Sometimes Life Imitates Art. And Sometimes Life Imitates Really Bad Art. . . Rebecca Abbots life has just gone from vintage feather boas to boring office casual. Thanks to Sylvie Arnauds heart attack, shes out of a job. But its Sylvies French, vaguely famous name on Rebeccas creatively embellished resume that lands her an associate editor position at romance heavyweight Candlelight Books. Editing is a far cry from scouting out exotic groceries, which is pretty much all Rebecca did for Sylvie, but Candelight is offering an actual salary to go with her positions actual workload, and the rent is way overdue on the railroad flat she shares with her friend Wendy and her mooching ex, wanna-be writer Fleishman. Working for Candlelight is nothing like the plots of their syrupy novels, though. In fact, its a lot like being stuck in an estrogen-heavy Fellini film. Between protecting her back from rival editor Cassies repeated stabs, attempting a relationship with a sexy literary agent, wondering about Fleishmans new secret "project," and discovering her first truly talented author, Rebeccas learning that the business of romance is hardly a nine-to-five thing--and that editing out all her mistakes will never lead her to "happily ever after. . . " Liz Ireland spent the better part of her twenties in New York City, pursuing her artistic dreams (i. e. working retail) and learning to cook frugally with lentils. She was an assistant editor at a well-known monolith of romance publishing when she decided to chuck it all and run away to Austin, Texas, where for several years she dedicated herself to the fine art of hanging out. Liz is now tied down to several pets and a husband and lives a mushroomly existence in the Pacific Northwest, where she is hard at work on her next novel for Strapless.