Lipton, Lauren 1966–

PERSONAL:

Born 1966, in Providence, RI. Education: Occidental College, B.A.; University of Southern California, M.A.

ADDRESSES:

Home—New York, NY, and CT.

CAREER:

Wall Street Journal, New York, NY, staff writer; In Style Weddings, senior editor; Cosmopolitan, New York, NY, deputy editor.

WRITINGS:

It's about Your Husband (novel), 5 Spot (New York, NY), 2006.

Author of the column ‘Catalog Critic’ for the Wall Street Journal.

SIDELIGHTS:

Lauren Lipton has worked as a writer or editor at several women's magazines, and with It's About Your Husband, she became an author. The protagonist, Iris Hedge, like her creator, moved from California to New York. Iris, who is in the middle of a divorce, has come for a new marketing job, but her position is restructured, and she is soon out of work and broke and wandering around in a strange city. Iris's few new friends include twins Val and Vickie, and the latter suspects that her husband, Steve, is cheating on her. She asks Iris to spy on him for her, and Iris agrees to earn income to supplement her unemployment check.

Bookreporter.com contributor Maggie Harding wrote: ‘This results in a series of miscommunications and cover-ups that could have had disastrous repercussions if it were not written as a comedy of errors.’ Harding noted ‘Lipton's ability to capture the flavor of New York, the foibles of her characters and the metamorphosis of a delightful heroine.’ Other characters include gay hair stylist Simon and Iris's mother, a psychic who has built an empire giving advice to women through her Web site and newsletter.

Lipton includes beauty tips throughout the book, and with a new hairdo by Simon regains her confidence and reverses her decision to return to the San Fernando Valley. Booklist reviewer Marta Segal Block noted that this romantic comedy will be enjoyed by readers of chick lit. ‘However,’ she added, ‘it's all done with such a light touch that even the predictable is enjoyable."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, November 15, 2006, Marta Segal Block, review of It's about Your Husband, p. 30.

ONLINE

Armchair Interviews,http://www.armchairinterviews.com/ (September 28, 2007), Michele E. Davis, review of It's about Your Husband.

Bookreporter.com,http://www.bookreporter.com/ (September 28, 2007), Maggie Harding, review of It's about Your Husband.

Conversations with Famous Writers,http://conversationsfamouswriters.blogspot.com/ (December 28, 2006), Distressed Jeans, interview.

Lauren Lipton Home Page,http://www.laurenlipton.com (September 28, 2007).