The Pulpwood Queen Declares Happy Book Birthday to OUR PRINCE OF SCRIBES!

Dear Readers,

Happy Book Birthday to OUR PRINCE OF SCRIBES this September 18, 2018, edited by Nicole Seitz and Jonathan Haupt. I am one of the nearly 70 writers and authors who contributed to this book which was one of the proudest accomplishments of my life. You see, Pat Conroy was my favorite all-time author and to be asked to tell my story was such an honor and a privilege, I can never thank the editors enough.

Authors, Pat Conroy and John Warley

Though I contributed my story, I did not have the opportunity to read all the others until recently. I read it cover to cover weeping in joy, oh, the stories, the glorious stories. Then I turned around and read it again really savoring the words. There were similarities as in all our lives were so moved from reading his books and the attention he gave to each and every one of us made us feel the most important person in the world. I for one wrote of meeting him and him graciously after years of asking to come to my annual Pulpwood Queen Book Club Convention which we call Girlfriend Weekend held every Martin Luther King Weekend. He came with his tribe including Janis Owens who helped us to begin an amazing thing, our Author Dinner where the authors all wait the tables. Janis Owens prepared the meal fit for a king and many queens! That dinner is now legend in the nearly 20 years of putting on this book club convention. Read all about it in the book.

Author, Pat Conroy and his daughter, author/artist Melissa Conroy at our Pulpwood Queen Girlfriend Weekend at The Excelsior Hotel in Jefferson, Texas.

But what struck a chord with me was that even though all the writers who contributed had similarities we had differences too. We come from all walks of life, many places quite different from each other, we each have a unique story that marks to me the significance of a writer who was the most giving author I know. I always said Pat Conroy could be the poster child for how an author was how to behave. He personally and I mean personally greeted each person he ever came in contact with and gave his all in undivided attention. He could remember your name, all the details of your past conversation, but most importantly, he made he you feel like you were the most important person in the room. How many people have you ever encountered like that? I can count a few but none like Pat Conroy.

He also was the only author who personally called me and asked if he could come back the following year to my Pulpwood Queen Girlfriend Weekend. He wanted to bring his dear friend and author, Bernie Shein, so he could see for himself that book reading was alive and thriving in the Pulpwood Queen-dom. I have never been more surprised in my life! Pat Conroy called me!

He also introduced to me to someone that would become one of the greatest friends in my life, Doug Marlette, for that I will be ever grateful and then to his own tribe, Janis Owens, Melissa Conroy, and now Tim Conroy and beyond. But truly it was Ken Graham, Cassandra King Conroy and Marly Rusoff, his book publisher’s representative his wife and agent that helped me not only get to meet him up close and personal but even helped me get my book deal for “The Pulpwood Queens’ Tiara Wearing, Book Sharing Guide to Life” originally published by Grand Central Publisher. He and they, were and are, such givers!

OUR PRINCE OF SCRIBES is my CROWN JEWEL now in ALL of my books that I have selected for Pulpwood Queen Book Club Official Reads. It’s our October Book Club Selection and I would be happy to call in or Facetime to any of my chapters to talk and discuss my contribution chapter. I have always said “To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee was my favorite book but OUR PRINCE OF SCRIBES is my favorite book now. They raised the bar and I will to the end of my day share my love of Pat Conroy, his stories, the stories of all the writers in this book, and The Pat Conroy Literary Center.

If you do not know me, you have to know that if I love you, I am true blue, loyal and sing your praises all the days of my life. This is how I feel about the Conroy tribe who have embraced me as one of their own. “My wound is geography. It also is my anchorage, my port of call.” – Pat Conroy, The Prince of Tides. I so relate to that and his books made me recognize that I was not alone. I have lost many friends and family, but the loss of Doug Marlette and Pat Conroy hit me hard. To not be able to talk or hear them speak has devastated me to the core of my being but at the same time, we have The Pat Conroy Literary Center, his tribe, his works, his books and thank God for the tapes of him sharing his words and story. Of that I will be eternally grateful and why I will to my dying day share my love all things Pat Conroy.

Won’t you help me celebrate this book birthday! Purchase you copy today and prepare to have time to revel in all the stories. The stories are what separate us from the animals, what give us understanding and compassion in a world that is becoming ever more troubling, concerning, and callous. We are a people that need community as much as we need all our basic needs, the air we breathe, the food to sustain us, and shelter from the storms. I may be just a small town Kansas girl but I know what true love is. True love is OUR PRINCE OF SCRIBES!

Big Book Love,

Kathy L. Murphy

Founder of The Pulpwood Queens and Timber Guys Book Club Reading Nation

Official website, www.thepulpwoodqueens.com

Official email, thepulpwoodqueen@gmail.com

To purchase my book go to www.amazon.com

To purchase my art-inspired fashions go to www.shopvida.com/collections/thepulpwoodqueen

To purchase Membership to the Pulpwood Queens, go to www.thepulpwoodqueens.com and then Click Girlfriend Weekend at top Menu bar to experience for yourself the largest book club convention in the world with the including the following events:

Author Silent Auction with all proceeds to go to The Pat Conroy Literary Center in Beaufort, South Carolina

Friday Night Tribute to Pat Conroy Author Dinner featuring author/editor Nicole Seitz, Cassandra King Conroy, John Warley, Patti Callahan Henry, Tim Conroy, Kathy L. Murphy and more.

Author/ Attorney, John Warley speaking on The Pat Conroy Literary Center during our Pulpwood Queen Girlfriend Weekend at Mast Hall in Nacogdoches, Texas.