Howard, Heather H. 1963(?)-

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HOWARD, Heather H. 1963(?)-

PERSONAL: Born c. 1963; children: Cayman (son). Education: Attended University of California, Los Angeles.

ADDRESSES: Home—Los Angeles, CA. Agent—c/o Author Mail, HarperCollins Publishers, 10 E. 53rd St., 7th Fl., New York, NY 10022.

CAREER: Writer. Worked as a personal assistant for various celebrities over a twenty-year period.

WRITINGS:

Chore Whore: Adventures of a Celebrity Personal Assistant (novel), HarperEntertainment (New York, NY), 2005.

SIDELIGHTS: Heather H. Howard stumbled onto her career as a personal assistant to the stars more than twenty years ago as an English major at the University of California, Los Angeles. She happened to see an ad in the college paper requesting a personal assistant for a celebrity, and applied for the job as much out of curiosity regarding the person's identity as desire to actually obtain the position. Over the course of her career, she has been witness to a range of outlandish situations, all in the name of helping her famous clients live life as comfortably as possible.

Howard's debut novel, Chore Whore: Adventures of a Celebrity Personal Assistant, is heavily based on her experiences over the past two decades. The heroine of the story, Corki Brown, finds herself in the position of juggling clients in an attempt to keep up with their requests, while making each one feel as if she is only working for them. While names and details have been altered, Howard claims that ninety percent of the novel is based on actual occurrences. David Rensin, in a review for the Los Angeles Times, remarked that "Howard can't decide whether the book is about a hard-working forty-year-old's overdue need for empowerment or about the fact that most celebrities are jerks." However, a contributor for Kirkus Reviews called the book "fast-moving fluff, with hours of fun for anyone determined to figure out who the bad guys really are," Kristine Huntley, in Booklist, wrote that "Corki's trials, tribulations, and eventual triumph are always interesting."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

BOOKS

Howard, Heather H., Chore Whore: Adventures of a Celebrity Personal Assistant, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 2005.

PERIODICALS

Booklist, February 15, 2005, Kristine Huntley, review of Chore Whore, p. 1060.

Kirkus Reviews, January 1, 2005, review of Chore Whore, p. 10.

Los Angeles Times, April 16, 2005, David Rensin, "Inside Hollywood: Dropping Names, and a Lot of Clichés," p.E22.

Publishers Weekly, September 1, 2003, John F. Baker, "HarperEntertainment," p. 14; January 24, 2005, Natalie Danford, "This Is Your … Novel?" p. 114; February 7, 2005, review of Chore Whore, p. 40.

Womens Wear Daily, April 19, 2005, Marcy Medina, "L.A. Confidential," p. 4.