Purity Release Party

Or, How I Got to Listen to a Story About Condoms in a Barnes & Noble Filled with Children 

Yesterday, I got to do something for the first time: attend a release party. Since I started using Twitter, I have lived in a perpetual state of 'I want to go to there' as I have heard about all of these book signings/events, almost all of which are in California or New York City. People read in Atlanta too!

Anyway, I happened to learn that there is at least one author in Atlanta, and that she just happened to be having a book launch party 25 minutes from where I live. Although I have not read any of Jackson Pearce's books YET, there was no way I was going to miss that, especially since in the last two weeks I've managed to acquired copies of both Sisters Red and Sweetly. Clearly, reading Jackson Pearce was ordained by the fates. And I sure as hell do not want to piss them off!

I know you're impressed with my photography skillz.

Since traffic in Atlanta is made of awful, I left for Alpharetta right after work, knowing I would get to the area too early, but who cares when you have a tote bag full of Jackson Pearce books (note: only those two mentioned above) to keep you company. I met up with a friend for dinner, who was late (did I mention the traffic?). While I waited, I read a couple chapters of Sisters Red, just to make sure I actually liked this Jackson Pearce person before I bought the latest book at FULL PRICE. The answer is I DO like this Jackson Pearce person. Pretty sure I am going to adore Sisters Red.

Because of my friend being late, I ended up being a few minutes late to the event, but I don't think I missed much, although who knows. Maybe Jackson sang all of "Under Pressure" before I got there. I arrived just in time for the story about her three high school love stories. Definitely glad I was there for that, as they all sounded like winners. Most important thing you should know about hearing Jackson Pearce talk is that she is hilarious, completely kooky and willing to be weird.

Candid shot that actually resulted in a good pic. Related note: she has the prettiest hair.

Apparently, Jackson usually forgets to do the reading portion of these sorts of shindigs. She did not this time. Which was awesome. She chose to read the 'condom scene' from Purity, even though her parents were in the audience. More power to her. Jackson is great at reading aloud. This is a good thing to know if you are inclined to listen to audiobooks, because she narrated the audiobook for Purity herself. I imagine it's stellar, so check that out on Audible here.

I did buy a copy of Purity, making this the first book I've paid list price for in years, probably back to before I started blogging. I do not buy books that are not on sale. Period. I hope Jackson appreciates this. :-p I also remembered why I don't buy books for full price: they're SO expensive.

 

She signed the two books I already had, as well as Purity, of course. Note the use of color-coordinated Sharpies.

Jackson is awesome! Check out her books and see her in person if you can. Totes worth it.