The Cinderella Pact

Soon to be a Lifetime movie called "Lying to be Perfect"

When Nola Devlin is turned down for her dream job because she's overweight, she decides to become thin-or, at least, pretend to be. The alter ego she creates-the thin, British, hip, and did we mention thin Belinda Apple-is a smashing success who is offered movie proposals, national television appearances and even dates...though no one's met her in person, of course.

Then Nola takes Belinda a bit too far, and is forced to join "The Cinderella Pact" and drop the pounds. As the weight comes off, however, Nola's problems begin to mount.

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In this funny and big-hearted story by the author of The Secret Lives of Fortunate Wives, three best friends make a pact to transform themselves into the glamorous women they've always wanted to be.

Nola Devlin has a secret identity. By day she is an overweight, frumpy, and overlooked editor at Sass! (the "celebrity magazine with an edge!"), but by night she slips behind her keyboard and into her alter-ego: Belinda Apple. Belinda is thin, gorgeous, British and the author of a trendy advice column- she is, in effect, the latest Carrie Bradshaw. Not even Nola's two best friends or her self-absorbed sister (who worships Belinda as the "sister she never had") know her secret.

When "Belinda" jots off a column about how easy it is to lose weight, Nola is shocked when her best friends take her own lies to heart and urge her to follow Belinda's weight loss program. Since Nola can't reveal herself as the real Belinda Apple, she bites the bullet and joins her friends in making the "Cinderella Pact"- a last ditch attempt to lose weight (again!) and transform their lives for good.

But as the pounds come off, things don't turn out the way the three friends expect. Their journey of self-discovery leads to the return of an old love and the unmasking of new problems. Meanwhile, Nola finds herself torn between two different men as she stomps out fires caused by her deception as Belinda Apple and falls in love with the man who just might be her prince - or the rat in coachman's clothing.

Library Journal

Strohmeyer's (The Secret Lives of Fortunate Wives; the "Bubbles Yablonsky" series) seventh novel is a modern Cinderella story starring a smart, funny, full-figured single woman in her thirties. Unhappy both with her weight and her low-level editorial job for celebrity magazine Sass!, Nola Devin embarks on a weight-reduction pact with her two best friends and applies for an opening at the magazine to become its new advice columnist. When her application is treated dismissively by her boss, the trim and tyrannical Lori DiGrigio, the undaunted Nola doctors an old photograph of herself and submits a fake r sum and application under the name of Belinda Apple. When Belinda is hired and becomes all the rage, the fun really begins. This contemporary fairy tale, complete with a Prince Charming, differs from the traditional primarily in that, with a little help from her friends, the lady effects her own transformation. Very enjoyable; recommended for all fiction collections.-Sheila Riley, Smithsonian Inst. Libs., Washington, DC Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

Sarah Strohmeyer has worked as a journalist for numerous publications, including Boston Globe, Cleveland Plain Dealer, and Salon.com. She lives with her husband and two children outside Montpelier, Vermont. Author website: sarahstrohmeyer.com and blog: lipstickchronicles.typepad.com.