Synopsis:
It’s 86’, the era of Pop Rocks, Jelly shoes and big hair bands. Rachael O'Brien's freshman plan seems simple: Attend a southern college, five-hundred miles from her hometown of Canton, Ohio, earn an art history degree, party and lose her virginity—hopefully, not in that order. “Becoming a woman,” somehow turns into a series of life-lessons that she and her journal are lucky to live to tell. Being threatened by a redheaded She-Devil, avoiding the advances of a thirty-something redneck, and discovering an art fraud scheme interfere with her “to do” list. On top of her troubles at school, Rachael finds herself forging a new relationship with her emotionally-distant father after her mother abandons him for a psychic adventure.
Bad decision-making, law-bending behavior, surprising romances and near death experiences can make freshman year challenging in PAISLEY RAY'S, DEEP FRIED AND PICKLED, quick-witted, south-of-the-Mason-Dixon tale of survival.
Excerpt:
Katie Lee pushed her plate to the side. “Alright
y’all. First you have to promise that what I’m about to
tell you stays at this table.”
“Promise,” I said.
Katie Lee waited.
Stretching an arm across the back of the booth Patsy
shrugged. “I’m good for it.”
“Nash and I wanted some alone time.”
Patsy rolled her eyes. “Jesus Katie Lee, I don’t want
the play by play. Just tell us what happened.”
“He and I drove the van from Billy Ray’s party to a
piece of deserted land where the Neuse River meets the
Trent. We were fooling around when headlights in the
distance flashed.”
“A patrol car?” I asked.
Katie Lee shook her head. “That’s what I thought. But
Nash said he recognized the truck and left. I stayed behind
and buttoned my blouse. I figured some of his friends were
night fishing.”
“Y’all,” Katie Lee went on to tell us, “I lost sight
of him and watched the truck pull away. I would’ve
followed, but Nash had the keys. I called for him, but the
grass was high and the mosquito’s thick, so I stayed in the
van.”
Mid eye roll, Patsy blew bubbles in her sweet tea, and
I wondered if she’d heard a similar story before.
“I was beside myself. It was another twenty minutes
before I spotted him in a side mirror. He hustled toward
the van carrying two plastic suitcases.”
I wished she’d been bullshitting, but that wasn’t
Katie Lee’s style. I drained my sweet tea and sucked air
from the straw. Scooting to the edge of my seat, I chewed
jagged edges in the straw. She wasn’t finished.
About the author:
I grew up in the suburbs of Pittsburgh when the Terrible Towel was introduced to cheer on the Steelers. As a kid, my family spent summers at the Carolina beaches. Hush puppies, sweet tea, and discovering sand dollars in the low-tide turned into intoxicating memories. I fell hard for all things southern. School, work and family keeps luring me back, and I'm still in love. The Rachael O’Brien Chronicles are my southern-soup of life-lessons inspired by the unforgettable people and places I hold dear.
Find me:
Interview:
1. What inspired you to write this book?
Connecting with some of my college girlfriends in New York. Reminiscing, we all laughed so hard and I said, “I gotta write a book.” Famous last words, right. Deep Fried and Pickled took me 5 years to complete. Just goes to show, stay at something long enough and you may surprise yourself.
3. What's your favorite book-turned movie?
As if you can’t tell, I love 80’s fiction. Pitch Perfect. It’s so funny and so well done. The cast was fantastic and had such synergy. Fat Amy is a riot. I howled all the way through.
4. If you could be best friends with one of your characters, who would it be?
Ohhh, I like all the girls, mostly. I think Patsy McCoy is high on my favorite list. She’s so ballsy in an unassuming way. She’d be there for you, unless she was busy flirting. And her fashion sense is cutting edge 80’s crazy.
5. Can you tell us about any other books you're writing?
The Rachael O’Brien Chronicles is a series and I’m currently working on book 3, Shelled and Shucked. Rachael and the girls get into lots more southern mishaps. I’ve finished the rough draft and am aiming for a July release. After that, I’ll start book 4, Toad in the Hole. Rachael and her grandmother go to England for the summer and run into a fair amount of Euro drama.
6. What do you do in your spare time?
I run, I cook, I garden and hang out with my husband, daughter and pug.
**Paisley will award a $10 Amazon Gift Card to one randomly drawn commenter.
47 comments:
Reading the excerpt I wanted to turn the page to see what happens next. A good sign.
marypres(AT)gmail(DOT)com
Hey Julianna,
Thanks for hosting Deep Fried and Pickled!
Paisley
Ah, can i change the GC into book depository? :)
This looks like a great book. Can't wait to read it. Thanks for the giveaway!
I picked up this book not long ago, but reading the excerpt has bumped it to the top of my TBR list! It sounds like a good one!
I went to college in the early 80s so this sounds very interesting!
80's fiction! Remember stirrup pants? Would love to hear some of your favorite blast from the past products, bands and fashion had to have's. May even use them in the next book.
dang excerpts! They always drag me into and make me having to run out and buy the book so I can get more!! The title alone is what made me click on this post in the first place!!
Amber @Paradise of Pages
Thank you for hosting
Thanks for hosting!!!!
Great excerpt :)
Sounds fascinating. I want to know what happened next.
Loved the excerpt!!
I loved the excerpt! I can't wait to see what happens next. :)
Sounds like a good book... I'm def gonna add it to my tbr :-)
THis is so exciting!
This book is one of those books I would throughly enjoy reading and probably laughing a lot as well.:) Thank you for the review and giveaway!
I enjoyed the excerpt and interview I am looking forward to reading this I forgot about jelly shoes I loved the 80's the big hair bands and do you remember parachute pants I hated them. I was an 80's girl. Your story sounds fun and mixed up adventure I love a story that can make you laugh and keep you wanting to read what happens next! The more I think about it the more I cant wait to get this it just made the top of my Must read list!
The exerpt was so engaging!!!!!!!! I want more!!!!
Love the excerpt! Sounds like fun, thanks for the giveaway.
Went to an 80's themed party a couple of years ago, the jelly shoes were a must lol
My all time favorite clothing items -- a pair of paint splattered ESPRIT cigarette pants that zipped at the ankle and a Commander Salamander sweatshirt. I still have them. If only they hadn't yellowed and shrunk over time -- sigh.
Nice excerpt
bn100candg at hotmail dot com
LOVE your name, Paisley...and LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the name of the book. I am fortunate to live near the Carolina beaches (in NC) and we do love our foods deep fried and/or pickled. I had a deep fried snickers bar recently...never tried it pickled! LOL.
catherinelee100 at gmail dot com
Can I just say the book looks incredible? It has this nice, cute feel to it that makes you want to read it. I have never read books set in the same setting as this one so I would really love to be able to read the book. Thanks for the excerpt and Pitch Perfect is one of my favorite movies too! Fat Amy is indeed one heck of a character! :) Thank you so much for the giveaway!
- Diana @chaoticreader
reofamelaterrado(at)yahoo(dot)com
This looks so great! Thanks for sharing with us! I adore that cover as well.
Did the author have any say on the design of the book cover? Also, who in the author's life encouraged them to sit down and write their first book?
Thanks for the giveaway!
mestith at gmail dot com
"I chewed jagged edges in the straw" I love this LOVE this line!! Sounds awesome!! kristine(dot)morton(at)gmail.com
Ah, looks like a lovely book. :) Congrats!
thatartsygirl92(at)gmail(dot)com
The blurb alone has me jumping in my seat for the book!
andralynn7 AT gmail DOT com
Yikes, another good book I just found out about due to a giveaway. Thank you.
The book looks like an interesting read, and I love the cover.
owgcc[at]yahoo[dot]com
This is great. Love to read about those southern girls
The title is catchy, and the excerpt intriguing...but is the book formatted like that (as in, in verse) or is it just the formatting here in the blog?
supersatchmo at myopera dot com
The Deep Fried and Pickled cover was inspired by the artist Edward Gorey who designed the introduction of the PBS Mystery series. I was alway a big fan and as a kid watched Miss Marple and Inspector Morse with my mom. I wanted the cover to have the look of a worn journal and worked with an amazing artist/friend Chantal deFelice.
The book is set up like a journal with chapters under each month. It is not double-spaced like the excerpt.
I see that's why the cover had a cozy mystery feel! Thanks for your clarifications :)
Love the cover, the books sounds fantastic too. Thanks for the giveaway.
This sounds like a great book! Thanks for the giveaway.
pjmillion(at)comcast(dot)net
Sounds like a great read!!
Thanks for the chance to win!
natasha_donohoo_8 at hotmail dot com
Ah the 80s! Thanks and good luck to all! jmelter at gmail dot com
sounds like the author has a good vision of the 80's in the south.
preciousyipperbear uses gmail
Deep Fried and Pickled sounds like a fantastic read.
Thanks for the amazing excerpt & giveaway!
elizabeth @ bookattict . com
+JMJ+
I love 80s-set fiction, too! The pop culture references can be great--and who doesn't enjoy a nostalgic "soundtrack"? =)
Thanks for the giveaway!
fun title and liked the excerpt! - regnod(at)yahoo(d0t)com
I read all three books this week in all my spare moments; couldn't put them down. Cannot wait for the fourth to come out :-)
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