 10

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Rising Star: Book One in the Rise and Fall of Dani Truehart Series by Michele Kwasniewski Fifteen-year-old Dani Truehart is living a life that is not quite her own. Driven by her mother's desire for fame and fortune, she has spent her childhood dutifully training for a career as a pop star. On the brink of discovery, doubts begin to creep into Dani's mind as she questions her own desire for fame, and she wonders whether she can trust the motivations of the adults who are driving her forward. Following a brilliant audition arranged by her vocal/dance coach and former '80s pop icon Martin Fox, Dani is thrown full-force into the music industry. She leaves her friends, family and scheming mother behind to move with Martin, who has become her legal guardian, into the Malibu compound of her new manager, Jenner Redman. Jenner, the former swindling manager of Martin's boy band, leverages what's left of his depleted fortune to launch Dani's career. JANUARY 2022 42

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Isolated from her life at home and trying to stay apace with her demanding schedule, Dani struggles to keep in touch with those she loves, connect to her withholding mother and find her voice as an artist. With Martin and Jenner at odds over their rocky past and finding herself unprepared to handle the pressures of her future singing career, Dani's debut album and future stardom are at risk of falling apart.

Burning Bright by Michele Kwasniewski YA 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 fulllength 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 ISSUE NO. 10

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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 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.

“While [Rising Star] is an obvious must-read for its YA audience, I think you will love it if you once were a teenage girl (I was not) or parent to one (I was).” J. Perez-Gillespie “A Captivating Read, kept me entertained for hours.” “Compassionate and authentic.” “A great second book in the series.”

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“Great book on the issues many face going into the entertainment industry.” “Exciting and engaging!”

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. 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 is her first young adult novel.

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Sonju by Wondra Chang Seoul, 1946 At the sight of the two tall Americans in military uniforms walking ahead of her toward the Korean Central Administration Building, Sonju’s heart beat a little faster. A month after America dropped atomic bombs over Hiroshima and Nagasaki, one of her Japanese classmates in high school came to her house to say goodbye and they had cried together. That was well over a year ago. Sonju took another glance at the broad backs of the Americans before she turned left to cross the cobblestoned boulevard. She tightened her grip on the thinking-stone in her gloved hand and hurried, swallowing the dry November air that scraped her throat, puffing white smoke with each breath. The eighth house from the corner, a newly whitewashed traditional house, Misu had told her. After a fourth knock, the varnished wooden gate opened halfway and a young maid’s cocked head appeared. “I’m your mistress’s friend,” Sonju said. The maid opened the gate to let her in, and Sonju marched into the courtyard and on toward the living quarters. The maid dashed by Sonju, craned her neck toward the living room and announced in an urgent tone, “You have a visitor, JANUARY 2022 46

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Ma’am.” Misu opened the frosted glass door and her face lit up like the first flower in spring. “Ah, it’s you.” She hooked her arm into Sonju’s and walked toward a room, her long satin dress whispering with each step she took. In Misu’s marriage room, everything was new and shiny—freshly varnished paper floor, a double wardrobe against one wall, next to it neatly stacked floor pillows, and on another wall, three works of blue-and-white porcelain pottery displayed on a low credenza. One of them cradled Misu’s thinking-stone like a prized jewel. Sonju smiled and touched the stone in her pocket. Kungu, Misu, and Sonju each had picked a small flat stone at a church garden when they were still in elementary school and called them “thinking-stones.” “Chang offers a debut historical novel about the extraordinary transformation of a Korean woman and her country …Throughout this novel, Chang uses Sonju’s life as a metaphor for the cultural upheaval of Korea in the mid-20th century. She successfully crafts a fully formed protagonist with singular strength and determination, and her prose is measured and thoughtful. She’s particularly adept at conveying emotion through everyday domestic imagery that readers will appreciate, as when Sonju sadly contemplates the “valleys and mountains” made by the fabric of her wedding gown, mourning days of freedom with her childhood friends; at another point, during her melancholy introduction to her husband’s family home, she notices how the “freshly applied wallpaper with light pink flowers seemed overly hopeful.” -- Kirkus Reviews (starred review) ISSUE NO. 10

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The Cicada Tree by Robert Gwaltney “Some things in this world are meant to burn …” The summer of 1956, a brood of cicadas descends upon Providence Georgia, a natural event with supernatural repercussions, unhinging the life of Analeise Newell, an elevenyear-old piano prodigy. Amidst this emergence, dark obsessions are stirred, uncanny gifts provoked, and secrets unearthed. During a visit to Mistletoe, a plantation owned by the wealthy Mayfield family, Analeise encounters Cordelia Mayfield and her daughter Marlissa, both of whom possess an otherworldly beauty. A whisper and an act of violence perpetrated during this visit by Mrs. Mayfield all converge to kindle Analeise’s fascination with the Mayfields. Analeise’s burgeoning obsession with the Mayfield family overshadows her own seemingly, ordinary life, culminating in dangerous games and manipulation, setting off a chain of cataclysmic events with life-altering consequences—all of it unfolding to the maddening whir of a cicada song. JANUARY 2022 48

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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. Fastmoving events threaten to turn Mona’s world upside-down JANUARY 2022 50

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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 rags-toriches 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.

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Speed Round - with Heather Frese

First book you read that left an impression? Little House on the Prairie. How old were you? I was six. How far do you live from your childhood home? I live seven hours away. Sad face. Who is your favorite author? Lee Smith What book is your all-time favorite? JANUARY 2022 52

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Fair and Tender Ladies Did your parents have a phrase or saying that you find yourself using? Oh, yeah! My dad would say "Patience is a virtue," and "You can't push a rope, but you sure can pull it." My mom would say, "Close the door! We're not paying to air condition all of Edgeworth Addition." I say all those things to my kids. What's the name of the first story or essay you wrote that was published? Fatigue What was the name of the publication? Michigan Quarterly Review What's the name of the first manuscript you published? The Baddest Girl on the Planet What word best describes your writing process? Sporadic Sunrise or sunset? Sunset ISSUE NO. 10

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What’s your favorite color? Aqua What’s the first thing you notice about someone when you meet them? Smile What’s the best compliment you’ve ever gotten? When ever someone says they really connected with something I've written. 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? It's ok to be who you are. Cat person or dog person? Dog If you could live anywhere in the world, where would that be? I'm pretty happy here in NC. JANUARY 2022 54

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Tell me one secret about yourself that might surprise everyone. I really love the Kardashians.

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The Creative Force and Intuition Meets Ruthie Landis

When I was a little girl, we were very poor. I never had art supplies. My mom had been a very gifted artist and before she eloped at seventeen years old, she had been in fashion design school at the Art Institute. She had my brother not long after and stopped doing art completely. I would see her renderings hidden in a scrap book in the basement. I would sneak down in the darkness and look at these spectacular designs over and over. They were amazing. JANUARY 2022 56

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Like something a star would wear at the academy awards. As a child I didn’t feel I could draw or paint or ever compete with her talent, so I set visual arts aside and concentrated on creative writing and acting. But truly, I longed to be a visual artist, as well. It would take years before I could find my various unique mediums and set myself free from those limiting beliefs about myself and my creativity. My grandmother had bought me a Barbie and a Midge doll. I didn’t like that they had only one outfit so I would make clothes for them out of Kleenex and ribbons. Sometimes I would find scraps of cloth and tie them up in innovative ways to change their costumes. Creativity was wanting to burst forth out of me, but it was tempered by my access to supplies and feeling I just didn’t have the talent to make visual art. Years later, after I had graduated from college and began my spiritual journey, I found that if I made art from a sacred intuitive place within me, intentional and explorational, instead of “product” ISSUE NO. 10

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driven, that beautiful and meaningful pieces could be made from nature objects, from stuff I found in the alley and repainted, from old junky jewelry and discarded magazines. I found my inner child could heal herself intuitively with joyful self-expression, and that magical art flowed from the crevices of my soul. My life grew richer and more expansive when I made intentional process art, setting aside my dragon of judgment and tendency to compare and then despair. Making art became my temple, my sacred sanctuary, my outlet for transformation. Soon I learned how to collage. I collaged my front door on both sides, like a giant vision board, intentionally putting words and imagery of good stuff that I wanted to flow into my home (on outside of the door) and what I wanted to gift to the world from myself (on the inside of the door). I collaged my old beatup bathroom vanity. I have collaged my appointment books for twenty years, dropping into a meditation around JANUARY 2022 58

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the things I wanted to manifest in the year ahead. Then I followed an inspiration to give a new skin to mannequins, just as snakes shed their old skin and replace it with a new layer of its growing self, I would make each mannequin

speak to my personal growth. For my mom’s 80th birthday I had her ISSUE NO. 10

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fashion designs color copied and collaged a special mannequin to pay homage to the artistry she had long ago buried in the basement. Each collage I do takes me through a process of personal transformation. Then I started making talking sticks which I give to couples as their wedding gift after I officiate at their ceremony. And I make jewelry with specific gemstones that speak to the healing that is needed for a client or loved one. And I take gourds and feather them up to make a family of gooselike creatures out of pure whimsy, just to nourish my playful inner child. JANUARY 2022 60

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And finally, I pay tribute to my little Ruthie who only had a few toys, by creating intention dolls out of yarn, and fabric and dismissed jewelry and buttons. Each year I create an intention and write it out and put it inside my doll with ways I hope to grow myself. I have been doing this ritual for at least twenty years. I have all the dolls I could possibly want, and still each year I make another. My art is an extension of my heart and soul and it is for me, first and foremost. “The Creative Force brings about movement, manifestation, and some destruction, that ultimately makes room for reconstruction. She is birth and death and birth. She digs away at the unseen. I know so many people who say with conviction, “I am just not creative.” That is like saying, “I am alive, but I do not breathe.” Creativity can be capricious, fleeting, and sometimes hard to tame. It arrives, like a windstorm, when it wants to. I must open myself and wait patiently, intentionally, for its next visit, like a faithful lover. I must turn myself toward ISSUE NO. 10

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it. No amount of discipline can command its presence, or control how long it stays. But when it comes through the door, its dance is so delicious, so entertaining, that time stands still. I am not young or old, infirmed or healthy. I am all that is—at one with the words, or the colors, the textures, the light and the dark, the ugly and the beautiful. There is no preference, just the movement of the wind through my soul.

The Creative Force is the Mother of Intuition, or at least her older sister. Intuition is the download of a “Yes! Move toward this! Follow this! Be Inspired!.” Then the Creative Force hops onboard, manifests, and expresses what JANUARY 2022 62

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Intuition has pointed me toward. They work in Partnership. They alert all of us where the juice is, and then allow us to be the conduit of their bidding. Intuition may come as an idea, and the Creative Force moves that idea into form. They can surely write a book together, design a garden, enter a conversation and create harmony together, cook a meal, or make a sculpture. Together they lift my experience of the mundane into magnificence. Together they breathe life into stuck places, and flat living. When I walk through a garden, a field, a forest, even down the street, I try to have awareness about what grabs my attention. This is how I practice spotting Intuition. Whatever I see I always ask it if it is willing to be my companion and teacher for a time. It may be a particular tree, or an animal that shows up. What have you come to tell me? If it is a plant that is still growing, and I am called to pick it and put it in a vase, to stay with me awhile, it is interesting to me whether it releases itself with ease or difficulty. I always ask it politely to honor me with its energy. If it resists my invitation, I know it is saying “no” to me. This almost never happens because it is my experience that Nature very much wants to assist me in my awareness and healing, as long as I respect, honor, and appreciate her. Maybe it is a piece of garbage I spot. Or someone’s lost earring. Or perhaps, a penny. On a rare occasion, when the stone I picked up has dropped clumsily ISSUE NO. 10

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out of my hand, or I have been pricked by a thorn on the flower, or a leaf is holding on for dear life, I realize there is another more poignant message awaiting me and so I move on. Very shortly I will find the right teacher for this moment in time with a distinct and specific message for me. What gentle wisdom this object or Nature being has to share with me from its own life story, and if I get very quiet, and listen very deeply, it will share with me exactly what it was I needed to hear. This is living from Intuition and Creativity, acknowledging and perceiving that we are all part of expressing the Creative Force. We are connected with what is around us and inside of us, always ready to feed us with discovery and support.” From Beyond the Bookclub: We are the Books we Must Read- International Pulpwood Queens 2019 Bonus Book

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Two Madville Authors from Houston, TX Discuss Craft, Politics, and Colonialism

Mike Hilbig and Amit Verma, both writers in the genre of magical realism and both residents of Houston with recent and upcoming releases from Madville Publishing, conduct an email exchange to discuss craft, political statements in fiction, and the tensions and limits within discourses on colonialism, which are themes both of their books address in one way or another. Mike Hilbig’s Judgment Day & Other White Lies is his debut fiction collection and premiers in February of 2022. Verma’s A Quiver in the Purlieu is his third book and was released in November of 2021. Mike Hilbig: Amit, to begin, I’d like to say one of the things I find so compelling about your background is that you work by day as a professor in electrical engineering JANUARY 2022 66

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and that largely, you say you haven’t spent a whole lot of time studying writing from the craft and theory perspective that MFA students get. As someone who comes out of an MFA background, one of the things that initially struck me so much about A Quiver in the Purlieu is how the story defies the expectations of the, for lack of a better word, “typical” American aesthetic in fiction, in all the right sorts of ways. So, I guess all that is to say, how did you get into writing fiction, and how would you say your background as an engineer influences that practice? Amit Verma: Mike, thank you for the kind words. I am happy you asked that question because I rarely get the opportunity to converse with someone formally trained in the art. First, to answer your question - I am not completely sure how I ever got into writing fiction, or engineering, for that matter. I think perhaps when I was a little boy, very impressionable, someone must have praised a paragraph or two I must have written, just as someone must have praised my ability to change a lightbulb! Next thing I know, I am trying to figure out what fundamentally causes lightbulbs to work, and simultaneously combining many paragraphs to make it a story. Both practices have influenced each other. My day job has to have elements of prose to make it interesting, and my writing has to be a like a complex engineering ISSUE NO. 10

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system with many moving parts (e.g., a car) all coming together for a purpose. But, as I mentioned to you separately, my lack of a formal training in writing, and writing analysis, is not something I celebrate. If I am to write great and straightforward stories (romance, suspense, you get my point), I can live without an in-depth training. However, complex ideas, ones that explore complex topics (including in romance, suspense, you get my point!), require an understanding of how to convey those ideas. That's where I struggle, and where I admire those like you who went through the process and paid their dues. Your upcoming book, Judgment Day & Other White Lies, is an invitation to explore multiple aspects of human nature and interactions, and at multiple times moves you to personally feel, and even personalize, the passion and pathos of the characters. How did your background and your training help you? MH: I have always deeply loved books. I was a weird kid who read lots of classics and always actually liked the books I was assigned in English classrooms. But I didn't really start writing fiction until my mid-twenties, on the back of a whole lot of personal tragedy. My creative outlet before that was in the music scene, playing bass guitar and singing in punk rock bands (in fact, some of those themes are explored in "Fury, or a Matricide in Sound" which JANUARY 2022 68

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reframes the classical hero Orestes as a middling middleage heavy-metal musician). I sort of flamed out on that lifestyle when two of my best friends overdosed on drugs and died only months apart almost fifteen years ago now (where does the time go?). It prompted me to go back to school and start doing something else with my life aside from partying. I had always excelled at writing academic essays, and so I took a creative writing class just because I had a lot to say about my friends who passed away, as well as the ones who were still living, and the ways in which I felt like our culture had pressured us into a self-destructive tendency which deflected energy from more useful acts of rebellion that might have upset the power structure we opposed much more thoroughly than sex, drugs, and rock 'n' roll ever did. In any case, while taking that first creative writing class at Lone Star College, my professor sat me down after class one day and told me that I was one of the more talented writers in the class and that I should really consider further study and a potential career in creative writing. As it turned out, I eventually transferred from Lone Star College to the University of HoustonDowntown where I was quite lucky to study Creative Writing under the tutelage of a wonderful mentor in Robin Davidson, who served as poet laureate of Houston from 2015-2017. I went on to get an MFA from Sam Houston State University where I worked with Olivia ClareISSUE NO. 10

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Friedman on my thesis. Speaking of your engineering metaphor, I'd say an MFA program is like a nitrous tank on the engine of a car. The raw talent and the love of fiction already existed, and likely, I could have studied writing by reading the classics and practicing and still have written a solid enough book eventually, but doing so in a formal environment gave me the chance to pick up those tools faster. Essentially, I did in three years what it might have taken a decade to learn otherwise. I would also say that studying lots of narrative theory in grad school influenced my obsession with the formal techniques that genres use and how those techniques hĳack our brains and put ideas in our heads. It led me to become a storyteller who is suspicious of stories, despite my love for them. For instance, like how do shows about cops influence the public's perception of police during events like the protests of last year? Or how do the conventions of the fairy tale (and it's more modern conception in the Disney kid's movie) create unrealistic norms around gender? To me, studying the form of fiction and writing metacritiques of those forms helps point to the ways in which so much of our "reality" happens in our interior narrative life, which is influenced by all the narratives we have received from our culture, and so if we want to change the culture, we need to be prepared to JANUARY 2022 70

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criticize the Grand Narratives in useful ways. The funny thing about your mention of pathos in my collection is that I mostly use archetypes and tropes to build characters and then use formal techniques to, as you say, personalize them. This is done deliberately to poke a hole in the sort of "realist" idea of American fiction and to reveal the construction behind my characters. Of course, I definitely also want the emotional life of my characters to play to the readers, so it has to both reify and subvert expectations of the readers at the same time. In fact, this is another thing I am really interested in about your book, as a rather sizable portion of it is centered around the theme of stamp collecting and looking at how cultural signifiers around different formerly colonized peoples' experiences as members of an emergent middle class are both sent and received by a larger mail system. There seems to be some overlap theoretically there between what we are doing around social and political themes and using formal critique to speak truth to power. Could you maybe unpack that section of your book a little more for me? AV: There are multiple aspects about stamps and letters, things that no longer take center stage in our lives. But they did. They were of utmost importance only a few decades ago. The point is that history is not an ancient past, but an important element of the present. Colonization ISSUE NO. 10

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is not just in the past but continues in our collective minds and behaviors in the present. Postal services helped define us, which were in turn the product of the needs of a colonized world. Now, I am not the one to harp on the evils of colonization per se. Lots of great minds have done that and continue to do so. I am more interested in exploring how that part of history, and other deciding elements of the present, and perhaps even hopes and concerns of the future, are defining the emergent middle class around the globe. This was done in the context of India, where I was born and spent a large part of my life, in my previous two works, The Lives and The Times, and The Lives and The Times II. I expanded this in A Quiver in the Purlieu to also include an immigrant. Here I purposefully avoid the storylines involving struggles of immigrants. They have been explored in myriad forms by great minds. Therefore, my truth to the power, so to say, is twofold. One, to reject the idea of conformity - whether it’s the Grand Narratives we authors need to pick and choose from for our next project, or the accepted modes of storytelling. Maybe a book needs to fly, or a spaceship needs to be parked outside an apartment, or a question posed such as, 'if there was no escape from colonization, and the only choice was to be either colonized by the English or the French, who would you have chosen?'

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The second is, and something you acknowledge above in so many words, is to accept the presence of that Power with the capital 'P', again in its multitudinous forms. We reject it like a rebellious teen, but we still, at the end of the day, conform to it in one way or the other, because it is what feeds and houses us. Your story, ‘Per-C and 'Dusa: A Narrative Representation of a Graphic Epic by Angela Ames, PhD,’ is in my opinion, an exploration of living under the ever-watchful eyes of that Power, which is somewhat like the 'mob' in my new work. In fact, talking about some fiction classics and some famous fiction works of the past, ones we grew up reading, were oftentimes exercises in poking at the Power and trying to see what one could get away with. Those that have jolted the Power, something like Satanic Verses, or the Story of O, are few and far in between. Authors, broadly speaking, are explorers of the world we live in, and sometimes explorers of the world we should live in or should not live in. To shock the world, you need a musician or a journalist. That's why many of them burn out fast. How important do you think it is for fiction writers to understand imposed, real or imaginary, limitations on them before they put pen to paper? MH: That's an interesting question. I think all sorts of writers flagrantly disregard critiques of power with any ISSUE NO. 10

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real teeth to them, and as you point out, fiction in the book form at this point in history is probably not the most privileged art form and certainly not one with the same power to shock the system the way it was more possible to do so when reading books was privileged over other forms of artistic consumption before the advent of radio and television. So, I'm not sure an artist has to critique power, or even that they should, but I also know for me personally, media consumption matters as much as food consumption does. If we consume nothing but a diet of crap in our stories, we will get a resultantly craptastic thought life. That being said, I think the great writers in history have very much had a keen awareness of the structures of power they are operating under, and even at the micro level, the structures of the genre they operate in too, which often take elements of the power structure and formalize them on the page. So, for me, the struggle is to understand those structures better and apply a new truth to them. Certainly, one book published on a small press is not likely to change the world, but I do ultimately believe the truth is a form of love, much like Paolo Freire expresses in The Pedagogy of the Oppressed and that given enough attention from enough varieties of media and news sources, has a power to upend and reconnect us to each other in new ways all on its own. Perhaps, as writers, no one of us will ever write a book that will change the JANUARY 2022 74

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world, but collectively, by giving precedence to our truths, we have much power. I think this is much what happened in Rushdie's case. The Satanic Verses, for all its musings about religion and the taboos and strictures it places on Muslim people in a Western dominated world, does not strike me as the most political book ever written, but by Rushdie staying true to his beliefs in secularism, and also by finding his traditional religiosity within a newfound Western identity (as I believe the book does bring the critique full circle at the end and also accepts the power structure, as you say), it became a watermark moment for the power of fiction in general as a form to upset and restructure. In my own case, I didn't mean to imply that what I was doing with writing was overly lofty or a better form of rebellion than what I undertook in music in my youth. I think a lot of the limits that applied to my musical life also apply to my artistic life as a fiction writer. I just think that I had a lot of friends (many in the white middle class in America) in my youth that were sensitive to the ways in which our privileges were built on the backs of massive human suffering across the world, and we were in a full-on rejection of the middle-class work culture which supported so much of that. Yet, we weren't given any real tools to reject that culture other than drugs and hedonism, and that ISSUE NO. 10

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sort of rejection can only happen at the personal level and thus, becomes a rejection of the self, which I don't think does much to harm the thing we actually had a problem with. This is much of what the Per-C narrative is about. When I was in grad school, it seemed a sort of high-water moment for conversations around cultural misappropriation, and I kept thinking about how commentaries on misappropriation were largely lampooned in the mainstream media even when perhaps they made salient points, and furthermore, I think what people are actually taking issue with when they critique appropriation is the commodity culture of capitalism and its inherently exploitative nature. Like white people would still appropriate without that structure (as would all people where cultures intermingle), but there wouldn't be any material advantage to it, which is what ultimately makes the practice offensive. Also, in thinking about whiteness as a colonial identity formulation, it demands appropriation, as it voids white people of more traditional markers of culture that exist in ethnicity and religion and the arts. You can be German or Irish or Italian and have a culture, but white is just an identity for maintaining power. So, the exercise was to do a critique of cultural appropriation from the perspective of the white middle class, and in my case, I used it as an opportunity to deconstruct the racist and misogynistic views in my own head as the white writer. JANUARY 2022 76

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My hope is that this critique extends itself to the reader who must imply an author as they read. Yet, I also acknowledge the limits to this kind of critique. I'm thinking of one of my favorite writers Roberto Bolano and how so much of his work is also a critique of the self, in that he uses a semi-autobiographical form to show how the work that writers and academics do within the university structure is hollow in places that have literal death squads marching through them, that at the level of ideas, having a left-wing perspective on the world does little more than create for good conversation unless you're engaging in legit revolutionary activity, something few writers, outside of the Orwells and Calvinos of the world, have ever done in any kind of a real way. I include myself among the conversationalists. But, thinking about how writers have influence here, I'd like to ask, who are some of your influences? I channeled Calvino as I read your work, but didn't know if this was intentional on your part or just a point of comparison on mine as the reader? AV: It is very interesting that you discuss cultural appropriation. The term, cultural appropriation, has seeped into our broader cultural zeitgeist in ways I find very troubling. Human development - in its entirety of tens of thousands of years - is the result of appropriation and exchange, scientific and cultural. My scientific research is ISSUE NO. 10

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always based on prior work by others. In doing so, I am not 'appropriating' their works. In acknowledging and conforming to the notion of 'cultural appropriation' we get something like 'lived experience', where if it's not 'lived experience' then it cannot be called a genuine piece of work and should be rejected in its entirety. We've seen that in so many cases, including the recent work, American Dirt. I think (at this stage), based on what you've said, what you call whiteness will need to be separated from what you call white people. Whiteness seems to be about either carrying the burden and guilt of real and assumed privileges, or the burden of the fear of losing those. At least that's what seems to be playing out in the most vocal political battles of our times. But what can I say? This is not a 'lived experience' for me! But I do look forward to being an active participant in the conversation your work should start. In particular, I am very interested in how cultural appropriation is perceived (or is it even perceived?) in a diverse, non-white intra-group setting, such as within the Indian subcontinent or within mainland China. Or is cultural appropriation only an issue in an inter-group setting, a reaction to the (historically) exploited and the exploiter paradigm? It is also interesting that you mention Calvino, because he wasn't on my mind when I started working on my latest JANUARY 2022 78

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book. Like you, I was an avid reader. Books that I will always remember would be Catch-22, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, and the bibliography of Douglas Adams, especially for those books’ quirkiness and how steadfastly they hold a mirror to society. But I have to take this opportunity to mention this anecdote about how my first book, The Lives and The Times, was completed! I had been working on it for many years, never really finding I had the right background and ability to finish the complicated topic I had picked up. Then one day, at the San Antonio airport, I bought a book that had won a major literary award (I'll not name it!). It turned out that I found the book to be terrible. This got me thinking that if such a terrible book could win a major award, then the least I could do was to complete my book. So, in six months, I finished what I couldn't in nearly 8 years. If I am honest with myself, I should consider that book to be a huge influence! I can only hope that my latest book will be an influence and motivation, one way or the other, for an aspiring author to complete their work! MH: Yes, I agree that critiques based on cultural misappropriation often fall short of being political critiques in the traditional sense of the word politics (moving the polis into action around a common cause) and more often are just places for activists to take out their ISSUE NO. 10

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frustrations with ongoing racism that could be battled in more effective ways. Why I chose to write the critique I did. But I also think it's gross when white people do things like dress up in blackface or wear native headdresses as Halloween costumes, so I don't mean to say the critiques are completely unfounded. And white writers should definitely be mindful of the lived experiences they don’t have and the structural racism that puts certain people under a microscope like a specimen to be studied and reported on. But again, I think more often than not, those critiques are actually about commodity culture, that people feel culture is cheapened when it is bought and sold for profit and voided of meaning, and that as such, critiquing capitalism as an engine of driving varying forms of oppression among members of the working class would lead to more long-term political change. Also, I agree that it is tricky to talk about whiteness in a general sense without unfoundedly accusing some white people here and there of behaviors and beliefs they might not have. But I also believe that white supremacy cannot exist without a broad array of forms of racist thoughts and behaviors that expand far beyond merely the white supremacists who wear arm bands. And I do think one of the main drivers of that phenomenon is the way in which whiteness structures the thinking of white people and leads them to act on fictitious thinking. But that is also what fiction is good for, JANUARY 2022 80

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in that I can create white characters with some of those traits who are not stand-ins for all white people. But alas, we have probably gone on for long enough. Do you have any last-minute thoughts on writing fiction or art as a political statement? Also, where can people follow you online and buy your books? AV: My previous two works were an exercise in exploring the socio-political arena, as it pertains to an emerging middle class. But I must add that our interaction and your thoughts have got my mind churning to explore sociopolitical interactions in different ways. I need to give this more thought. I look forward to further stimulating discussions. Links to booksellers for my latest book, A Quiver in the Purlieu, can be found on my website: https:// amitvermaauthor.com/ Where can people follow you and get updates to your book's release? MH: Thanks! I enjoyed the discussion myself. I’m on Twitter: @mikehilbig. People can also sign up for the newsletter on my website, which is https:// mikehilbigwriter.com/ ISSUE NO. 10

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Road Trip Kathy Ramsperger

When I think of the Pulpwood Queens, I think of books, girlfriends, and road trips. I knew I wanted to attend Kathy L. Murphy’s next Girlfriends’ Weekend the minute I met her at New Orleans’ Words and Music Festival. Kathy was impressive, a storyteller herself. I could feel her passion for books and the authors who birthed them. Her bright wit and big heart made me want to spend time with her. I was giving book talks in the East when the next one rolled around. So I figured I’d get there as soon as I could. I went to Jefferson, Texas right before covid began. It was my last and only trip 2020-present. But that’s not why I remember it. Getting from Washington, DC to East Texas is a trip for JANUARY 2022 82

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me that involves planes, subway trains, and automobiles, so I began planning early. I decided to make it work, I needed a day on either side of the plane flights. I took a big breath of courage and decided it was fine if all the writers knew each other and I stood by the frig in the corner like I used to when I was a young writer for National Geographic. I assumed it would be an event much like those in the DC area. You get to meet the authors, even greet them, tell them you loved their book, get their autograph, get to ask one question if you’re lucky. I knew a few of the authors already from phone and online lively conversations, but I wasn’t sure they’d have time for me. Girlfriends and Boyfriends, let me tell you, was I ever wrong!

And it All Began With a Road Trip… To tell you the truth, I was concerned about even getting to and from Jefferson, Texas. I’m Phi Beta Kappa, was in international senior management, and I can burp a baby, write a story, and sing a song. But I’m not equipped with a GPS in my brain. I’ve been known to end up in a completely different country using GPS. (I promise, this is ISSUE NO. 10

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true!) So imagine my surprised delight when national magazine journalist and award-winning novelist Kathleen M. Rodgers invited me to join her and author Joy Ross Davis, a professor with a doctorate and gold medal novelist, on their trek from Dallas to Jefferson. I was, and still am, overwhelmed with gratitude. It wasn’t exactly like “Thelma and Louise” because we weren’t out to end our lives, but we were out to change them. Everything else that happened reminds me of that movie. Girlfriend power is like that. It has the power to catalyze transformation. Kathleen picked me up and made me feel right at home. She gave me a personal tour of the historic grid of Texas that she now calls home (she hails from New Mexico), which inspired her Seven Wings to Glory and Johnnie Come Lately. We dined at the Main Street Bakery in Grapevine, recently restored to its glory days. Ummmm. Southern Food. In Kathleen’s words, “It felt like a reunion of old friends. Like we’d known each other forever. Like I hadn’t seen you in forever.” Yes, it did. After our long lunch, we headed out to pick up Joy at the Dallas Fort Worth Airport. What I knew: Kathleen is a pilot’s wife. Tom flew routinely to and from the DFW hub for two decades. What I didn’t know: Kathleen’s got a creative brain just like yours truly. Maybe she has a GPS JANUARY 2022 84

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there, but it glitches.

With a Big Adventure… We ended up in a dark garage, not once but twice, loopdee-looping around, trying to find the terminal the plane was supposed to be landing in. If we hadn’t bonded before, Kathleen and I bonded as we navigated our way out. Or tried to. The first time we got stuck in the garage. The second time, we found our way out much faster. Only to have a text from Joy: “I’m at another terminal. They had to land here because all the gates were closed. The plane was late due to inclement weather.” We found the second terminal, by the way, with ease. Because it wasn’t near that dang garage. Joy did look relieved when we pulled up. That’s when the raindrops began to plunk down. As we hit the highway, I was certain the rain had a little ice mixed in. The clouds were low, like when Harry Potter and his friends get stuck in the tree going back to school in The Chamber of Secrets. “Joy and I’ve met in person,” Kathleen told me, by way of ISSUE NO. 10

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introduction. I felt a tinge of confidence leave me. I was expecting to be odd author out. I wasn’t a featured author (yet), nor had I published anywhere near the number of novels that they had. They were prolific, experienced novelists. I needn’t have felt that way. Because we shared stories. “Normally, I’m a quiet person. I’m uncomfortable around new people,” Joy tells me now. “Yet our road trip gave me the courage and pleasure to open up a little. The trip with you and Kathleen helped me see that side of me who loves to bond with people. It proved to be an enlightening experience.” So, we all three felt the same way. Reader, please note, writers are people, too. Many authors are introverts. I’m no exception. But just ask us to tell a story, and we will for hours on end. We did talk books, of course. We also talked travel. Joy lived in Ireland. Kathleen lived in Alaska. We talked about houses and ghosts. We talked of the friends we’d met. The families we’d raised. Our furry animal loves. People and pets we’d loved and lost. Any reserve in us had evaporated into the low clouds. But then the downpour really began. It was tough to see as we drove toward the darkness. As we exited the highway, darkness enfolded us. If I’d been a kid, I would’ve asked “Are we there yet?” Instead, we cheered on a determined JANUARY 2022 86

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Kathleen as driver of her little car that could and dug into Kathleen’s cooler of staples and nutrition.

A Weekend of Books, Story, and Hugs… And then we arrived! We had a warm welcome in Kathy Murphy’s sister’s restaurant, and Joy and Kathleen dropped me off at my B&B and went to theirs (Jefferson is the B&B capital), but they were always there, texting me, seeing if I needed a ride to and from, just in case. I felt them with me even when they weren’t beside me. And the festivities! Such cool tiaras! Phenomenal swag! Girls in white dresses with blue satin sashes and leopard skin coats. And the finale, The Hair Ball, has to be experienced to be believed. I took an entire journal of notes. It was like going to book camp all grown up. Pulpwood Queen Claire Fullerton, whom I got to meet face to face after a year or two of authorly bonding on the phone, put it best: “It took a celebration of books, and turned it into a celebration about life.” And then Monday was upon us. In high contrast, the sun shone bright as we made our way back to Dallas. I knew a lot about the books Joy and Kathleen wrote, but ISSUE NO. 10

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what I got on the road trip was Kathleen’s and Joy’s stories. The stories behind those stories. The stories of their lives. We shared every hard-earned step toward publication in that story in our car ride back to Dallas, health challenges that strengthened our resolve to write, and obviously, the challenge of our rejections. And our resolve. We shared a lot of laughter and a few tears, but Kathleen always kept her eye on the road, even as she pointed out the shining dome of the school where she began her second book, or the building where she was nanny to her cousins as she wrote, as we rolled back into Dallas. “I attended the public school of hard knocks. I broke a lot of bones in my soul, but I learned to turn weaknesses into strengths,” Kathleen says. Writing and publishing books is not for the faint of heart because it will give you the rollercoaster ride of your life. Every. Single. Time. We three also shared our triumphs, our gratitude for ideal readers who gave us feedback. One of those triumphs, we all agreed, was attending Pulpwood Queens’ Girlfriends’ Weekend, full of authors we knew and authors we didn’t yet know, all of whom treated us like old friends.

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Connection… That’s what makes Kathy L. Murphy’s International Book Club different from any of the others. You feel seen, appreciated, included. That’s why I’ll return year after year. Next time, I’ll bring an outrageous costume for The Great Big Hair Ball. I’ll bring questions for authors I haven’t yet met. I’ll bring my own stories to share (because I’ll be a featured author next year!). But it’s not about what I’ll be bringing back, it’ll be the memories I’m making with my Girlfriends. That’s what road trips, B&Bs, Hairballs, and the love of writing and great books can do for you that sitting alone in front of a computer screen can’t. What a phone call doesn’t quite achieve. What an email or text never accomplishes. As we bear-hugged each other goodbye in front of the correct terminal of DFW, we were forever transformed. To Joy, you are an Earth Angel, whose stories leave me with pins and needles…leave me hanging on your every word. To Kathleen, our intrepid driver and literary explorer, you are A Living Story. I went to Pulpwood Queens Girlfriends’ Weekend expecting to discuss some excellent books with some amazing authors. And that I did. I went to Jefferson hoping to find connection with a few. I did. And yet, and here’s ISSUE NO. 10

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the magic of story: I felt that same connection with every single author I met. We had fun, y’all. We told stories. We made stories. We embodied our stories. And we gave a lot of loving hugs knowing that we’d return for more. “The more Pulpwood Queens I’ve met, writers and readers who all share the love of story, the more I realize it’s about spending time with one another, appreciating each other, seeing each other,” says Kathleen. In other words, it’s about coming together for that hug at the end of each weekend. Thank you, Kathy L. Murphy, for providing a place and a space and an amazingly big heart full of talent to allow us all to do just that. Join us now. Connect with us now. Come along with us next year.

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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. JANUARY 2022 92

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CHAPTER 1

If Life Hands You a Lemon, Make Margaritas

“In the beginning there was nothing. God said, ‘Let there be light!’ And there was light. There was still nothing, but you could see a whole lot better.”—Ellen DeGeneres If you saw me today in my full Pulpwood Queens Book Club regalia featuring hot-pink leopard skin and a diamond tiara, you might not immediately think of me as a bookseller. You might think “hairdresser” first. And you would be right on that score. But the truth is that I am both. What you have here is my story, for better or for worse. I never knew what I wanted to be when I grew up. I ambled along, taking my lead from others. My father ran the city pool, so my sisters and I were taught to swim as babies. I took swimming lessons from kindergarten until high school, and during my high-school years I worked ISSUE NO. 10

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during the summer lifeguarding at the Eureka Country Club. Since I’d never heard of anyone becoming a professional lifeguard (this was years before the television show Bay Watch), I saw lifeguarding simply as a way of getting a great tan. Very important in the 1970s. Now, I didn’t have a clue as to what I was going to be in life. I just knew my mother insisted—no, commanded— that I get an education. So I socked away all my paychecks in my savings account for college because my parents had informed me from the time I was knee high to a tadpole that I was going to go. When I graduated from high school, I did just that. What most of my friends did. I went to college. I enrolled at Kansas State University in Manhattan, Kansas, home of the K-State Wildcats. I attended college at K-State without any direction. After a few years, I dropped out to attend Crum’s Beauty College in Manhattan, Kansas. At the time, I figured I could become a hairdresser and then go back to school once I figured out what I really wanted to be in life. I worked in several college salons in both Manhattan and Lawrence, Kansas, before I moved back to my hometown in Eureka to open my first salon. JANUARY 2022 94

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I named it Town & Country Headquarters after my favorite magazine. I thought the name was brilliant because Eureka was the county seat, so I did hair for both town folks and country folks. Unfortunately, I was always getting calls asking, “Do you sell John Deere or International Harvester tractors?” Callers were very surprised when I told them my shop was a beauty shop, though it was still a far cry from the glamour and elegance of that magazine. Eventually I closed Town & Country Headquarters and spent the next few years in and out of a few colleges, working in several hair and makeup jobs, and even moving out to California—forever searching for my life’s work. I found California absolutely beautiful, but I missed my family, my friends, and the weather back home. Where is a good thunderstorm when you need one to curl up in front of the fireplace and read a good book? Unable to face another Christmas spent going to a double feature at the movies and having my holiday feast be a couple of hot dogs, I made up my mind. I was heading to Texas for a real Christmas and to visit my sister… Find out the rest of the story here. ISSUE NO. 10

Mark your calendar! The next International Pulpwood Queen and Timber Guy Girlfriend Weekend is going to be a Week Long Book Club Convention! Since Covid-19 appeared, we’ve all had to learn new ways to celebrate important events and stay in touch. Last January we had our first Virtual Girlfriend Weekend and it was so much fun, we decided if we had to have another virtual event until we could all meet in person, we’d make it even longer. Want to know more about Girlfriend’s Weekend? Click here to see what Robert Gray of Shelf Awareness had to say about last January’s Zoomathon.

Stay tuned for the full program of Authors, Bloggers,Publishers, Podcasters, and other Keynote Speakers you’ll meet! The complete schedule is here! Tickets are available here

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Upcoming Events For Our Members *Taken from our Calendar of Events All events will be posted on The International Pulpwood Queen and Timber Guy Reading Nation Facebook page and on Kathy L. Murphy's YouTube Channel. We encourage everyone to join us live in 2021. Each event is an opportunity to show support, share stories, and make connections! Join Kathy L. Murphy and Robert Gwaltney every Saturday at 6:30pm CST for The Pulpwood Queen Book to Film Club. Links to join are posted on our private PQ Facebook groups under Events.

Guest Host schedule for The Pulpwood Queen Presents Her Picks:

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Featured Author Schedule for Tuesday Night Online Book Club Links to join are posted on our private PQ Facebook groups under Events.

Writing Workshop (2nd Saturday of each month at 10am CST) Email Kathy L. Murphy thepulpwoodqueen@gmail.com for the link up to one hour prior to the event.

Taking a break from the extra events in January, but we’ll be back after Girlfriend’s Weekend!

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Looking for some fun gifts for yourself or a book-lover in your life? Visit the New Swag Shop ISSUE NO. 10

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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. 10

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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 Members that includes you! JANUARY 2022 108

READING NATION MAGAZINE FYI

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.

If you’d like more information on advertising opportunities or how to submit your stories send an email to readingnationmagazine@gmail.com

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Meet Miss Molly

It happened like this: Big Mom and Little Mom wanted a beagle puppy. They had decided to buy one from some fancy-schmancy beagle-breeder in Kentucky. And then Big Mom saw a picture of three little beagle puppies at a rescue center right down the road from where they lived. The little beagle puppies were behind a glass window to JANUARY 2022 110

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protect them from all the other dogs who pretty much had the run of the place, and Big Mom and Little Mom stood outside the window and looked at them (one of them was me!). Big Mom didn’t say anything; she just let Little Mom look and look until finally Little Mom dragged an attendant over and asked to hold each of us. But, again, Big Mom said nothing. One by one, the attendant pulled us out and handed us over to Little Mom. Little Mom carefully held each of us in her arms, touched our ears and the tip of our nose, kissed our little head, and handed us back to the attendant. Big Mom did not say a word. She didn’t even ask to hold us. Eventually, Big Mom and Little Mom left, and my sisters and I watched them go. “Do you think they’ll come back?” I asked the attendant in my little puppy-whine. “Nah, they’re gone. Better luck next time. Practice looking a little more pathetic.” Which made my sisters and me very sad. But the next day, they were back! We saw them looking in the window, and we all jumped up and wagged our tails ISSUE NO. 10

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and smiled best as we could, and Little Mom again asked to hold us, but this time the attendant told her she could only hold two of us because someone had already bought one of us. Little Mom drew in her breath. “Already?” The attendant had no sympathy. “What do you think, lady? When people want a puppy, they pick out a puppy. Puppies don’t stay little forever, you know.” Little Mom gave him a look that probably meant she didn’t think so much of him, and then she asked to hold us again, and we went through the whole routine. Again. First, she held my sister. Then she held me. And when she picked me up, I really, really had to pee, but I didn’t because I didn’t think she would be too happy if I peed all over her. And I already had a couple of strikes against me: I was the runt of the litter – why does there always have to be a runt of the litter? And I also had weepy eyes that involved a special medicine that might make a potential puppy-buyer think I wasn’t the healthiest puppy on the block. So I held my breath, and I held my pee and Little Mom went back and forth between my sister and me, and again Big Mom said nothing, and I was beginning to think this was just a big game until Little Mom looked at Big Mom JANUARY 2022 112

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and said, “Maybe we should rescue one of these cute puppies instead of buying a purebred beagle. And Big Mom just smiled and smiled. And finally, when all the smiling was done, Big Mom said to Little Mom, “Which one do you want?” By now, my sister and I were back behind the window and we both sidled up to the glass trying to look big and healthy and strong and kind and dependable, and I looked at my sister, and I thought, ‘What’s the use? She’s never going to pick me.’ So I stepped away from the window so that Little Mom would have a clear view of my sister, but when Little Mom pointed, she pointed at me. And I looked at her in confusion. “Me?” I turned around to see if another puppy was miraculously standing behind me, but there was only me. Little Mom was pointing at me! And that’s how I came to live with Big Mom and Little Mom. Miss Molly is the proud owner of Author Barbara Conrey ISSUE NO. 10

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Sharp as a Serpent’s Tooth – Eva and Other Stories by Mandy Haynes Each story features a female protagonist, ranging from ten to ninety-five years of age. Set in the south, you’ll follow these young women and girls as they learn that they’re stronger than they ever thought possible. You’ll meet Eva, the young daughter of traveling Pentecostal preachers, who catches snakes while her parents hide behind the bible and a large wooden crate. Eva’s life changes when she makes her first friend and realizes there is more to life than fear. In Plans for Sweet Lorraine, you’ll meet Lorraine’s mama, Cordelia – a fiery red-head with a temper to match, and a mind as sharp as the sting from a leather strap. She’ll do anything to keep her daughter safe. Even if she has to beat the devil himself. Laurel, the young girl in The Day I Threw the Rock has no idea that she saved someone’s life, or that she may have killed someone to do it. She just knows that she should be allowed to wear overalls and play ball like the boys. Well, ain’t it true that she can throw a baseball harder and faster than Luke or John Randall? Just ask Sarah Rose’s Uncle… Junebug Fischer is ready to set the record straight and let you know what really happened the summer she turned fifteen. It’s true, she killed someone, but she never killed nobody on purpose. That was purely accidental. When Charlotte’s world is turned upside down, her aunt is there to put it back on its axis. Charlotte learns that everything she’s been told about her long lost aunt has been a lie, and her

aunt teaches her many important lessons. The most important lesson is forgiveness. Cussing Snakes and Candy Cigarettes is proof that there’s magic all around us, all we have to do is open our hearts and minds. The protagonists range in ages ten to ninety-five. Mamas, daughters, aunts, and nieces - with a few snake handling, sweet talking, moonshine drinking, preachers thrown in for good measure. Mandy Haynes spent hours on barstools and riding in vans listening to outrageous tales from some of the best songwriters and storytellers in Nashville, Tennessee. She traded a stressful career as a pediatric cardiac sonographer for a happy one and now lives in Fernandina Beach, Florida with her three dogs, and one turtle. She is a contributing writer for Amelia Islander Magazine, editor of Reading Nation Magazine, Executive Director of The International Pulpwood Queen and Timber Guy Book Club, and author of two short story collections, Walking the Wrong Way Home, which was a finalist for the Tartt Fiction Award, and Sharp as a Serpent’s Tooth - Eva and Other Stories. She is a contributing author and editor of the anthology, Works in Progress. She is currently working an a third collection of short stories, William and Other Stories, that will give voices to some of the men who showed up in the first two collections but have more to say. She’s also working on her novel, With a New Tongue Spoken.

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Articles inside

Trace Conger

Veena Rao

Joanne Kukanza Easley

James Wade

Randi Samuelson-Brown

The Creative Force and Intuition Meets Ruthie Landis

Speed Round - with Heather Frese

Sonju by Wondra Chang

The Pulpwood Queens Celebrate Twenty Years

Sugar Baby and Other Stories by River Jordan

How the Deer Moon Hungers by Susan Wingate

My Musings by Ruthie Landis

PULPWOOD QUEEN BOOK CLUB JANUARY PICKS

My Sweet Vidalia by Deborah Mantella

WORK IN PROGRESS

PULPWOOD QUEEN SWAG

IF OUR PETS COULD TALK

Kathy L. Murphy