introducing readers to writers since 1995
March 27, 2004
A Continent Away, Jane Austen Doe Seethes With Jealousy
by Ron Hogan
The San Francisco Chronicle tracks a day in the life of Melanie Craft, romance novelist. Of course, she doesn't actually get to do any writing, because she has to spend a good chunk of the day answering some journalist's obsequious questions about how she met and married software tycoon Larry Ellison, not to mention give the reporter tours of all their various real estate holdings...
She is an individual thinker, a determined writer and a loyal partner...If she's not a risk-taker, what else would you call someone who let a reporter and photographer tag along from breakfast until dinner to see what it's like to live the billionaire lifestyle?
A lot of terms come to mind, actually, but uttering them would require making massive assumptions about Craft I simply don't have the data to justify. She seems nice enough, anyway, as viewed through the prism of a hilariously badly written article. No wonder the Significant Other used to call this paper the "Chronic Ill"...
photo by Christine Koci Hernandez
I read this article and she seems very superficial and self centered. Does she think she will sell more books by talking about her body fat and how she managed to marry someone famous? She is far from Jane Austen and I think Ms. Austen would be quite offended at the comparison.
Posted by: Lindsey Smith at May 1, 2004 01:32 AMHey, what's up with the catty nonsense on this website? I thought this was supposed to be "A bookblog for people who love books (and blogs)." I saw the SF Chronicle article too, and thought that it was a light piece of journalism about someone with a really weird life. Whatever you think about her or her writing, the bottom line is that at least she's writing. All comments like yours do is lower the tone of fora like this, and accentuate the fact that there two types of people: those that are out there living, and those that have decided that a decent substitution for living is sitting around taking pot-shots at folks.
Posted by: Nicky D at May 4, 2004 02:45 PMyour PayPal donation
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