Yet another example: after meeting the man who would become my husband, I met his gorgeous ex-wife one day when my hair was incredibly frizzy and while I was wearing a big stupid parka. I instantly became deeply insecure and also completely unhinged by how deeply insecure I was.

My third novel, Her, is about a woman who meets her fiancé’s gorgeous ex-girlfriend for the first time when her hair is incredibly frizzy and while she is wearing a big stupid parka. This makes her deeply insecure and also completely unhinged by how deeply insecure she is. Again: faction.

And my last example: before becoming a stay-at-home mom, I worked for ten years in book publishing in New York City as a publicist and was forced to travel with many celebrity authors whose behavior on the road was completely appalling. My fourth novel, Piece of Work, is about a stay-at-home mom who is forced to go back to work as a publicist at a third-rate P.R. firm after her husband loses his job.

Her first client is a legendary Hollywood has-been who is desperate to make a comeback and whose behavior on the road is completely appalling. Needless to say, faction again.

And so, if you end up reading Piece of Work and you start wondering whether any or all of the appalling celebrity behavior is actual appalling celebrity behavior that I experienced throughout my many years as a much-abused long-suffering publicist, remember this:

It’s true. And that’s a fact(ion).

And my last example: before becoming a stay-at-home mom, I worked for ten years in book publishing in New York City as a publicist and was forced to travel with many celebrity authors whose behavior on the road was completely appalling. My fourth novel, Piece of Work, is about a stay-at-home mom who is forced to go back to work as a publicist at a third-rate P.R. firm after her husband loses his job.

Her first client is a legendary Hollywood has-been who is desperate to make a comeback and whose behavior on the road is completely appalling. Needless to say, faction again.

And so, if you end up reading Piece of Work and you start wondering whether any or all of the appalling celebrity behavior is actual appalling celebrity behavior that I experienced throughout my many years as a much-abused long-suffering publicist, remember this:

It’s true. And that’s a fact(ion).