It seems as if I’ve known Melissa Senate for years—we’ve been on a few of the same online writing groups since we were young and innocent writers…As if we ever were! I’m excited to have her visit today to talk about her newest novel, The Secret of Joy (don’t you love the cover).

Welcome, Melissa! Tell me a little about your book.

A: 28-year-old New Yorker Rebecca Strand is shocked when her dying father confesses a devastating secret: he had affair when Rebecca was a toddler—and a baby he turned his back on at birth. Now, his wish is that the daughter he abandoned, Joy Joyhawk, read the unsent letters he wrote to her every year on her birthday. Determined to fulfill her father’s wish, Rebecca drives to a small town in Maine—against the advice of her lawyer boyfriend who’s sure Joy will be a “disappointing, trashy opportunist” and demand half her father’s fortune. But when hopeful Rebecca knocks on her half-sister’s door, Joy—a separated mother who conducts weekend singles tours out of her orange mini-bus—wants nothing to do with Rebecca or the letters her father wrote to her. Determined to forge some kind of relationship with Joy, Rebecca sticks around, finding unexpected support from Joy’s best clients—the Divorced Ladies Club of Wiscasset—and a sexy carpenter named Theo . . . .

What got you writing in the genre in which you write

A: My voice, and the book inside me for years, was very much chick lit. The timing on the market opening up for it and my sitting down to write my first novel, See Jane Date, was just pure happy luck. As my life—and my writing—has changed, so has the market. I’d say The Secret of Joy is a happy hybrid of chick lit and women’s fiction.

Favorite thing about being a writer?

A: Figuring out how I feel about something via a fictional character. I was inspired to write The Secret of Joy because I didn’t know how I felt about an email I received out of the blue: I think you might be my half sister. I was. Am. I fictionalized the scenario and sent my characters off to help me answer my burning questions. Love that about writing fiction. You can really explore how you feel from the safety of someone else’s life. Well, fictional life.

Least favorite thing about being a writer?

A: When the words won’t come!

What is the most interesting thing that’s happened to you since becoming a published author?

A: Since my debut in 2001, I’ve: been taped for Oprah (but ended up on the cutting room floor), had my debut made into TV movie, gotten married, had baby, gotten divorced and a few more interesting things, but maybe the most unexpected is that there’s a question about me in the 20^th Anniversary Edition of Trivial Pursuit: Which 2001 Melissa Senate title attempts to lure young female readers to romance by hearkening back to Dick and Jane. Answer: See Jane Date. That was unexpected!

What’s your favorite type of pie?

A: Pumpkin pie and the season for it is here!! It’s always pumpkin pie season for me, but the best bakeries and restaurants will have it for the next few weeks. Yum.

Jessica Brody’s back with Love Under Cover, which I know you will love. Her debut novel, The Fidelity Files, a smart, sassy comeuppance to every cheating man out there, has done gangbusters and is in development for a television program, so keep your eyes out for it. The story continues in Love Under Cover:

In her job, she’s an expert on men…

In her own relationship, she doesn’t have a clue.

Boyfriend behaving badly? Suspect your husband of straying? Jennifer Hunter can supply the ultimate test. She runs a company which specializes in conducting fidelity inspections for those who suspect their loved ones are capable of infidelity.

An expert on men, Jennifer can usually tell if they’re single, married or lying… Unfortunately, her new boyfriend, Jamie, is one of the few men that she’s never been able to ‘read.’ Has she finally found the perfect man or is he too good to be true?

A captivating new novel from the bestselling author of The Fidelity Files.

Available November 10, wherever books are sold.

Praise:

Currently in development as a TV series by the executive producer of Crash!

“With a complicated, sympathetic protagonist, worthy stakes and a clever twist on the standard chick lit narrative, Brody will pull readers in from the first page.”

– Publisher’s Weekly

“Those who enjoyed Brody’s debut will be eager to catch up with Jennifer, but newcomers will be intrigued, too…an honest, witty portrayal of modern love.”

– Booklist

“With her usual smart, deft, and witty prose, Brody delves deep into the psychology of a woman who tests the fidelity of strangers for a living but struggles with commitment in her own life.”

– Joanne Rendell, author of Crossing Washington Square and The Professors’ Wives’ Club

Thanks for stopping by, Jessica! Tell me a little about your book.

LOVE UNDER COVER is the compelling story of a woman who runs a “fidelity inspection” agency, hired by suspicious spouses to test the faithfulness of their loved ones. Although at work she may be an expert on men, in her own relationship, she doesn’t have a clue…

What got you writing in the genre in which you write?

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.

Favorite thing about being a writer?

Pulling your first author copy out of the box.

Least favorite thing about being a writer?

The waiting. It’s brutal . You wait to get published. Then you wait for revision notes. Then you wait for comments on the revisions. Then you wait to see your cover. Then you wait for the book to come out. Then you wait for royalty statements. Then you wait to see if your publisher buys your next book option. Then you start all over again.

What is the most interesting thing that’s happened to you since becoming a published author?

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!

What’s your favorite type of pie?

Okay, random question! I had to read that twice to make sure my eyes weren’t glazing over. I’ll have to say anything a la mode.

Trailer:

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About the Author:

Jessica Brody graduated from Smith College in Massachusetts with degrees in economics and French. In 2005, she left her job at MGM Studios in Los Angeles to become a full-time freelance writer and producer. Jessica currently lives in Los Angeles, where she is working on her next novel. Visit Jessica’s website at:www.JessicaBrody.com

– Commercial Fiction -November 2009 – St. Martin’s Press

The Karma Club – Young Adult Fiction – April 2010 – Farrar, Straus, Giroux

The Fidelity Files – Commercial Fiction -Available Now! – St. Martin’s Press

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Book trailers, reviews, excerpts and more at: www.JessicaBrody.com

Ommmmmm....

Sometimes I’m startled that I am as old as I am. Because despite the maturity that comes with age, I can’t help but occasionally revert back to juvenile middle-school behavior that I’d thought I’d outgrown.

In my attempt to be mature and worldly, I enrolled several years ago in my first yoga class. I needed to learn how to chill out a little bit, and figured being in touch with my inner Zen would help to center my balance, achieve yin-yang, and maybe I’d get a little feng-shui thrown in for good measure.

It was great. First class, I learned my sun salutation, stretched limbs so tight from lack of use that they deserved to snap like tree branches. My teacher, a former type-A New Yorker-turned-Yogaville devotee whose chosen Yoga name, Suraya, more closely resembled that of an Indian guru than someone from the Bronx, was very serene. His soothing voice tranquilized even the tensest of class members: me. In his calm coaxing tone, he encouraged us to rid our minds of any pollutants, to focus on our center, and be at peace within. Fine, I was on the same page at this point. I’d really started feeling that I could change, become a woman unfettered by the stresses of life.

The final fifteen minutes of class were devoted to complete relaxation. Cool, I thought. That is right up my Type-A alley. We all lay on the floor, eyes closed, focused on our own inner universe. The mesmerizing music on the boom box washed over me as Suraya talked us through letting go of whatever tensions remained. He began with the toes, worked his way up ever so gradually to calves, knees, thighs.

And then came the clincher.

“Relax your anal sphincter,” he said, as serious as an executioner, not even remotely cracking a smile.

What? That’s impossible. First of all, It defies the laws of nature. And secondly, even if we could, just think how nasty that would be! We can’t do that, I thought. Like a naughty kindergartener whose head is supposed to be face down on the desk during naptime, I snuck glances all around me. No one but me thought that was the funniest line ever uttered.

I could feel my laughter erupting, and from my unrelaxed belly it rose. I tried desperately to suppress it, but it was of no use. I cackled so loudly that the entire class opened their once-relaxed eyelids and glared directly at me. Even Suraya looked a bit uptight.

As the class drew to a close, the peaceful silence destroyed, I slunk from the room, somewhat embarrassed at my level of immaturity. But I actually felt more relaxed, having belted out a good belly laugh.

Yes, I realize I have gone from middle school to middle age, but isn’t it nice to know that you don’t always have to totally grow up?

Less than five months till Winging It wings into bookstores!