Synopses & Reviews
On the towering stilettos of
The Devil Wears Prada comes a biting, mordantly funny debut novel about the extremely unladylike business of publishing a very ladylike magazine.
Once there was a little girl from Fargo, North Dakota, named Maggie Goldfarb who grew up, moved to Manhattan, and morphed into Magnolia Gold, the highly paid editor in chief of Lady magazine. With a corner office, a designer wardrobe, and dozens of loyal employees, Magnolia has been hired to update the dowager of women's magazines. She's on her way to giving Lady a face-lift when she is ignominiously replaced by Bebe Blake, a brash television personality who remakes the magazine in her own hilariously inappropriate image. With her ketchup-red hair, skintight clothes, and penchant for "boy toys," Bebe is more out of control than a speeding limo. Maddeningly unpredictable, she confounds everyone at the newly christened Bebe with her personal vision of what a women's magazine should be, and baffles them further with her bawdy sense of humor and over-the-top generosity.
Shunted off to the darkest corners of executive purgatory an overlooked back office she shares with a cockroach or two Magnolia seethes from the sidelines as Bebe turns her beloved, once-profitable Lady into a sideshow. As things go from bad to worse, Magnolia fears that her career will never recover, but even she can't predict how deeply satisfying her eventual triumph will be. And not just at work: amidst the frenzy of backstabbing at the office, Magnolia finds Mr. Right in a city of Mr. Not-Quites.
Inspired by real-life events, Little Pink Slips is about the fall, rise, and sweet revenge of a woman who witnesses corporate shenanigans at their most flagrant. Filled with gossipy revelations about celebrity obsession and behind-the-scenes details of the media business in all its malfeasant glory, this novel is delicious, can't-stop-reading fun.
Review
"In the realm of pampered-heroine escapist reading, Little Pink Slips is a semi-success." New York Times
Review
"Little Pink Slips is notable not for its plot...but for the many grace notes in the writing." Wall Street Journal
Review
"Too many oddly inserted characters and a bland romantic subplot make the story clunky and detract from an otherwise interesting peek at the magazine publishing world." Library Journal
Review
"Breezy glimpse into the behind-the-scenes shenanigans of modern celebrity culture and the women's-magazine business." Kirkus Reviews
Synopsis
?This year?s The Devil Wears Prada? (New York Post)? from a former magazine publishing insider. Inspired by her own experiences behind the scenes, Sally Koslow wryly ?pokes at corporate greed, celeb worship, and the search for Mr. Right? (People)?
At 37, Magnolia Gold (nee Maggie Goldfarb of Fargo, North Dakota) is the youngest editor-inchief ever to wield a red pen at Lady magazine. And with her loyal staff, parties, and Manolos, she no longer feels out of place.
Enter Bebe Blake, loudmouth television personality and Fashion Don?t. To Magnolia?s horror, her boss has not only given her job to Bebe, he?s also turning Lady into Bebe. And Magnolia will be relegated to a roach-infested back office. Now she?ll just have to watch as her beloved mag turns rag. With Bebe all over the cover. In bike shorts?
Synopsis
A husband's secret upends a pampered widow's life, from the author of The Late, Lamented Molly Marx Sally Koslow’s fourth novel is deftly told through the alternating viewpoints of her three remarkable female protagonists as they find the grit to survive devastating losses and reinvent their lives. Warm and witty, The Widow Waltz will appeal to readers of Cathleen Schine's The Three Weissmanns of Westport, Hilma Wolitzer, Elizabeth Berg, Anna Quindlen, and J. Courtney Sullivan.
Ben Silver had it all—a successful law practice, a New York apartment overlooking Central Park, a beach house, fine art, club memberships. Yet when a massive coronary fells him while training for the New York City Marathon, it’s revealed that his life was a lie. He’s left his wife, Georgia Waltz, and their two daughters almost penniless.
Georgia must now rally to support her family while mourning a husband whose private enigmas keep surfacing. To her surprise, she also discovers that it may even be possible to find new love in the land of Spanx and wrinkles. Meanwhile, her daughters must face the responsibilities of adulthood that they have avoided and put their hidden talents to work.
Synopsis
This heartfelt, witty addition to womens fiction will appeal to fans of Elizabeth Berg and Anna Quindlen.” (Booklist)
Georgia Waltz has things many people only dream of: a plush Manhattan apartment overlooking Central Park, a Hamptons beach house, valuable jewels and art, two bright daughters, and a husband she adores, even after decades of marriage. Its only when Ben suddenly drops dead from a massive coronary while training for the New York City Marathon that Georgia discovers her husbanda successful lawyerhas left them nearly penniless. Their wonderland was built on lies.
As the family attorney scours emptied bank accounts, Georgia must not only look for a way to support her family, she needs to face the revelation that Ben was not the perfect husband he appeared to be, just as her daughtersnow ensconced back at home with secrets of their ownhave to accept that they may not be returning to their lives in Paris and at Stanford subsidized by the Bank of Mom and Dad. As she uncovers hidden resilience, Georgias sudden midlife shift forces her to consider who she is and what she truly values. That Georgia may also find new love in the land of Spanx and stretch marks surprises everyonemost of all, her.
Sally Koslows fourth novel is deftly told through the alternating viewpoints of her remarkable female protagonists as they plumb for the grit required to reinvent their lives. Inspiring, funny, and deeply satisfying, The Widow Waltz explores in a profound way the bonds between mothers and daughters, belligerent siblings, skittish lovers, and bitter rivals as they discover the power of forgiveness, and healing, all while asking, What is family, really?”
Synopsis
This heartfelt, witty addition to womens fiction will appeal to fans of Elizabeth Berg and Anna Quindlen.” (Booklist)
Georgia Waltz has things many people only dream of: a plush Manhattan apartment overlooking Central Park, a Hamptons beach house, valuable jewels and art, two bright daughters, and a husband she adores, even after decades of marriage. Its only when Ben suddenly drops dead from a massive coronary while training for the New York City Marathon that Georgia discovers her husbanda successful lawyerhas left them nearly penniless. Their wonderland was built on lies.
As the family attorney scours emptied bank accounts, Georgia must not only look for a way to support her family, she needs to face the revelation that Ben was not the perfect husband he appeared to be, just as her daughtersnow ensconced back at home with secrets of their ownhave to accept that they may not be returning to their lives in Paris and at Stanford subsidized by the Bank of Mom and Dad. As she uncovers hidden resilience, Georgias sudden midlife shift forces her to consider who she is and what she truly values. That Georgia may also find new love in the land of Spanx and stretch marks surprises everyonemost of all, her.
Sally Koslows fourth novel is deftly told through the alternating viewpoints of her remarkable female protagonists as they plumb for the grit required to reinvent their lives. Inspiring, funny, and deeply satisfying, The Widow Waltz explores in a profound way the bonds between mothers and daughters, belligerent siblings, skittish lovers, and bitter rivals as they discover the power of forgiveness, and healing, all while asking, What is family, really?”
About the Author
Sally Koslow, who was born and raised in Fargo, North Dakota, is the former editor-in-chief of McCall's magazine. Married and the mother of two sons, she lives in New York City. Little Pink Slips is her first novel.