Bad Reputation

In this whip-smart workplace romance from the author of Chick Magnet, a former teen star and an accidental intimacy coordinator have a plan to fix their images—and falling in love would ruin everything.

Cole James’s reputation as Hollywood’s favorite himbo no longer suits him. His fans can’t separate the real man from the character he played on a soapy teen drama decades ago. But that’s going to change with Waverley, the hit streaming historical romance series.

Maggie Niven hates her own notoriety. Fired for directing a divisive play, Maggie takes her fight against censorship public. When Hollywood comes calling, she becomes the new intimacy coordinator for Waverley. But it’s harder than she imagined to focus on the job.

Cole isn’t what she expected—and Maggie is more than he dreamed of. As filming gets underway, the cast’s old traumas lead to real intimacy, and Cole and Maggie struggle with feelings they shouldn’t have. Having an affair on set could destroy his comeback and her new career.

The show must go on. But if Cole and Maggie want a happy ending, they’ll have to start doing things their own way.

Kindle/KU / Audible /  Books2Read / Goodreads

  • How long is Bad Reputation? 92,000 words, or single-title length.
  • What’s the heat level? Open door but not erotic.
  • Are there any content notes? 
    Click here for content notes!on-page sex and alcohol use; profanity; references to book banning/censorship; references to sexual harassment, assault, and intimidation by a boss in backstory; parental disapproval in backstory; risk of being fired.
  • What inspired you to write the book? Back in 2015, I wrote a book set during a film festival about a sweet beta hero falling for a hardware store owner. This is the “delete of all that and completely rewrite it but keep the basic dynamic” version. It’s about how our reputations can be false and how the people we love see the real us. It’s about why you should take a stand, even if that costs you–especially if it costs you. And it’s about how media censorship is wrong and steamy scenes can be a vital part of movies (and books). You can check out the book playlist here and the Pinterest board here.
  • Is there any bonus content? Yes! I wrote a 16,000 word (about 60 page) companion novella called Double Take about the journalists Libby and Jack sharing a cottage and falling for each other when they visit the Waverley set; you can download it here. I always share this kind of thing with my newsletter subscribers first; you can sign up here.
  • Are Tasha and Ryan getting a book? When I was working on the previous iteration of Bad Reputation, I wrote a substantial portion of Tasha and Ryan’s story. Except I would basically have to start over to match what Bad Reputation became. I would love to do that; however in order to justify the time, Bad Reputation would need to be a pretty big hit. So never say never, but I don’t have any definite plans for it.
  • I’d like to review the book. Awesome! I hope you love it, but if you don’t, I support your right to review it honestly however and wherever you want. Reviews are for readers not writers. While bad reviews are unpleasant, I’ll live and I won’t harass you about it. Promise.

Here’s some of the promo and interviews I’ve done for Bad Reputation: