I blush. Jamie has always had a way of making me do that. "I haven't become anyone else," I reply softly. "I'm just Jennifer."
"That's the only person I ever wanted you to be."
My eyes close as I try desperately to freeze-frame this moment in my mind so that I will be able to look back on it forever.
When they open again, I gaze out the window of my dad's office and can just make out the recognizable buildings of Paris in the distance. The cold, gray skies of March do nothing to cloud my mood.
"So this new 'partnership,' as you call it," I say, leaning back slightly and looking up at him. "Where is it supposed to take place? My life and work is in Paris now, and you still live in L.A."
But Jamie simply shrugs, as if this one tiny detail has never been an obstacle in his plan. "I think that part's negotiable."
acknowledgments
Well, well . . . here we are. Book two. I can hardly believe it. I never thought I would actually get to this point. There were many times, while writing this book, that I felt like a cyclist trying to complete the Tour de France . . . on a tricycle. Fortunately, I had a very fantastic support team, as evidenced by the next few pages.
Michael and Laura Brody, thank you once again for your constant (if not sometimes delusional) belief in me and my ability to actually make a living as a crazy person (aka "writer"). Charlie, thank you for keeping me (relatively) sane and making me laugh. You're the only person I know who has the ability to make bookends funny. To Terra, thanks once again for your fashion expertise. And to John, for being the closest thing to a brother I'll ever have!
I owe a tremendous amount of gratitude to my fabulous agent, Elizabeth Fisher, for your enthusiasm, sympathetic ear, and undying support. Thanks also to Monika Verma, Miek Coccia, Sasha Raskin, and everyone at Levine Greenberg for all your hard work on my books.
Thank you to my two amazing editors, Jennifer Weis and Hilary Teeman, for believing in Jennifer/Ashlyn enough to let her live on in a second book! And mucho thanks to all the fine people at St. Martin's for everything you do: Anne Marie Tallberg, Nadea Mina, Joseph Goldschein, Matthew Shear, Anne Bensson, Kerry Nordling, Jeanette Levy, Brittney Kleinfelter, Ellis Trevor, Christina Harcar, and everyone else who has worked on my books whom I've not yet had the privilege of meeting.
I also really want to thank all the foreign publishers who have put my work on bookshelves around the world and the incredible people I've had the honor to work with, including but certainly not limited to: Gillian Green, Hannah Robinson, Katie Johnson, Alex Young, Louise McKee, Liz Marvin, Edward Griffiths, Sarah Bennie, and Caroline Craig at Ebury Press in the UK; Deborah Drubah, Estelle Revelant, Nicolas Watrin, and Francois Laurent at Fleuve Noir in France (Je ne me souviens jamais mon voyage incroyable à Paris!); Anne Tente and Ursula C. Sturm at Heyne in Germany; Tsiu-lun Liu at OctA in Taiwan; and everyone at Ast in Russia and Metafora in the Czech Republic.
A huge shout goes out to Marina Grasic, Christina Hodson, Elyse Lawson, Dominie Mahl, and everyone at Curious Pictures. Thank you for believing in this concept and taking it above and beyond the pages of a book. And thanks to Margery Walshaw for bringing me to them!
To my wonderful and savvy entertainment lawyer, Mark Stankevich. Just the fact that I'm thanking my lawyer means that he's obviously not your typical lawyer (I know, a low-ball, cheap shot at lawyers, but I simply couldn't resist).
There are so many other people to thank as well that I simply cannot leave out: Jessen Gregory, for making sure my references to divorce law sounded at least somewhat plausible. Noemie Demol, for making sure I didn't completely embarrass myself on French television. Alyson Noël, for doing equal parts to inspire me with your success and help me procrastinate with your hilarious e-mails. I guess it all evens out in the end. Ella Gaumer, my first (and most devoted) fan. You'll always have a spot under my umbrella.
Once again, everyone who helped with the book trailer, I am incredibly indebted to you. Deprise Brescia, you continue to sparkle and shine as Ashlyn. Carla Holden, your beautiful voice, music, and lyrics took this trailer to new heights! Jerry Brunskill, there would be no trailer without you. And I mean that quite literally.
I also want to thank everyone at Yahoo's Primetime in No Time— Corey Moss, Frank Nicotero, Jason Fitzpatrick, and Nick Paschal— for putting up with my wordiness and allowing me to be just one of the guys (even if I'm still never invited to poker).
And last but never least, thanks to all the readers out there who took time out of their busy and important lives to read The Fidelity Files and now The Good Girl's Guide to Bad Men.
Your e-mails and Facebook messages are the reasons I keep writing. My only quest in life is to entertain you. I hope that I've succeeded.
Turn the page for an exclusive interview with Jessica Brody . . .
What was the inspiration for The Good Girl's Guide to Bad Men?
As soon as I finished writing my first novel, The Fidelity Files, I knew that Jennifer's journey wasn't over yet. Although she had seemed to find her happy ending there was so much more fun stuff I had in mind for another book that would continue her story but also stand on its own. Setting Jennifer up with an entire agency of fidelity inspectors (aka "honey traps") was definitely the first and foremost on my mind for the next instalment.
Plus, I really wanted to explore what a fidelity inspector would be like in a committed relationship. After everything she's seen—all the cheating, dishonesty, and betrayal—would she really be capable of settling down herself? So that's what I set out to focus on in this book.
Jennifer has a gift of being able to read people—men in particular—in the book, is it a gift you share?
Ha! I wish! I think my life would have been a lot easier if that were the case. Although, I must admit, I do really like observing people and trying to figure them out. Maybe that's why I became a writer, so I could create characters exactly how I saw them.
I do people watch and I tend to notice little things about them that others may not see. People tell me I can be very observant, when I'm not distracted by something more pressing . . . like food.
I'd like to think that when I spot a guy and think, "he's definitely the cheating type," or when I see a couple in a restaurant and think, "they're clearly on the verge of splitting up," that I'm right, but because I don't follow these people home, I guess I'll never know.
What was so great about creating Jennifer Hunter/Ashlyn was the ability to be right. I could invent a secondary character, give him a characteristic that I notice in real people, and then have Jennifer "read" him and be spot on about it. It's almost like I'm living vicariously through her!
What's your best advice for telling a good guy from the bad?
Well, I always tell women that their instinct is their number one line of defence. Listen to it! If a guy seems too good to be true, he just might be! Bad boys like to disguise themselves in sheep's clothing. They give off the air of perfection to conceal what's really underneath. Because they know revealing it might scare you away. Also, a criminal record is a pretty good sign.
Who would be on your top five list of bad boys you can't resist?
Actually, I tend to prefer the wholesome, clean-cut "good" boys to the bad ones. I guess I've seen too much in my life and lived through far too many bad boy heartbreaks, I would hope that I'd know better by now! But I'd be lying if I said these five "bad boys" don't cause my heart to flutter just a tad faster than it should!
1) Robert Pattinson
2) Jonathan Rhys Meyers
3) Chase Crawford (I'm not sure he's really that bad, but he sure is cute!)
4) Cam Gigandet
5) Christian Bale
And the good guys?
Okay, this is a bit easier:
1) Adam Brody
2) Ben Affleck (I think he's "good" now that he's settled down with a kid!)
3) Zach Braff
4) Josh Radnor (from How I Met Your Mother)
5) Prince William (even if
he wasn't heir to the throne, he'd still make my top 5!)
Which fictional character would you most like to have round for dinner? Um, Edward Cullen, of course! Although after dinner, I'd probably ask him to stick around for a drink, a movie, coffee, and then who knows where it might lead. I'm not to be held responsible (or accountable) for fictional dinner dates with hot vampires.
If you weren't a writer, what job would you love to try out?
Ooh, there are tons! So many, in fact, I'm thinking of writing a book about a girl who gets to try all of them! Just so I can live vicariously through her next.
To name a few: blackjack dealer in Vegas, dog day care owner, cupcake chef, pop star, website designer, movie studio exec, school teacher, and spiritual guru.
Which book has made you laugh? Which book has made you cry?
Anything Sophie Kinsella writes is beyond hilarious. She cracks me up every time! And The Spellman Files by Lisa Lutz is also laugh-aloud funny. The Time Traveller's Wife brought me to tears. But in the best possible way. It was truly a beautiful story. I wish I had amnesia so I could read it again for the first time.
Which book would you never have on your bookshelf?
Any form of textbook. I got rid of those first thing out of school!
Is there a particular book or author that inspired you to be a writer?
Yes, definitely. Helen Fielding is the reason I'm writing today. When I read Bridget Jones' Diary back in college, my life changed. It was the first book I'd read for "pleasure" (rather than for a school assignment) in a long time and I'd forgotten how entertaining and fun books could be. I knew right then and there that I wanted to write to entertain people. Just as Helen Fielding had entertained me.
What is your favourite word?
Hmm . . . that's a tough one. I don't know if I have just one favourite word, I like so very many of them, but I definitely have a least favourite word and that's "panties." God, I hate that word! I cringe just writing it here!
Why do you write?
I once heard someone say, "Dancers dance because they have to." I really loved that and I think it's the same for writers. I definitely have to write. Like I have to breathe. If I don't, I get very stir crazy. All of that energy has to come out somehow and for me, it comes out in words. Lots and lots of words. Some of them are actually worth publishing.
Which book are you reading at the moment?
As always, I'm reading many at one time. I'm trying to get through the Harry Potter series before the next movie comes out so I'm in the middle of book 4 now. I know, I know . . . where have I been? I just finished Blue Moon, the second book in Alyson Noel's new Immortal series and it was ah-mazing. And I've recently started on the Sookie Stackhouse series by Charlaine Harris. I really want to read the books before I watch the True Blood show . . . I'm very strict about always reading the books first!
What are you working on at the moment?
Right now, I've got some really fun stuff in the works. I've been revising a manuscript which is going to be the first book in a new young adult series about time travel. I'm really excited about it! Also, I'm working on another young adult book that will be out in the states on 2011 and hopefully in the UK too! And I've been kicking around some ideas for my next adult book. I like to keep very busy. Idleness is my worst enemy!
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