As a surprise, the printer of my second book, Party Girls, brought me a large poster of the cover that I could take to book signings. It sits in my office behind me, in the general view of everyone I talk to on Microsoft Teams; it is a source of amusement for many.
By day, I work as a writer and analyst in a very serious environment, so it always acts as an ice-breaker with folks from across the country with whom I confer on a daily basis. I probably should move it, but I don’t care. I’m proud of my little novel. It’s about my time working in politics and journalism in Ottawa, and when people read it, it takes them back to a time when things were fun in the Nation’s Capital — back in the 1980s when women got yeast infections from wearing pantyhose, and were admonished because they weren’t wearing girdles and heels.
We drank a lot, slept around, and laughed our asses off. There was no internet, or Anthony Weiners to display crotch shots. Of course, there were scandals, but that just made it fun. The details were whispered in the hallowed halls of Parliament, and over beers at the Press Club instead of serving as click bait for assholes.
I wrote the book during the waning days of Covid after having been unemployed for three years. That’s a lot of time for old girls like me, the ones who raised kids on their own, who sacrificed financial security for their children’s wellbeing, and who never held a job with any possibility of a pension.
I will work til I drop — and I’m happy with that. My only hope is that my current husband Scott will still around for the ride.
Next Saturday, I have been invited to my first book-signing. It will be held at Billings Bridge in Ottawa, at Coles bookstore a place that has supported my writing from the get-go. So I am grateful to them for inviting me in. I’ll be bringing along that poster that Ray made for me. She will attract some attention I’m sure.
Still, I’m a little petrified at the thought. Will anybody show up? Will they look her up and down and decide they don’t like the racy cover? Or will they buy the book just for the cover? Will they mistake me for Xaviera Hollander (look her up, youngins, she was one Happy Hooker!)
Will I sit there and vibrate over too many cups of coffee from the Second Cup while seniors hobble by on walkers on their way to the bank to get money to buy scratch-offs?
Between me, you and the lamp post, I’m not really worried. I’m a good talker. People like me God Damn It! I’m sure a few people will take pity on me and my Party Girl, and fork out a bit of their Christmas money and buy it for Dad, or themselves. There are many great laughs and people who survived that era in Ottawa will appreciate. Hopefully, there’s something in it for millennials, too.
Yes, Virginia, your parents really did have that much fun.
In all honesty, I’m just happy to be out of the house. So is the Party Girl who is about to make her public debut.
Rose Simpson is the author of Party Girls and Distressed Pavement. Her book signing will be on November 12 at Billings Bridge Plaza’s Coles Book Store, 2269 Riverside Drive, Ottawa, from 10-2.