Pretty in Ink

February 24, 2014
In this debut novel, when Mimi Walsh is appointed the new editor-in-chief of Hers, a "middle-America" women's magazine, the staff shivers in their Prada boots. Mimi is looking for the sort of writer who is excited to trade her husband a sex act for expensive shoes and then blog about it. However, the current masthead is populated by fancy resumes who wish they were doing highbrow journalism but instead are stuck sneering at their target market, the "chubby women with bad hair and ill-fitting clothes" who buy Hers in Midwestern mega-malls. Each chapter is told from the perspective of a different employee. As a result, it's sometimes hard to get attached to follow the path of any one character. At the same time, it's the perfect structure for a story filled with juicy gossip and outrageous office politics. The result is a dishy, catty book, that's neither uplifting nor inspiring but an indulgent roll in the mud. Palmer writes this side of womanhood brilliantly. Agent: Joelle Delbourgo, Joelle Delbourgo Associates.

March 15, 2014
A lighthearted gambol through the ever-changing world of women's magazine publishing, former magazine editor Palmer's debut contains the authenticity of experience and the salacious story snippets fans of The Devil Wears Prada (2003) will appreciate. When its editor-in-chief is abruptly let go to make room for sharklike new editor Mimi, Hers jolts its way into a huge transformation from reliable and slightly dowdy to sleek, modern, and must-read. With their own jobs in peril, the following characters chart their way through treacherous career waters: executive editor and newly overwhelmed mother Leah; associate editor and newly reluctant sex blogger Jane; newly tapped co-executive editor, the secretly insecure and longing Victoria; recipe creator Debbie, who knows how to fight for herself; managing editor Abby, who juggles work and married life with her wife and their hunt for a sperm donor; photo editor Drew, who's been secretly dating her boss; and more. With different chapters devoted to different POVs, the politics of the magazine industry find full display in this deliciously delectable read.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)