Book one of THE RACHAEL O'BRIEN CHRONICLES introduces Rachael O'Brien, whose plan to study Art History turns into a laugh-out-loud romp of misadventure. It's 1986, the era of Pop Rocks, Jelly shoes, and big hair rock bands when she enrolls in a southern college intending to earn a degree, party, and meet cute guys—hopefully acing the latter two. She has barely had time to acquaint herself to the dorm food before finding herself threatened by a jealous She-Devil, fending off the advances of a thirty-something redneck, and stumbling upon an art fraud scheme. To top things off, her parents go their separate ways: her mom to follow a psychic calling; her dad adrift in his midlife crisis.

Bad decision-making, law-bending behavior, and surprise romances make freshman year memorable in Paisley Ray's DEEP FRIED AND PICKLED.