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?
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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.
