Actress, Author, Adventurer
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Karen talks about her book and reads passages from it. Truly, a must listen-to for anyone who loves audio books.
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Karen Kondazian has starred in the Fountain productions of Master Class (2004) and the Tennessee Williams classics The Milk Train Doesn’t Stop Here Anymore (2007), The Night of the Iguana (2001) and Orpheus Descending (1996). She’s now written her first novel, The Whip.
What is your novel about?
The Whip is inspired by the true story of Charlotte “Charley” Parkhurst (1812 – 1879). Charlotte lived 30 years of her extraordinary life as a man. She became a renowned stagecoach driver for Wells Fargo during the California gold rush. One of her many exploits was the killing of the famous outlaw Sugarfoot, when he tried to rob her stagecoach one too many times.
As a young woman, she fell in love and eventually lived with a black man and had his child. He was hung, her baby killed and she was raped by one of the killers. The destruction of her family drove her out west to California during the gold rush, dressed as a man, to track the murderer. She had many adventures and a secret love affair. She also lived with a housekeeper, who fell in love with her, not realizing she was a woman. Charlotte Parkhurst was the first woman to vote in America (as a man!). Her grave lies in Watsonville, California.
Author Karen Kondazian launched The Whip, a historical fiction novel about famed stagecoach whip Charley Parkhurst, Wednesday at a book signing in Watsonville. The Whip was inspired by the true story of Charlotte “Charley” Darkey Parkhurst (1812-79), who lived most of her life as a man in California.
Parkhurst became a renowned stagecoach driver for Wells Fargo. She killed a famous outlaw, had a secret love affair, and lived with a housekeeper who, unaware of her true sex, fell in love with her, Kondazian said. It wasn’t until Parkhurst died of cancer in 1879 in Watsonville that it was discovered he was a woman who had maintained a false identity as a man.
At the signing, Kondazian addressed a group of about 40 people and told them that Watsonville was the first book signing she chose because it is key to Parkhurst’s life and death.
One thing I learned growing up around horses is an appreciation for Cowboy culture. Cowboys by nature tend to use idioms as shorthand to express their feelings. For example, “I loved you better than my horse.” This means I’m breaking up with you and I regret my foolishness for letting you into my heart—a mistake which I now recognize and rectify. Cowboy culture can be both a philosophy for life and a mindset for dealing with the world. This mindset lends itself to great stability especially in the face of adversity and is often invoked by the simple phrase, “Cowboy Up.”
Like a nugget of gold pulled from the riffles, Karen Kondazian’s debut novel The Whip embodies this cowboy culture. The Whip is based on the true life story of Charlotte “Charley” Parkhurst, who, for thirty years, passed as a man. Working as a Whip, a stage coach driver, for Wells Fargo, she became one of the best at her job and that was before she shot and killed a notorious bandit in a gunfight! Her secret only became known upon her death—her motivations remained a mystery.
Charley Parkhurst was a stagecoach driver for 30 years. Charley Parkhust was really Charlotte. She started out as an abandoned baby in on an orphanage step and became a drinking, shooting, tobacco spitting, revenge getting stagecoach driver. This is her story.
The orphanage: A cruel headmistress goes too far with her punishments. On one hand, she accidentally introduces Charley to her lifelong love: horses. On the other hand, she turns a kind and caring boy into the makings of a monster. This boy was Charley’s protector and will soon become her enemy.
Rhode Island: Charley falls in love, but the rest of society, and namely, her “brother” don’t agree with her choice of love interest. The loss of her man and her baby lead to the loss of her femininity as she dons male attire and becomes a stagecoach driver in order to travel to California to hunt down and kill her husband’s killer. But will she get her revenge before the man can do her, her life, and her loved ones more damage? Will she be able to do what needs to be done? Life hasn’t been good to her as a woman that’s for sure. Will it treat her better as a man?
Come meet Karen Kondazian at her upcoming book signing and Q&A talking about her new novel The Whip at the Watsonville Library on Wednesday, December 7 from 5:30-7:30 p.m. We’re going to have a party for Charley. Come join us for food, music, and fun. If you have time, go visit Charley’s grave at The Pioneer Cemetery nearby.
Check the Watsonville Public Library website for more information and updates.
For additional book signings and event information, return to The Whip Blog often.
Poster for Watsonville Book Signing and Celebration
Jim Beaver
“I pretty much owe my career to Karen Kondazian. She championed and produced my play VERDIGRIS, which led to my being signed by a giant agency and subsequently to my career writing and acting in television and films. For years I’ve been hearing about this astonishing true story she was turning into a novel, and finally it’s out. It’s an amazing tale about a strong, passionate and determined woman, a real-life heroine who lived her life as one tough hombre — one tough *male* hombre — in the Old West.”
“Please get yourself a copy. It’s a wonderful read.”
– Jim Beaver
Jim Beaver's Book "Life's that Way"
Buy Jim Beaver’s book Life’s That Way at Amazon.com.
Correspondence of the San Francisco Call
The Whip is inspired by the true story of a woman, Charlotte “Charley” Parkhurst (1812-1879) who lived most of her extraordinary life as a man in the old west.
As a young woman in Rhode Island, she fell in love with a runaway slave and had his child. The destruction of her family drove her west to California, dressed as a man, to track the killer.
Charley became a renowned stagecoach driver for Wells Fargo. She killed a famous outlaw, had a secret love affair, and lived with a housekeeper who, unaware of her true sex, fell in love with her.
Charley was the first woman to vote in America in 1868 (as a man). Her grave lies in Watsonville, California.
Karen Kondazian’s career as an actor, author and journalist is as diverse as it is long. She was born in Boston, Massachusetts. At the age of eight Karen was chosen to be one of the infamous children on Art Linkletter’s “Kids Say the Darndest Things.” The opportunity to miss school during tapings was all it took for Karen to abandon her life’s goal of becoming a CIA spy and focus on acting.
She completed her schooling at The London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts (LAMDA), The University of Vienna and San Francisco State University, where she received her B.A., after which she began her acting career in New York. Her first professional work was in the award winning production of Michael Cacoyannis’ The Trojan Women at the Circle in the Square Theatre.
In 1979, she won the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award for Best Actress in The Rose Tattoo, (in which her work as actor and producer so impressed Tennessee Williams that they became friends and he gave her carte blanche to produce any of his work in his lifetime).
