from NewYorkSocialDiary.com
First-time novelist Bridie Clark has never done time in a federal prison, nor has she ever seen combat action. But the willowy 29-year-old did serve her own hellish tour of duty, working in the trenches as an editor for a recently-disgraced publishing czarina known for her abrasive behavior and her penchant for the lowest of lowbrow commercialism (yes, we're talking about Judith Regan). Ms. Clark survived the experience, and her new novel, Because She Can, is a testament to this tenure, if not an outright diary.
Like The Devils Wears Prada, Clark's roman a clef (which came out last week and was celebrated last night, in a hedge fund-sponsored style grand enough to bring the esteemed David Patrick Columbia way downtown) offers an insider's look at a world that the general public persists on viewing as glamorous, complete with a fashion-conscious young heroine and a villainous female foil (not to mention the illustrated cover art). But does Vivian Grant, Ms. Clark's "composite" of bad bosses, live up to the real Judith Regan? Given all the ugly facts that have surfaced in the wake of her very public firing from Harper Collins, it seems that truth may actually be meaner than fiction in this case, and we're not the only ones to note this.
Eat The Press spoke with Ms. Clark about the perils of chick lit, getting panned by gossip queen Liz Smith and obscenely bad bosses who may or may have said that the media is run by a Jewish cabal that is "out to get her."
Is Vivian Grant, who is your protagonist's bitchy boss, Judith Regan?
No. Not exactly. It genuinely is a composite. I've been reading these pieces that draw an exact parallel, but it's a composite. I think the experience of having a hellacious boss is universal.
That seems hard to believe, given all the high-decibel material you had to draw from. Working under her must have left an imprint, if you will.
Yes, definitely, working for Judith had a huge impact on me. Judith's a force of nature-- both creative and destructive, often at the same time. But I also learned a lot and had a chance to work with some great authors. I escaped without much permanent damage.
Yet you and your publisher seem to be maintaining this arm's-length approach, avoiding any direct linkage to Judith. Do you fear some personal reprisal? Like, that she's going to come into a restaurant and challenge you to a fistfight?
I would lose that fight, and no, I don't have a fear of that. She's a busy woman. She's got bigger fish to fry.
Join us after the jump for more on what it's like to work with for Regan, what Clark thought of the O.J. book, and who you don't want writing your teenage daughter's diet book.
From what I hear she has a mean right hook. Is there any concern that she might try to sue?
No.
What prompted you to leave after less than a year on the job?
I left because I wanted to be a writer. But there was the added benefit of not having to work there anymore. Judith's a notoriously difficult boss. She wasn't the type of person I wanted to work for, and it didn't exactly take years to discover that.
No, I'm sure you had that figured out before lunch the first day. Did you witness any of the alleged sexual outbursts or anti-Semitic remarks that are now coming to light?
I never heard her make an anti-Semitic comment, but does it shock me that that would have happened? No, it doesn't.
It seems like the real Judith Regan outdoes any character that a fiction writer could create. Has your novel lost some of its potential sting now that the real Judith has been exposed?
I think the Vivian Grant character is pretty outrageous. Definitely, though, the headlines have been crazy.
Do they strike you as accurate?
I don't think most people who have worked with her are shocked by what they're reading. My guess is that very few ex-ReganBooks staffers are losing sleep over it. Everything I've read has been within reason.
Did you take a job at ReganBooks purposely seeking an experience that would make a commercial novel?
No, certainly not.
Do you feel the book says something original?
Boss from hell stories are not a new concept. But people want to read fiction that is reflective of their lives. It makes sense that readers would turn to these books that center around the workplace and center around the employer-employee relationship.
One of the projects your character works on is a dieting book written by anorexic starlet. Was that based on a real experience or just a commentary on celebrity culture?
It was more of a funny, ridiculous, totally tasteless idea. The idea of taking one of these obviously struggling stars and asking them to a write a diet book for teens would be pretty low.
In other words, a typical Judith Regan book. Were you there when the O.J. book was conceived?
No, I never had heard about it. But I would have been appalled if I were in a meeting where that was raised. That book, to me, was just absolutely tasteless.
There was a Liz Smith piece where she said of your book, in her words, "The plot may be shopworn and the characters obvious," but I didn't get the sense that she had actually read the book, because she then said, "Others are saying it's 'laugh-out-loud funny'."
What's interesting is that you see a lot of recurring adjectives pop up. "Shopworn" is not word that comes to everybody's mind. But, still, I think that there's some truth to what she said. I'm not reinventing the wheel. The book is meant to be an entertaining, fun, hopefully funny and light read.
So you agree with her criticism, even though she seems not to have read the book?
When you write a Chick Lit novel, you don't write it for glowing reviews or for it to be the Great American Novel. You write it for the readers. You write it so that people will buy it and enjoy it. You have to be realistic going into it, I think.
There's been some film interest in the book. Have you thought about who would play Claire and Vivian, should a movie ever be made?
For Claire, maybe Kate Hudson. She doesn't seem to take herself too seriously, like my main character. Susan Sarandon would make a great Vivian.
Fred Gwynne from The Munsters would have made a great Judith Regan, but he's dead. Do you have any advice for future employees of the Vivian Grants of the world?
Keep your resume updated, your personal life personal, and your therapist on speed dial.
And if Judith Regan called you now, and said, "I'm starting up a new imprint, I want to hire you as my number one person," what would you say?
Sorry, wrong number!
