Because She Can

In a New York minute, Claire Truman lands both a plum position at a top publishing house and the man she's wanted for ten years...then reality intervenes. Her new boss is Vivian Grant, a notoriously ruthless tyrant known for her tirades, traumatized assistants, and tabloid-inspired bestsellers. Soon Claire's job is stealing more and more of her time and her relationship with her fiancé begins to feel the strain. It doesn't help that she's working late nights with a brilliant-and handsome-first-time author. As Vivian's outrageous demands continue to escalate, Claire wonders if she likes where the fast track is taking her-and worries about what she might turn into...

An irresistible, wickedly funny debut that pulls back the curtain on the book publishing industry...starring a villainess you won't soon forget.

Life is really looking up for Claire Truman. In a New York minute, she lands a plum job at a top publishing house, catapulting her out of editorial assistant status and tripling her salary. In the same stroke of good luck, Claire goes from loser magnet to girlfriend of her decade-long crush: the fabulously successful and gorgeous Randall Cox (who's a nice guy, to boot). The perfect guy, the perfect job . . . it seems like Claire's dreams are all falling neatly into place.

Enter reality. It doesn't take long before Claire realizes she's working for the publishing world's most ruthless tyrant: the outrageously abusive Vivian Grant, a woman who churns out New York Times bestsellers with nearly the same frequency as she sends traumatized assistants flying out of her office in tears. Soon Claire is in staff meetings...

Publishers Weekly

The not-Anna Wintour character in this much-hyped my-boss-is-famously-unpleasant roman clef is not-Judith Regan--or, to be positive, is Vivian Grant of Grant Books, "the most hotheaded, ruthless woman" in publishing. She physically and verbally abuses her staff, is having an affair with a married New York City official (who dresses in drag) and has made a "fortune by producing tabloid-inspired blockbusters." And though up-and-coming literary fiction editor Claire Truman has heard all the gossip, she takes a job as an editor at Grant Books and quickly discovers Vivian lives up to her reputation as a foul-mouthed, ber-demanding, tantrum-throwing tyrant. Claire tries to maintain some semblance of a life (she's engaged to dreamboat Randall Cox, who went from big man on campus to big man at Goldman Sachs, even though she's really in love with Luke Mayville, a sensitive writer/unrecognized genius), but vicious Vivian keeps her within spitting (and swearing) distance 27 hours a day. Clark, who worked at Regan Books, nails the dark side of the vulgar, spiteful boss archetype, and though the plot is as shopworn as the characters, those in the Page Six and Lloyd Grove set will appreciate this devilish read. (Feb. 12) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

Bridie Clark is a former book and magazine editor who has worked for several major New York publishers. She lives in New York City with her husband. This is her first novel. To learn more about the author, you can visit www.bridieclark.com.