If you are a booklover like I am, you should become a member of THE INTERNATIONAL
PULPWOOD QUEENS AND TIMBER GUYS BOOK CLUB READING NATION pronto! It’s the
place where readers can interact and meet their favorite authors either online in their weekly zoom meeting or in person at the club’s annual GIRLFRIEND WEEKEND which is always held in January during MLK weekend. Past authors in attendance have included Pat Conroy, Cassandra King Conroy, Jamie Ford, Patti Callahan Henry, Adriana Trigiani, Fannie Flagg, and so many other well-known and up and coming authors over the course of their 23 years of the club’s existence including some of Brother Mockingbird’s authors as well. I’ve been a featured author twice at the convention and I can tell you that Kathy L. Murphy (The Pulpwood Queen herself), the club’s founder and CEO, throws one heck of a party!
This year was no exception as I have the honor of being the club’s March featured book of the
month with my new novel THE DARLINGS OF SUNDANCE. This year’s GIRLFRIEND WEEKEND
was held on Amelia Island, FL and it did not disappoint. The convention started out with a Bollywood Night meet and greet on Friday to kick off the festivities. Saturday began panel discussions followed by the annual GREAT BIG BALL OF HAIR BALL where I won the best tiara contest for the theme which was OVER THE MOON. Yes, tiaras aren’t just a suggested wardrobe accessory but are actually mandatory to wear! Sunday included more panel discussions of books (including my own panel discussing my new novel) and then that night awards were given out. All and all, if you are a booklover like me, it’s by far the best book convention you’ll ever attend! You can follow The Pulpwood Queens on both Twitter and Facebook as well as their website www.thepulpwoodqueens.com.
After leaving Girlfriend Weekend I had very little time before the next weekend for the Sundance Film Festival where I had a book signing and panel at Dolly’s Bookstore on Main
Street Park City, Utah where the festival is held every year. On my panel during the appearance there at Dolly’s were David Paterson, writer and producer of the hit Disney/Walden Media film BRIDGE TO TERABITHIA that was adapted from his mother Katherine Paterson’s beloved Newbury Award winning novel, who had the indie hit film LOVE, LUDLOW in competition at Sundance in 2005 and Tim Harms, a two-time Sundance Film Festival alum with a short and the feature film THE VICIOUS KIND in past competition. We discussed the Sundance experience which is portrayed in my novel, including the highs and lows of the festival, the parties, the deals, and the privilege of attending.
Throughout the festival we attended many exclusive parties and lounges where we hobnobbed with the likes of actors such as Jason Momoa, Tom Proctor, Alexander Skarsgard, and the rock group Train. We were definitely Darlings of the festival this year! It was a light festival this year as it was the first live festival after Covid derailed it in 2021 and 2022.
If you’ve never attended the festival, then my novel THE DARLINGS OF SUNDANCE will give
you a unique inside look and perspective to what it’s like to attend and have a film in competition. If you’d like to meet me and ask me questions about the novel, I will be thefeatured author on THE PULPWOOD QUEENS weekly zoom meeting the first Tuesday evening in March at 7pm CST. You can find the links on their website as well as their Facebook page. I will also be blogging every day of that week with them as well. It’s been such a wild and fun ride launching this new book and I can’t wait to meet you all and see you when my book tour continues this Spring. Thanks Brother Mockingbird Publishing for making it all happen.