ORSOFF, Beth

PERSONAL:

Married. Education: University of Florida, B.A.; University of Southern California, law degree.

ADDRESSES:

Agent—c/o Author Mail, Penguin Group, c/o New American Library Publicity, 375 Hudson St., New York, NY 10014.

CAREER:

Writer and lawyer. Warner Bros. Theatrical Legal Department, Los Angeles, CA, lawyer, business affairs executive. Previously worked as a lifeguard.

WRITINGS:

Romantically Challenged (novel), New American Library (New York, NY), 2006.

SIDELIGHTS:

Beth Orsoff has practiced law in the entertainment industry and is the author of the novel Romantically Challenged. Orsoff, who says she once dated twenty-seven men in one year, tells the story of Julie Burns, an entertainment lawyer in her early thirties who is becoming desperate to find the right man. The reader follows Julie as she goes on a serious of dates, from blind dates to speed dates to encounters with men that send most women running. Among her many dates is the emergency room doctor whom she nearly vomits on after getting food poisoning. Another encounter with a wedding bartender results in an embarrassing lost-and-found bra incident. In the meantime, Julie ponders whether she should go on the dating game show as her boss requests. "The bulk of the text occupies itself with the rituals of SoCal dating and a protagonist blessed with plenty of friends willing to set her up,"wrote a Kirkus Reviews contributor. Patty Engelmann, writing in Booklist, commented that Orsoff's "screwball comedy about modern dating Hollywood-style is a surefire winner." In a review on the Romantic Times Online, Kristen Foley wrote: "Romantically Challenged is a fresh take on the dating game that uncovers all the hurt feelings, heartache and exhaustion."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, March 15, 2006, Patty Engelmann, review of Romantically Challenged, p. 28.

Kirkus Reviews, February 15, 2006, review of Romantically Challenged, p. 154.

ONLINE

Beth Orsoff Home Page,http://www.bethorsoff.com (October 1, 2006).

Romantic Times Online,http://romantictimes.com/ (October 1, 2006), Kristen Foley, review of Romantically Challenged. *