I really appreciate the opportunity to stop by and guest blog. My name is Cindy Kirk and my first contemporary romance for Avon is now on the shelves! The title is When She Was Bad…,which BTW was my working title for it, so I was pleased when they kept it.

What is the book about? Thank you for asking. In a nutshell (what is a nutshell anyway??)… When She Was Bad is about a woman who leads two lives. One as boring accountant Jenny Carman (this is who she really is) The other as sexy hairdresser Jasmine Coret (this is who she wishes she could be).

How did I get the idea for this book? Anyone out there ever make up a boyfriend or change your life facts to make yourself more interesting?? Since you can’t see me, I’ll tell you that my hand is now waving wildly in the air.

When I was a freshman in high school my girlfriend and I made up boyfriends. They were brothers. Mine was Robert (my hero’s name in this book) and hers was Joe. They were rich and cute and totally devoted to us. They also lived out of town…an easy way to explain why our other friends hadn’t met them.

Do I see some other hands in the air now? C’mon, I’m sure I’m not the only one….

As far as altering facts about my life…I’ve never done that but I have a funny story that happened to a friend. She went on a cruise, became friendly with a guy from New York and at the end of the cruise they decided to try a long distance relationship….problem was he had to tell her that he’d given her a made-up name and occupation at the beginning of the cruise!! Suddenly she was no longer interested in continuing a relationship with a liar.

That’s what happens in When She Was Bad. The lies start out innocent enough but soon Jenny is in over her head. Robert is everything she’s ever wanted (every bit as good as my made-up boyfriend) but she knows she’ll lose him if she tells the truth. I was stressed writing the book….worried they wouldn’t get together in the end. Okay….so that’s not quite the truth. I was worried I couldn’t bring them together in a convincing way…almost the same thing, right?

I’d love to hear your stories of made-up boyfriends and lies told in the name of fun. Please, please, please, don’t make me look like the only one who ever stretched the truth…