I am thrilled to be hosting a spot on the THE PINK DRESS by Jane
Little Botkin Blog Tour hosted by Rockstar Book Tours. Check out my post and make sure to enter the giveaway!
About The Book:
Author: Jane Little Botkin
Pub. Date: September 10, 2024
Publisher: She Writes Press
Formats: Paperback, eBook
Pages: 304
Find it: Goodreads, https://books2read.com/THE-PINK-DRESS
For fans of Little Miss
Sunshine and Secrets of Miss America, this memoir from a
national award-winning author reveals the reality of being the first Guyrex
Girl in the 1970s. Beauty pageant stories have never been this raw, this real.
Growing up in West Texas, Jane Little Botkin didn’t have designs on becoming a
beauty queen. But not long after joining a pageant on a whim in college, she
became the first protégé of El Paso’s Richard Guy and Rex Holt, known as the
“Kings of Beauty”—just as the 1970’s counterculture movement began to take off.
A pink, rose-covered gown—a Guyrex creation—symbolizes the fairy tale life that
young women in Jane’s time imagined beauty queens had. Its near destruction
exposes reality: the author’s failed relationship with her mother, and her
parents’ failed relationship with one another. Weaving these narrative threads
together is the Wild West notion that anything is possible, especially
do-overs.
The Pink Dress awakens nostalgia for the 1960s and 1970s, the era’s
conflicts and growth pains. A common expectation that women went to college to
get “MRS” degrees—to find a husband and become a stay-at-home wife and
mother—often prevailed. How does one swim upstream against this notion among
feminist voices that protest “If You Want Meat, Go to a Butcher!” at beauty
pageants, two flamboyant showmen, and a developing awareness of self? Torn
between women’s traditional roles and what women could be, Guyrex Girls
evolved, as did the author.
Reviews:
“It’s about time the story of GuyRex
(Guyrex) was told, and to have someone like Jane, who was the genesis to the
legend of these two incredibly talented men, share it so beautifully is a treat
for all. Reading the events of their pageantry has brought back many wonderful
memories that truly shaped my adult life as well. If you had the opportunity to
be a part of the GuyRex system—that is, if you were a GuyRex Girl—then your
life was forever changed for the good.”—Gretchen Polhemus Jensen, Miss
USA 1989, former Miss Texas, and former GuyRex Girl
“The great meaning of this story and what makes it a page-turner is how Jane
came to peace with difficult parents and extraordinary expectations to
eventually become a highly successful writer, but perhaps more importantly, a
wife, mother, grandmother, and role model. Her story is one that will linger in
my mind and make me want to know her. Bravo, Jane, well done.”—David Crow,
best-selling author of The Pale-Faced Lie
“I remember watching televised beauty pageants with my family when I was a kid
in the 1970s and Mama saying, ‘They're all pretty.’ But Jane Little Botkin
unveils another view, one that shows how wild, western, chaotic, and sometimes
downright ugly things were behind the scenes. The Pink Dress isn't
a beautiful walk down memory lane. It's a wild ride through the turbulent
1970s, West Texas style. Here she is, Janie Botkin, taking the town by storm.”—Johnny
D. Boggs, nine-time Spur Award winner and author of upcoming books Longhorns
East and Bloody Newton
Jane Little Botkin Interview
The Pink Dress, A Memoir of a Reluctant Beauty Queen
For the readers:
can you tell us a little bit about your book?
Growing up in West Texas, Jane Little Botkin didn’t have
designs on becoming a beauty queen. But not long after joining a pageant on a
whim in college, she became the first protégé of El Paso’s Richard Guy and Rex
Holt, known as the “Kings of Beauty”—just as the 1970’s counterculture movement began to take off. Jane was the first Guyrex Girl.
A pink,
rose-covered gown—a Guyrex creation—symbolizes the fairy tale life that young
women in Jane’s time imagined beauty queens had. Its near destruction exposes
reality: the author’s failed relationship with her mother, and her parents’
failed relationship with one another. Weaving these narrative threads together
is the Wild West notion that anything is possible, especially do-overs.
The Pink Dress awakens nostalgia for the 1960s and 1970s, the era’s conflicts and
growth pains. A common expectation that women went to college to get “MRS”
degrees—to find a husband and become a stay-at-home wife and mother—often
prevailed. How does one swim upstream against this notion among feminist voices
that protest “If You Want
Meat, Go to a Butcher!” at beauty pageants, two flamboyant showmen,
and a developing awareness of self? Torn between
women’s traditional roles and what women could be, Guyrex Girls evolved,
as did the author.
What was your inspiration for writing
this book?.
While sitting in a hotel bar in San Antonio,
Texas, I began to reminisce my
experiences during 1972 when I contested in San Antonio’s Miss Texas-Miss
Universe pageant. I shared my story as a tightly handled beauty contestant and
soon had the women laughing at my escapades and overly exaggerated rendition of
an East Texas accent. When I mentioned my handlers Richard Guy and Rex Holt
(Guyrex Associates), nationally known as the “Kings of Beauty Pageants” and who
dominated the Miss USA pageant scene for years, the agent’s interest piqued.
Everyone was surprised to learn that I had been a Guyrex Girl, a term
nationally trademarked later.
What I didn’t tell the women in the bar that night was that I had been
forced to move from a dysfunctional middle-class family—from a controlling
mother—into a theatrical ménage of high performers, also intent on managing all
aspects of my life for one year. When everyone at our table agreed that I
should author this story, I balked. They were not privy to the finer and darker
aspects of my experiences, some typical of other beauty queens’ accounts. A
romance novel author in our group asked the bartender for a clean cocktail
napkin and a pen. The women were going to force my promise to write this tale.
On the napkin, the writer scribbled, “I am worth so much more than I am willing
to admit, and I am going to reach for the stars.” Reluctantly, I signed the pledge.
When Covid restricted my ability to travel and research, I finally wrote the
book.
What is
your favorite passage/scene in your book?
I’m typically a historical biographer, so writing a comic scene does not
come easy for me. This memoir is not meant to be funny—and it isn’t. But I
found moments where some comic relief helped various serious, dramatic threads within
the memoir. There is a scene in the book where, after being starved into having
a 21-inch waist, and having two gay handlers (one OCD) watching every morsel of
food entering my mouth, I cheated on them, like cheating on a boyfriend, during
the Miss Texas America pageant. I enjoyed the results of my efforts preparing
this scene. See below:
At 2:00 a.m., lights were out and our
alarm clocks set for 5:00 a.m. I lay awake in bed with my stomach in a tight
ball. It had seemed that the more our room filled up with flowers, the emptier
my belly became. My roommates whispered about the cake downstairs. I don’t
recall who made the initial suggestion. I’m certain my frustration about the
piano and diet contributed to our shameful plan.
The four of us got out of bed and
silently tiptoed through the hallway and down the stairs, quiet as pantry mice.
Except for muted emergency lights leading toward the front exit, the foyer was
dim. The Texas cake beckoned us in the darkness.
Someone found forks from the other
food-laden tables, and we carefully unwrapped the huge cake, trying not to
smear the frosted lettering. We didn’t bother to cut pieces but gouged our
forks into the geographical areas we each represented. I am not ashamed to say,
I devoured ALL of West Texas—the true West Texas. Still not satisfied, I
announced that since the other girls were from primarily North and South Texas,
I claimed the Panhandle as well. After all, I had been born there, in the “town
without a toothache”! I savored the sugary frosting, gorging on cake from
Dalhart south to Big Spring, then Muleshoe east to Childress. Only then was I
satiated.
The next morning, Wednesday, July 7, the
last syllable of a typically monosyllabic word soared upstairs to our ears. We
could hear a girl downstairs screaming in her East Texas accent, “My ca-ake! My
ca-ake!” Coincidentally, East Texas crumbs were all that remained on the
banquet table.
My cohorts in crime and I smirked at each
other as we passed by the cake’s remains on our way to breakfast in the
cafeteria. Shrugging away my guilt, I forced some eggs down my throat since the
sugar high from the night’s activity had not subsided.
Note: In another comic scene with these
two men, Guy and Rex took me to a Juárez, Mexico, bar where Miss El Paso was
“performing.” You’ll have to read the book to see what happened. My handlers
Richard Guy and Rex Holt were my salvation by the end of the book.
What kind
of research did you have to do for the story?
Since this is a memoir, I didn’t have to do much research. I did investigate
what happened to some of the people involved in the narrative. I already had a
volume of documents, newspaper articles, photos, etc., in my possession just
waiting to be used for the story.
What are
you working on now?
Currently I am writing The Breath of a Buffalo, a biography of
Mary (Molly) Ann Goodnight, wife of famed cattleman Charles Goodnight. Mary’s
actions saved the southern bison herd from being extinct. If you are not
familiar with Charles Goodnight, think Lonesome Dove the movie, book
written by Larry McMurtry. The character Captain Call played by Tommy
Lee Jones was based on Charles Goodnight. Mary is the more interesting person
to me.
Lightning Round Getting to Know You Questions
What are
you reading right now? Or what do you have on your TBR that you’re dying to
read?
I have a stack of books to read. Some reads are for my reviews of other authors’ books. Some titles are just for my pleasure. I have really enjoyed reading Randi Samuelson-Brown’s Branded series from Wolfpack publishing and Kimberly Burns’ historical fiction biographies, especially The Redemption of Mattie Silks. After teaching high school English for thirty years, I have read most all the classics hundreds of times. Now I often look for a book where I don’t have to think. The above-named books take the reader away from his or her present quite well.
Currently I am rereading my own manuscript on Mary Ann Goodnight. I can’t fill my brain with other authors’ works while I’m writing.
I’m crazy about history – nonfiction and historical fiction, both!
My favorite
books are
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurry, and All the
Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy.
Favorite
social media site?
Currently I rely on
Facebook a lot! I’m using Instagram much more than I did. I hate Twitter, the
format. I’m an author who has a difficult time being concise. But I’m working
on it. FB has more flexibility.
Favorite
Superhero or Villain?
I always prefer the
villains, especially those who have redeeming traits. But I will have to say
Lady Macbeth is the worst villain, with nothing redeeming about her! In fact,
not a very dynamic character at all. Just pure evil and manipulative to get
what she wants no matter the cost. Guess William Shakespeare didn’t want to
create any of redeeming qualities using blank verse!
Favorite TV
show?
I’m a news junkie
likely because the news is constantly changing. I will binge watch a Netflix
series when I need a distraction but almost never mainstream television shows. None
of the series are my favorites. When I am in book preparation, only part of my
brain can follow television. I promise I am not a boring person! I’m just
always engaged… 😊
Sweet or
Salty?
Both. When I write,
give me red wine and dark chocolate with nuts to go alongside my computer.
Writing is NOT healthy for the body.
Any
Phobias?
I am acrophobic! Weird
since I can ride a ski lift to a mountain summit, but try to get me near the
Grand Canyon rim, and my knees go weak. I must clutch the ground. One time,
knowing my phobia, my husband parked atop the bridge going over the Rio Grande
Gorge. I panicked and had to go to the floorboard, sick. I could not even look
at the window.
Song you
can’t get enough of right now?
I will listen to
anything hard rock, like Van Halen (No, I’m not a head banger) or instrumental piano
or other strings, like The Piano Guys. I have eclectic tastes and must have
music playing all the time. I’m learning to like some western music.
2024 Movie
you’re most looking forward to?
I was looking forward
to Kevin Costner’s Horizon. However, I just learned that there are several
historical errors in context, dialogue, costuming, and American Indian
portrayal. That is the curse of being a historian. One can’t help but see the
mistakes, which ruins the viewing experience. Same thing when reading
historical fiction. I expect the historical context to be accurate or I’m no
longer interested.
Do you play
video games? If so what are some of your favorites?
I used to play video
games with my husband and sons. No longer now that I have grandsons. Can’t seem
to get them off their pads! What ever happened to reading books? Gaming and
tablets are killing reading.
About Jane Little Botkin:
National award–winning author Jane Little Botkin melds personal narratives of American families often with compelling stories of western women. A member of Western Writers of America since 2017, Jane judges entries for the WWA's prestigious Spur Award, reviews new releases, and writes articles for various magazines. Her books have won numerous awards, including two Spur Awards, two Caroline Bancroft History Prizes, and the Barbara Sudler Award; she has also been a finalist for the Women Writing the West’s Willa Literary Award and Sarton Book Award. She is currently working on a biography of Mary Ann (Molly) Goodnight for the University of Oklahoma Press. Jane blissfully escapes into her literary world in the remote White Mountain Wilderness near Nogal, New Mexico.
Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Goodreads | Amazon
Giveaway Details:
1 winner
will receive a finished copy of THE PINK DRESS, US Only.
Ends September 24th, midnight EST.
a Rafflecopter giveawayTour Schedule:
Week One:
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9/9/2024 |
Guest Post/IG Post |
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9/9/2024 |
Guest Post/IG Post |
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9/10/2024 |
Excerpt |
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9/10/2024 |
IG Post/TikTok Post |
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9/11/2024 |
Interview/IG Post |
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9/11/2024 |
Excerpt |
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9/12/2024 |
Excerpt/IG Post |
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9/12/2024 |
IG Post |
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9/13/2024 |
Excerpt/IG Post |
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9/13/2024 |
Review/IG Post |
Week Two:
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9/16/2024 |
IG Review |
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9/16/2024 |
IG Review |
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9/17/2024 |
IG Review |
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9/17/2024 |
Review/IG Post |
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9/18/2024 |
IG Review |
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9/18/2024 |
IG Review |
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9/19/2024 |
IG Review |
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9/19/2024 |
Review/IG Post |
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9/19/2024 |
Review/IG Post |
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9/20/2024 |
IG Review/LFL Drop Pic/TikTok Post |
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9/20/2024 |
Review/IG Post |
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