Best selling author has book signing at the Somerset Wine & Cider Bar in Rosehill Gardens
By Jill Draper
Moms are full of advice, and Becky Blades is no exception. But when she sent a care package in the form of a cautionary 50-page email to her college freshman daughter, she received some advice in return.
“You should write a book,” her daughter Taylor Kay said. “Put your email in it, and your art, too.” So she did. The result is a small, colorful volume filled with 270 humorous tidbits, snarky quips and heartfelt beliefs illustrated with whimsical mixed media collages. Titled “Do Your Laundry or You’ll Die Alone: Advice Your Mom Would Give if She Thought You Were Listening,” the book has been a number one bestseller on Amazon.com in the Parent & Adult Child category for the past three years and cited by Oprah’s Book Club and Money Magazine.
Blades, who lives in the Verona Hills neighborhood of South Kansas City, will be selling and signing copies of the book at her ironing board while sipping wine at the new Somerset Wine & Cider Bar in Rosehill Gardens at 311 E. 135th St. on Sunday, May 6 from 12:30-4 p.m.
The book is a perfect gift for both graduates and Mother’s Day, says Blades, who wisely included a few blank pages at the end so the giver can add a personal message in the section labeled, “Always leave room for advice from those who love you.”
Her favorite parts? She likes the empowering passages such as “Plan a trip to Paris” (though it may be a faraway fantasy), and “It’s okay to outgrow your dreams” as well as several thoughts on charity. She also appreciates a tip she added from her own mother: “Tell your mom when the crisis is over,” because she needs to know when the tragedy you’ve vented about has ended. “Don’t wait until NEXT WEEK…She worries.”
Blades, who has given the same advice to her youngest daughter, Tess, says that although boys get a kick out of the book, it is written and designed for girls, with entries such as “Own a tutu and a boa” (because you just never know) and “Wash off your makeup before you go to bed.”
Before becoming an author, she founded a Kansas City public relations firm, Blades & Associates, that eventually merged with Trozzolo Communications Group. She describes her current “portfolio career” as fulltime artist, author, creative consultant and Paris tour leader. She also volunteers with The Grooming Project, a startup that teaches low-income women how to groom dogs.
Now that Tess is graduating from college and Taylor Kay is working in New York City (both daughters are experimenting with standup comedy), Blades is taking some of her own advice—the part about “If you have a book in you, for goodness’ sake, let it out” and “Don’t put off starting something because you aren’t sure you can finish it.” She’s working on a new book of inspirational stories about people she calls stARTists. The book’s working title is “Start More Than You Can Finish.”
She explains in her current book (which is also available at Barnes & Noble and Rainy Day Books), “Only one thing is sure to keep you from finishing: Not Starting,” so “Show your dreams who’s boss.” Whatever you accomplish, she says, your mom will be one of your biggest fans. And the biggest compliment you can give her is to say you listened.