Who's the filly in the background?
According to an account in The New York Times, the film producer/force of nature Harvey Weinstein and Jonathan Burnham, the editor in chief of Miramax Books, decided to publish a chick-lit novel set in Washington. Three weeks later, they found their author: Kristin Gore, then 26, whose prior professional writing experience included stints at ''Saturday Night Live'' and the Fox animated show ''Futurama.'' At a reception for the nonprofit where Gore's sister works, the wealthy culture baron and the well-connected offspring of a political dynasty had a conversation that seems more the stuff of fiction than its source: ''What I really, really want to do is write a novel,'' said Ms. Gore. ''What a coincidence,'' replied Mr. Weinstein. What a country.
The sloppy prose that pervades the book is an unfortunate reminder of its genesis. Its off-the-rack plot, running together B-grade chick-lit with campaign-trail policy talk, is the predictable outcome of a publishing focus group. It's not bad, it's just not any good. God knows, an astringent romantic satire is long overdue in a town where work is foreplay and the vibrating object in a couple's bed could easily be a two-way pager. ''Sammy's Hill,'' however, lacks buzz. - NY Times