The Man Test
Contemporary Romance
Marin Johns is San Francisco’s Pollyanna couples therapist. She’s months away from wedded bliss when she discovers her fiancé is having an affair. After nursing her broken heart with Kleenex and break-up songs, she adopts a new brand of thinking when she uncovers a tell-all book that proves all men are liars and cheaters who will do and say anything so they’re not found out. No exceptions.In an attempt to convince her friends of her newfound truth, she begins a fictitious relationship with James, a do-gooder from Montana. Marin seeks any means necessary to catch him cheating from hiring a PI to enlisting the help of a fidelity tester. Will her new "boyfriend" beat the statistic or will Marin regret the satisfaction of being right?
Purchase
Quotes
1. "Haven’t you ever looked temptation in the face, known it was
wrong, said fuck it, and did it anyway?”
I
tried to look back at the various temptations in my life—one too many drinks,
one too many cookies, one too few condoms.
“It’s
not the same thing,” I said.
2. A
naked woman wrapped up in my once pristine white Egyptian cotton sheets laid
alone in my bed. My mind didn’t register anything about her other than that she
had no business being there.
3. In the midst of my quandary, it hit me
like a bolt of lightning. It was pure genius. The next words to come out of my
mouth would change my life forever.
"I’ll prove it to
you,” I said.
"I’ll start a fictitious relationship
with the next guy who asks me out, and I will show you that he is going to lie,
he is going to cheat, and he is going to break my fictitious heart. Then you
will know that it’s true.”
4. I
felt sorry for her. She probably had no idea he was a cheater, and likely a
serial one. Not to mention the fact that I was actually the other woman.
5. There I was with a bandage on my knee,
an ice cream cone in my hand, and a handsome man of possibilities. What a crazy
day.
6.
James was completely different. No smooth one-liners or attempts to take me
home. He was relaxed, friendly, considerate, a complete gentleman. I spent most
of the time observing him, trying to uncover even an ounce of liar, cheater, or
mistreater. I couldn’t see any. It was in there somewhere, and in time I would
reveal it. Then, I could prove, without a shred of doubt, that all men were
liars and cheaters.
About Amanda Askel
AMANDA (ah-MAHN-dah)- Latin- Meaning lovable or worthy of love.Fitting. I've always had an affinity for love.
Being born in sunny San Diego in the mid 80’s to a young military couple gave me plenty of insight into the dynamics of a romantic relationship. Somewhere between moving coasts every three years, I found myself engrossed in fairytale romances and dressing up like a bride.
My first real love was writing. By my sophomore year in a new high school in Virginia, I had a slew of short stories, songs, poems, and articles to my name. Writing was fun. It was a way to get the emotions, dialogue, and pictures out of my head, and create a destiny for my characters.
I had no intention of making a career in writing, because it wasn’t what I did, it was who I was. In reality, I wanted to be an actress. Ah, to be the face of someone else’s authored story. The plan was to move in with my aunt in L.A. after graduation, but had a change of heart. Instead, I stayed with my high school sweetheart (now husband) and attended a film school in Norfolk, VA. It was at this school that I discovered my love for writing screenplays and felt compelled to follow that path. But…as the practical girl I was brought up to be, I decided to go to a real university. While working full time, I completed my BA in Psychology in four and a half years. Becoming a couple’s therapist had always been my “backup” career and there I was on my way to solving love's most complicated quandaries one couple at a time.
With all my new free time after graduation, I decided to turn my full-length screenplay into a novel in hopes it would help my screenplay sell. I think I was in the middle of writing chapter two when I realized that everything I had ever written was to prepare me for that moment when I knew I was a novelist. Talk about the affirmation of my life. Now my plan is to solve love's most complicated quandaries one novel at a time.
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