Here’s a great premise from young author (who also hapens to be gorgeous - check out that author pic!) who has met with publishing success in this doom-and-gloom economy: To her family and friends, Jennifer is an investment banker with too little time on her hands to date. In reality, Jennifer is an undercover ”temptress” sleuth who goes by the name Ashlyn and specializes in testing the fidelity of spouses with dubious inclinations.
The Fidelity Files has already hit the Denver Post bestsellers’ list and is being released in the UK, France, Germany, the Czech Republic, Russia, and Taiwan. Can you say ‘wow’?
Here’s the author, Jessica Brody, in her own words:
Do you put your friends in your books? Names, incidents, characteristics? Have any of them recognized themselves in a not-so-good way?
My friends are definitely in my books. There’s one in particular that stands out. One of Jen’s friends, Zoë, has a bad case of road rage. And she tends to talk on the phone while she drives, so Jen often finds herself on the phone with Zoë while she’s cursing out another driver. I have a friend who does that and that’s where I got the idea. This friend has read the book but I’m not sure how she feels about the similarities. She acts like she’s fine with it, but I guess you never know. She could secretly be totally offended. (I am so psyched Jessica admits to this… to all those authors out there who venhemently deny this: I’M NOT BUYING!)
Which ’craft’ book has inspired or helped you the most throughout your writing career?
I can’t sing enough praise for Save the Cat by Blake Snyder. It has “saved” so many manuscripts of mine. It’s meant for screenwriters but it works flawlessly for novels as well. It’s just a very intuitive way to write stories and make sure the audience isn’t bored to tears because nothing is happening for fifty pages. Now, I consult the book before I even start writing and I use his “beat sheet” to help me outline the major story points. It saves me so much time later on! (I actually saw Blake in person in San Fran earlier this year and he’s GREAT. I ran to the Borders across the street to buy the book but they were out… thanks for reminding me to order it!)
Do you write from a character or from a plot idea?
I’m definitely more driven by character. I like thinking up interesting characters with intriguing back stories and then forming a world around them. Like, “Wouldn’t it be cool if there was a story about a woman who tests men’s fidelity for a living?” Then I go forward from there. “What would her life be like?” And “What kind of interesting things would happen to someone like that?”
What other art form inspires you as much as writing?
Before I started writing full time, I actually dabbled a bit in songwriting. One of my songs even won a songwriting competition. But I soon realized that I could only write song lyrics after I’d had my heart totally stomped on and destroyed by some dumb, stupid boy. Apparently, that was the outlet for my pain. And so once I found myself in a good relationship, the song lyrics stopped coming. I have to say, though, I don’t really miss them! (Wow… how talented is this girl??)
Now that you are published, what (if anything) have you changed about your writing routine?
I hate to say it, but I tend to procrastinate a lot more now than I ever did before I got published. I think there’s something about that desperation for a book deal that keeps you on track. Now, I just find so many other things to do. It’s really bad! In terms of actual writing, I think I’ve definitely grown as a writer since I got published and I’m learning to trust my instincts more when it comes to what is working and what isn’t. I used to fight that voice inside that says, “This scene really sucks,” convinced that I wasn’t experienced to know what I was talking about. Now, when I hear that voice, I listen and start pounding on that delete key.
Thanks for a wonderful interview Jessica!
