FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

• Deepak Chopra is in your book trailer! How did you make that happen?
• How did you get the idea for The Fidelity Files?
• Is there any talk about turning The Fidelity Files into a movie or TV show?
• Where did you grow up?
• How do you write your novels? Do you have a process that you follow?
• What are you working on right now?
• Who are some of your favorite writers?
• Do you have any hobbies or interests?
• Can you come to our book club meeting?
• How did you become a full-time writer? Did you always know that's what you wanted to do?
• Do you have any advice for aspiring writers?

Deepak Chopra is in your book trailer! How did you make that happen?

I guess you could say it happened to me! Although I don't believe in accidents or coincidences. I believe the universe lines up exactly the way it's supposed to and this is proof! When I wrote The Karma Club a few years back, I put a character in the novel named Rajiv that was inspired by one of my favorite spiritual teachers, Deepak Chopra. Two years later, as I was returning from New York on a trip to visit my publishers I was sitting on an Wi-Fi enabled flight, checking Twitter and Deepak's latest tweet was on my screen. Well, the man sitting next to me noticed, tapped me on the shoulder and said, "That's my dad."

It turned out I was sitting next to Deepak Chopra's son! Gotham Chopra (also a writer) and I started chatting, exchanged contact information and a few months later I asked if he thought his dad would be interested in making a cameo appearance in my newest book trailer, playing the character that he inspired. He said, "Possibly," and the next thing I new, I got a call from Deepak himself saying that he'd love to participate! It was unbelievable.

So I, my lead actress and my crew traveled down to the Chopra Center in Carlsbad, CA to shoot our big cameo scene. Deepak was a pro. So generous with his time and just an overall joy to be around. We shot the scene and voila! A Deepak cameo!

Now if that isn't a story of universal alignment, I don't know what is!

How did you get the idea for The Fidelity Files?

The concept for this book came to me when I was attending a happy hour at a bar in Los Angeles. I was there with a friend and a bunch of her colleagues, some of which were married. I found myself curiously observing the interactions between the 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.”

Some of the disturbing things that I witnessed as I watched alcohol cloud people’s judgment and the bar environment offset any trained workplace behavior 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-related 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.

In a sense, the “Ashlyn” character of the book is the mask that I always wanted to wear. A façade behind which I could hide as I watched my fantasies of exposing the truth come to life on the page. I believe we are all afraid of feeling vulnerable on some level. We all fear the painful emotions that come with betrayal. My greater purpose in writing The Fidelity Files was to explore these fears so that I could offer a message of faith and hope despite them. Because if someone who makes their living as a fidelity inspector can believe in love despite everything she’s seen, it shouldn’t be that hard for the rest of us.

Is there any talk about turning The Fidelity Files into a movie or TV show?

The television rights of The Fidelity Files have been optioned to Marina Grasic of Curious Pictures (she executive produced CRASH!). She would really like to turn it into a television show. This doesn't mean it will necessarily become one but it's a step in the right direction. I'll keep posting updates of the show's progress on my blog.

Where did you grow up?

I was born in Los Angeles but we moved when I was 12. We went to a small town in Colorado that no one has ever heard of. It's called Franktown. See, I told you you'd never heard of it. Although I loved Colorado and its beautiful scenery, I missed the warm weather, the beaches and even the smog a little. So I moved back to L.A. after I graduated from College.

How do you write your novels? Do you have a process that you follow?

The writing process is very random for me. It all depends on the day. Because I tend to be equally right and left brained, sometimes I feel as though the writing process is just a constant struggle (or sometimes clash) between the two sides of my brain to come up with a consistent way to write a novel. I write outlines, because my analytical side tells me it’s the right thing to do, but then halfway through the story, I come to the conclusion that I only write outlines so that I’ll have something to deviate from. I create complicated spreadsheets (a nod back to my days as a strategic analyst) for my storylines and page counts and pacing only to abandon them halfway through. And yet, despite this seemingly random chaos, it all feels perfectly natural to me. As if it was designed specifically for a purpose. So I suppose, my lack of a defined process is a process in itself.

What are you working on right now?

Wow, where do I begin? Marina Grasic, the producer of The Fidelity Files TV show has been gracious enough to keep me involved in the development process so it's been fun to collaborate with her team and sit in on all the development meetings!

On the writing side, I'm working on another young adult novel (still untitled) which will be out in Spring 2011 from FSG. I also have a new young adult series in the works about time travel. It's called RETRO GIRL and I hope for it to be released next year.

Who are some of your favorite writers?

Some of my favorite authors who not only have entertained me into the wee hours of the morning but have also influenced me and inspired me to write and write better are: Sophie Kinsella, Emily Giffin, Lisa Lutz, Alyson Noël, Helen Fielding, Beth Harbison, Stephenie Meyer, Scott Westerfeld, and Philippa Gregory. All amazing story tellers with their own unique entertaining style.

Do you have any hobbies or interests?

I guess it’s safe to say that my biggest hobby is my job! It definitely takes up most of my time and when you work for yourself, your job tends to stop being separate from your life; it starts to become your life. But I don’t mind it in the slightest; I love what I do!

But I also love to travel, read, play poker, watch TV (Desperate Houswives, Dexter, Weeds, and The Tudors are some of my favorites) and play board games. I’m a very competitive person when it comes to board games. I take the art of picking teams for Pictionary VERY seriously. Although recently, board games have been replaced with Guitar Hero. When I’m standing in my living room, rocking out to Pearl Jam on my little plastic guitar, I actually feel very cool!

Can you come to our book club meeting?

If your book club is in the Los Angeles area, I would love to try. Schedule permitting, I'm also happy to call in to a book club outside of the LA area. Please contact me at: email@jessicabrody.com to discuss further.

How did you become a full-time writer? Did you always know that's what you wanted to do?

In second grade, there was no doubt in my mind that I wanted to be a writer. That was when we first learned how to “self-publish” our own books. Our teachers brought out the cardboard, wall paper samples, electrical tape and rubber cement (at age 8, we were finally able to use rubber cement unsupervised!) and we would make book bindings and tape in our carefully type-writer printed masterpieces. From the minute I saw that first short story in “print”, I was hooked. I wanted more. I went home and wrote four more stories and brought them back the next day to get “published”. And when I had reached my second grade contracted publishing limit, I begged my mom to take me out to get some wall paper samples, cardboard and rubber cement so I could continue my publishing business at home. She obliged. I suppose she deemed it to be more productive than playing Super Mario Brothers all afternoon.

At that point in my life, when anyone asked what I wanted to be when I grew up, the answer was obvious. A writer, of course!

But then time took its toll, as did that common dose of rationality that comes with getting older: “Yes, art is all fine and good, but how will I make money?” The answer for me was a corporate job. One that comes with a degree in Economics and involves spread sheets and cost benefit analyses. So that’s what I majored in: Economics. With a double major in French so that I could broaden my horizons and build complicated spread sheets overseas as well.

Soon after college, I landed a strategic analyst position at MGM Studios, where I ran numbers (more spread sheets!) to help decide what films should be acquired by the studio and released on DVD. I liked this job a lot. My left-brained analytical side was extremely satisfied. But the other side wanted more.

I started writing my first novel on the side. Weekends, nights, lunch hours. It was hard to juggle both, but I made it work. Once I got back into writing, I knew that strategic analysis wasn’t the place for me. And on a trip back to my parents’ house for the holidays, I stumbled upon the box that housed my second grade collection. And I immediately wondered how I could have ignored such an obvious passion for so long.

In 2005, MGM laid off a vast majority of its employees after an acquisition by Sony. I interpreted it as a sign. I took my severance package and I vowed to make it last until I had a book deal. I took on several odd end jobs from Craigslist along the way—transcriber, receptionist, catering assistant, anything to keep me afloat. During that time,
I rewrote my first novel several times until I landed an agent. Then I re-wrote it again until I had a publishing contract. Shortly after that, I sold three more books and now I write full time.

The moral of my story is pretty obvious to me—everyone should have to choose their future occupation at age 7. It would save us all a whole lot of time and spreadsheets.

Do you have any advice for aspiring writers?

I have lots. So much so that we created a whole page dedicated to it. Click here to go directly to the "For Writers" section.

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Jessica's Books:

Love Under Cover

The Fidelity Files

The Karma Club