Side Effects May Vary Launch

Saturday night, I was so excited to be able to attend Julie Murphy's Side Effects May Vary launch. I'd had a rough day at work, and it was incredible to be part of this really awesome group of people celebrating Julie and her AH-mazing book.

The Irving Public Library knocked it out of the freaking park on this one. I was SO impressed with everything they did to make this a special party for Julie. This was the entrance. There were these adorable bubbles everywhere with the SEMV cover illustrations.

Underneath this were party favors like these Alice & Harvey photo props. Harvey is a popular guy so his bowties were gone long before I arrived! Also, lots of buttons and candy!

The walls were papered with more illustrations and tons of polka dots! Seriously this place looked so good!

The signing table and the background were utter perfection!

 If you're wondering what's on the table to the left, Julie and her crew assembled these super sweet pill bottle favors for all the attendees! Don't worry; they're just filled with candy!

Speaking of sweets, as this was an event at the IPL, their ever-present cupcake tower was super delicious!

Meet the Literary Lonestars! We are the Texas authors, librarians, and bloggers in attendance. Some familiar faces are, Julie, Jeramey Kraatz, Krissi Dallas, Heather L. Reid, Victoria Scott, Jenny Martin, Molly Jaffa, Jen Bigheart (I Read Banned Books), Alex (Peace Love Fangirl), Stacy Wells (Girls in the Stacks), Bex (Bex Book Reviews), Marissa & Jasmine (Beneath the Moon and Stars), Kari Olson (A Good Addiction) AND MORE!

SO PROUD OF YOU, MY FRIEND!

Julie didn't talk for long, but she did answer a couple questions. The first was when she realized she had a story to tell. Julie said it wasn't the story so much as Alice's character. Julie told us that Alice just represents that really dark part of who she is, and that she hopes we can identify with her even with all the terrible things she does and says (which, guys, I totally do).

 The second question was about Julie's second book, which she's currently working on. It's called Dumplin and will be out probably in 2015. It's about a fat girl in the south. Julie is still writing it (actually, I think she's more into the editing process right now) so it's hard for her to talk about. She said it's about a best friend you love so much it hurts, beauty pageants, and Dolly Parton! As an East Tennessee girl, those are magical words, and I CAN'T WAIT TO READ IT! Julie also mentioned her good friends and fellow Harper authors Katie Cotugno (How to Love) and Natalie C. Parker (Beware the Wild) were in attendance. Hearing that, I was a little sad that I didn't have a copy of How to Love for Katie to sign, but Julie assured us that they would be more than happy to graffiti our copies of SEMV for us!

 Let me assure you that it was a miracle I even got a copy of Side Effects at this party because there were 148 people in attendance (official count!), but they'd only ordered somewhere between 100-120 books so naturally, Julie SOLD OUT OF BOOKS. Crazy! Thankfully, I did get a copy, and Natalie and Katie were indeed kind enough to draw in my book!

 These two ladies are SO NICE. I'm so glad to have had the chance to meet them.

This is Natalie, me, Katie, and Julie's lovely and equally awesome agent, Molly Jaffa.

Come back to Texas soon, ladies!

Giveaway:

 Since Julie did sell out of books, I wasn't able to snag a second copy for the giveaway, but I bought one today on its actual pub day. The winner of this giveaway will be able to pick whether they would like to have just the finished copy or a copy signed by Julie. I'm not going to see her again until TLA at the beginning of April because Julie's on deadline, and she also has some publicity & business commitments before the conference. Head's up, New York: Julie's coming your way, and I know she does have some events scheduled! This giveaway is open to the US & Canada and will end at 12 am CST on March 27. Please check the Site Policies tab for full giveaway policies. All entries will be verified.

Edit: I now know where I can get a signed copy so I'm going to go grab one. If the winner does not want a signed copy after all, I can easily switch it out for an unsigned finished copy.

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