Women Who Rock Wednesday: Jessica Brody!

Welcome to Women Who Rock Wednesday! Today we're going to get to know the fabulous author and rockin' lady Jessica Brody, who has a new novel out called Love Under Cover. Let's meet her, shall we?



Q: Your new book is called Love Under Cover and it's the sequel to the Fidelity Files. For those who haven't read the Fidelity Files can you tell us a bit what that is about and then tell us what Love Under Cover is about?

Jessica: Although Love Under Cover is technically a “sequel” I wrote it to stand on its own. You don’t have to have read The Fidelity Files to read Love Under Cover. In The Fidelity Files, my main character, Jennifer Hunter, works as an undercover “Fidelity Inspector,” hired by suspicious wives and girlfriends to test the faithfulness of the men in their lives. Then in the second book, Love Under Cover, she branches out to open her own agency and employs five full-time fidelity inspectors (and one of them is a man!) Meanwhile, at home, she’s trying to a balance a committed relationship of her own…which proves more difficult than she ever would have imagined.

Here's the book trailer:



Q: The concept behind the books is so fun and unique, can you talk about how you thought of it or what the inspiration behind it was?

Jessica: 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.

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.

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.

Q: If there was a soundtrack for Love Under Cover what are five songs that would be on it and how do they relate the story?

Jessica: Suspense by Carla Holden. It’s the song that’s playing in the background of my book trailer and I think I chose it for the trailer because it really represents my main character’s struggle with love and relationships. The chorus says, “Can you save me from the lack of belief and the suspense that I may never find anyone?”

Battlefield by Jordin Sparks because for Jennifer Hunter, love (and life) always feels like a battlefield.

Poker Face by Lady Gaga. As a fidelity inspector, my main character has a GREAT poker face!

Circus by Britney Spears. Jennifer Hunter is always juggling a million things at once.

Apologize by One Republic. You’ll have to read the book to find out how this one fits!

Q: I've heard Fidelity Files is in development for a TV show, can you tell us a bit about that?

Jessica: Of course! The Fidelity Files was optioned by Marina Grasic of Curious Pictures. She was an executive producer on the Academy Award winning film, CRASH! She optioned the book for 6 months and then just recently re-optioned for another six months which is an excellent sign! It means they still have faith in the project and aren’t giving up. The production company has attached an awesome TV writer who has really brought the concept to the next level and now they’re trying to get a television network to take on the show. We’ve all got our fingers very tightly crossed that it works out!

Q: Who were some of your inspirations to become a writer or the inspirations that keep you writing? Since it is Women Who Rock Wednesday, we love learning about the women especially, but feel free to tell us about the men too.

Jessica: Hands down, 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.

Q: I have two questions that I always ask my Women Who Rock, the first is a two-parter. What was the first album you bought and the first concert you attended? Be honest, we don't judge, we like to see the roots of our women who rock!

Jessica: Oh Gosh…are you sure you don’t judge!? Well, I don’t remember the first album I bought, but I definitely remember the first CD. I got a CD player for my 10th birthday and a gift certificate to Sam Goody. (Remember those?) Anyway, I went out that very night and bought Paula Abdul’s Forever Your Girl and I was definitely forever her girl…well, for about two years anyway.

And the first concert I ever attended was also Paula Abdul! What can I say, I was a HUGE fan! I had all her videos on tape!

Go ahead, judge away…I would if I were you. :)

Q: Tell us about your biggest rock star moment, perhaps it's a moment of real success in your career, a time when you met someone super cool and had that Wayne's World "I'm not worthy" moment, or just a time where you felt like you got the rock star treatment. I get a huge variety of answers for the questions, so it's pretty much whatever "rock star moment" means to you!

Jessica: Okay, rock star moment. Here it is. When my first book, The Fidelity Files, came out in France last year, my French publisher actually flew me out to Paris to promote it! It was a dream come true! I speak French almost fluently so I was able to conduct all my interviews in French, which was both nerve wrecking and exciting at the same time. Paris has always held a special place in my heart. I was a French major in college and I lived in Paris my junior abroad. Plus, I spent a month in Paris in 2005 finishing the novel so it was all very magical and kismet to be back there to see it in French book stores!

WOW!!! Talk about a rock star moment. And Jessica, I'm not judging you. I had that Paula Abdul album too, but on tape! And, Readers, if you are judging Jessica, you'll want to stop because she has a contest for you...

Today's Contest:

Jessica's putting a signed copy of Love Under Cover up for grabs for one lucky winner! As usual, all you have to do to enter is leave a comment and there are additional entries to be accrued:

+1 for blogging/tweeting/linking to this interview
+1 for blogging/tweeting about Jessica and Love Under Cover
+1 for blogging/tweeting/linking to the Love Under Cover trailer

Note your additional entries in your comment as well as your email address and I will draw the winner next Wednesday!