Every time I see a picture of Jessica Brody, I always think she looks like the beautiful younger sister of Alanis Morisette. (Not that I even know if Alanis Morisette has a sister.) I love the title of her debut novel, THE FIDELITY FILES. And it's next on my TBR pile from the amazing group of female authors in the Girlfriends' Cyber Circuit (a group of authors who blog about each other's new novels so that you, dear reader, don't miss a thing).
The provocative novel tells the story of a charismatic young woman who goes undercover as a “fidelity inspector” to test men’s loyalty. The Fidelity Files confronts the thorny issue of infidelity head-on with its controversial main character Jennifer Hunter. Operating under the code name “Ashlyn,” Jennifer leads a double life. Her friends and family all think she’s an investment banker who’s too busy to date. In reality, Jennifer is hired by suspicious wives and girlfriends to test the faithfulness of their partners. Her job has made her pretty cynical about her own love life. But just as she’s ready to swear off men for ever, Jennifer meets sexy, sophisticated Jamie Richards, a man who might just past her fidelity test. However, before she retires her secret agent self forever, she takes on one last assignment – a job which will permanently alter her perceptions of trust, honesty, and love.
A gripping story of one woman’s quest to come to terms with her past, find her future, and—most of all—rediscover her faith in love, THE FIDELITY FILES was chosen as one of USA Today’s hottest summer reads and has recently been optioned for television. St. Martin’s Press and Random House UK have already purchased the sequel (yet untitled) to be published in the fall of 2009 and Jessica has recently sold two young adult novels to Farrar, Straus, Giroux.
Check out the very cool trailer for the novel on Jessica's website (click on her name above).
Here's Jessica talking about the inspiration behind THE FIDELITY FILES:
"The Fidelity Files is the story of a beautiful, L.A. woman who works as an undercover “fidelity inspector,” hired by suspicious wives and girlfriends to test the faithfulness of the men in their lives. Except no one in her life knows what she does. Her friends and family all think she works for an investment bank.
Before I became a full-time writer, I worked in a very corporate environment. And like all corporate jobs, there were a certain number of “alcohol-related” events that I was expected to attend. I would often find myself at work happy hour functions in nearby bars, observing the interactions between single and non-single co-workers as their behaviors gradually declined from professional to something else entirely. Something hardly capable of being described as “appropriate.”
Witnessing these “indiscretions” upset me on a profound level. I secretly wished that someone would tell the “conveniently” absent significant others about what their husbands/wives/boyfriends/ girlfriends/fiancés really did while attending these “obligatory” and supposedly “uneventful” work functions. But I certainly wasn’t going to be the one to do it. I was brave enough to think it…but not exactly brave enough to go knocking on people’s doors with bad news. You know what people tend to do to “the messenger.”
So instead I created a character whose job and purpose in life was to do just that. To reveal the truth to anyone who wanted to know. To knock on all the doors that I never had the courage to knock on. An invincible superhero-esque woman whose quest is to fight against the evils of infidelity. But of course, she soon finds out…she’s not as invincible as she once thought."
PRAISE FOR THE FIDELITY FILES:
“A smart, funny and sexy debut…”
—Cosmopolitan UK
“A sexy plot with a main character every woman would like to have on speed dial.”
—Rocky Mountain News
“You’ll be hooked!”
—Minneapolis Star Tribune
"Sisters unite! This is a total revenge fantasy for anyone really tired of men with overactive zippers."
—USA Today
It's ten degrees in Maine today. TEN. Which means after I finish the third draft of chapter 11 of THE LOVE BUS, I'm going to curl up under the fuzzy throw with THE FIDELITY FILES.
P.S. Because we are hearty types in Maine, there is outdoor recess unless it's under ten degrees. Luckily, I just bought Max very warm fleece-lined waterproof gloves.
This is Max's letter to Santa (in its entirety):
We're expecting a foot of snow here in Maine today, and when Max is done making his snow angels and his snowmen and burying himself with a "Mommy, try to find me!," he'll come bursting in when the sun goes down to help me light our menorah, and then he'll open his presents. I already know what his present to me is: an adorable reindeer made out of popsicle sticks and puff balls. He's getting a telescope, his beloved Bakugon creatures and Pokeman cards, a stuffed Momo and Appa from the TV show we watch together every night (the super wonderful The Avatar), books, and a magic beads set. 
Melissa 