I started The Pulpwood Queens of East Texas Book Club in March of 2000 shortly after opening my Beauty and the Book!  Thanks to ABC's television program, Good Morning America, where we were featured kicking off their “READ THIS” Book Club with Diane Sawyer and Charlie Gipson, our book club exploded into action.  We now have chapters running quite literally all across the United States and now even have gone INTERNATIONAL with members and chapters in 8 foreign countries!

I do believe that we now have the largest “meeting and discussing” book club in the world that all read the same book at the same time each month.  Our motto is “where tiaras are mandatory and reading good books is the RULE!” and our sole mission is to promote literacy and get everybody reading!

We have been featured on everything from The Los Angeles Times, Newsweek, Time magazine, The Wall Street Journal to Oprah Winfrey's OXYGEN NETWORK and The Oprah Winfrey Show!

If any of you are reading this and are interested in joining "the hottest book club in the WORLD", please contact me at 903-665-7520 or email me at kathy@beautyandthebook.com.  You can join one of our already existing chapters or we will crown you HEAD QUEEN of a new chapter in which you will be The Pulpwood Queens of whatever name you choose, say your city or local region.

When I started this book club, I threw out all of the rules!  My book club was going to be fun, not homework.  As I always say since turning the BIG FIVE O, if it isn’t fun, then why do it!

Here is the deal.  It is so easy.  Do you love to read good books and have always wanted to be a QUEEN?  Well then, gather your girlfriends in a fun place and have an organizational meeting on how to be a member of The Pulpwood Queens Book Club!

Here is all you need to know on how to become a member:

Each member is to pay $25.00 for membership.  You all must wear a tiara, as they are mandatory.  You must read the book of the month, how simple is that!

That paid membership now entitles you to LIFETIME MEMBERSHIP!  Yes, a one- time payment makes you a Queen, NOT for a Day, but for LIFE!

I will need each member's:

Name

Address

Phone Number

Email

T- shirt size

 As Head Queen, you will be my contact and act as moderator for the book club and will receive extra benefits for starting this venture.  Upon receiving all the information and membership dues, (we accept all major credit cards or Papal) I will send to you OFFICIAL Pulpwood Queen Membership cards, OFFICIAL Pulpwood Queen Membership Certificates, and an OFFICIAL Pulpwood Queen original Hot Pink T-shirt for all your members.  (Be sure and send member size Small through 3X).  The Pulpwood Queen Membership card will get you in to all media, author, and book events, entitle you to extra discount benefits at my book events and festivals that we do so do not lose it!

This club is open to anyone who loves to read regardless of race, color, religion, whether they have had cosmetic surgery or color-treated hair.  And YES, this book club is open to men!  My husband, Jaybird, has named the male members, TIMBER GUYS!

You will need to meet once a month and read the book club selection of the month prior to your meeting.  The OFFICIAL Pulpwood Queen Book Club Selections are found on our website at www.beautyandthebook.com under Book Selections and on our www.pulpwoodqueen.com blog and chat site.

You may purchase your books at your nearest favorite independent or local bookstore but if you do not have a bookstore handy, you may order from my website bookstore at Pulpwood Queen Book Selections.

I do provide the book club discussion questions directly to the Head Queens that they are to pass on to their members.  On the other hand, you will be able to find the book club discussion questions in the back of the book or on my website, www.beautyandthebook.com.

What makes our book club unique is that most of the authors are more than willing to make teleconference calls to my Pulpwood Queen Chapters on their dime.  In addition, if they are going to be in the area, you will be notified.  Sometimes they even make special arrangements to visit your chapters when in your area.

We now have an OFFICIAL Pulpwood Queen Blog and Chat site at www.pulpwoodqueen.com.  Please check it out and do comment.  I want to hear from all of you so let us keep the conversation on literacy going.

We will have annual gatherings each year that will be Book, Author, Literary Extravaganzas including:

GIRLFRIEND WEEKEND, our Annual Pulpwood Queen Convention that we host, always  held the third weekend in January in Marshall, Texas and sponsored by the Cox Newspaper, The Marshall News Messenger!.

BOOKS ALIVE!, our Christian and Inspirational Author & Music Extravaganza with Spokes Author and Musical Artist couple, Denise Hildreth and Jonathan Pierce held always the first weekend in November as a fundraiser for The First United Methodist Church in Jefferson, Texas!

INTERNATIONAL BOOK CLUB AUTHOR EXTRAVAGANZA, a three-day book festival held the second weekend in July as a fundraiser for The Friends of the Municipal Auditorium at The Municipal Auditorium in Shreveport, Louisiana.

We sometimes do ROAD TRIPS to author events or book festivals and have even did a Literary Tour of France and Italy with the Pulpwood Queens that we hope to do again in the future with Dallas photographer, Patricia Richards and myself.  These events will be posted on our website, www.beautyandthebook.com.

If you have any questions on any of the above, I am here for you so call me at 903-665-7520 or email me.  I will do my best to answer questions for you and get you and your girlfriends on the fun road to reading. 

Reading is a win, win, WIN situation and to me a book is the ultimate vacation from life.  Believe you me with us working like crazy; running our households, car-pooling the children, we need a much deserved and needed break!  So grab a tiara and let’s get READING!

Tiara wearing and Book sharing,

Kathy L. Patrick

Founder of the Pulpwood Queens Book Clubs