KAPLAN, Janice Ellen 1955-

PERSONAL: Born January 4, 1955, in Boston, MA; daughter of Stanley and Libby (Liebman) Kaplan; married Ronald Dennett (a physician), January 17, 1982; children: Zachary Kaplan. Education: Yale University, B.A. (magna cum laude), 1976.

ADDRESSES: Home—Larchmont, NY. Agent—c/o Author Mail, Ballantine Books, 1745 Broadway, New York, NY. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER: Writer, novelist, journalist, broadcaster, television producer, and television writer. CBS-Radio, New York City, sports reporter, 1974–76; Womensports, New York City, contributing editor, 1977; ABC-TV, New York City, writer for Good Morning, America, 1982–86; A Current Affair (syndicated television series), senior producer, 1990–92; TV Guide, deputy editor, 1992–96. Reporter for a gossip show broadcast by E! Entertainment Television, 1994–96; regular guest on television programs, including CBS This Morning, Oprah, Good Morning America, and Today. Member of board of trustees, Experiment in International Living, 1973–76.

MEMBER: Yale Club.

AWARDS, HONORS: MacDowell Colony fellow, 1977; Murray fellow, Yale University, 1977.

WRITINGS:

Women and Sports: Inspiration and Information for the New Female Athletic, Viking (New York, NY), 1979.

If You Believe in Me (young adult novel), Avon (New York, NY), 1982.

First Ride (young adult novel), Avon (New York, NY) 1982.

A Morning Affair (novel), New American Library (New York, NY), 1989.

Wild Nights (novel), St. Martin's Press (New York, NY), 1991.

The Whole Truth (novel), Berkley Publishing (New York, NY), 1997.

(With Lynn Schnurnberger) The Botox Diaries (novel), Ballantine Books (New York, NY), 2004.

(With Lynn Schnurnberger) Mine Are Spectacular! (novel), Ballantine Books (New York, NY), 2005.

Contributor to Speaking of Journalism: Twelve Writers and Editors Talk about Their Work, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 1994. Contributor of hundreds of articles to magazines, including Glamour, Cosmopolitan, Parents, Gentleman's Quarterly, and Sports Illustrated, and newspapers. Author of sports column in Seventeen, 1975–79. Guest editor of Mademoiselle, 1975; contributing editor, Vogue and Self.

SIDELIGHTS: Janice Ellen Kaplan is a radio and television journalist, producer, and talk-show guest who has written for such popular programs as Good Morning America and A Current Affair. With collaborator Lynn Schnurnberger, Kaplan is the author of two novels that breezily explore the lives of middle-age suburban women and their travails with family, friends, lovers, and plastic surgery. Lucy and Jess, the main characters of The Botox Diaries, are New York suburbanites, both over forty and the best of friends. Lucy is a high-powered television producer married to perfect-husband Dan, but she is also having an affair with a conceited actor. Jess is about to rekindle things with her philandering but utterly charming French ex-husband, Jacques. The two share every detail of their lives as Lucy skirts the breakup of her marriage, Jess discovers if Jacques has changed his ways, and Jess's daughter Jen schemes to find her mother a good man somewhere. "Chick-lit fans will probably enjoy what is a fairly entertaining and occasionally funny novel," noted the Library Journal reviewer Elizabeth Mellett. "What The Botox Diaries shows is that even as women age, their problems of how to handle love, life, relationships and careers remains constant," commented reviewer Jocelyn Maeve Kelley on the Book Reporter Web site. A Publishers Weekly contributor remarked that "this amiable, good-natured comedy will put the reader in mind of her favorite flannel pajamas—not sexy, exactly, but comfortable and fun."

In Mine Are Spectacular!, Kaplan and Schnurnberger "reprise their flighty, feel-good formula for women's fiction" by chronicling the lives of another group of sharp, affluent, over-forty suburban women, commented a Publishers Weekly contributor. Sara, a caterer and single mother, is engaged to wealthy Bradford, who lives in a tony New York suburban gated community. Her first husband, James, took off years ago, but her new relationship with Bradford is comfortable. Sara's friend Kate is an upscale downtown dermatologist who is stepping out on her husband with wealthy married man Owen. Berni, once an influential Hollywood agent, has left Tinseltown to concentrate on being mother to her twins. Things get complicated when Bradford's ex-wife and bratty fourteen-year-old daughter Skyler make things miserable for Sara, even as James reappears and makes a bid to win her back. Adding to the stress, an appearance on television supercharges Sara's catering career. Meanwhile, Kate deals with Owen's decision to leave his wife and Berni tries to cope with the switch to motherhood and the fact that she misses her exciting Hollywood career. The authors' "combination of whip-smart dialogue, spot-on metaphors and the occasional steamy bedroom scene creates a hilarious hit that gives chick lit just the kick to keep it from going stale," commented People reviewer Lisa Ingrassia. The Publishers Weekly reviewer called the novel a "cotton-candy read—sweet, if a bit stale—for a day at the beach."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, May 15, 2004, Kaite Mediatore, review of The Botox Diaries, p. 1597.

Houston Chronicle, August 20, 2004, Julia Livshin, "Our Age, Updated," review of The Botox Diaries.

Kirkus Reviews, June 1, 2004, review of The Botox Diaries, p. 517.

Library Journal, August, 2004, Elizabeth Mellett, review of The Botox Diaries, p. 68.

People, July 11, 2005, Lisa Ingrassia, review of Mine Are Spectacular!, p. 49.

Publishers Weekly, May 31, 2004, review of The Botox Diaries, p. 52; February 28, 2005, Jason Anthony, "L.A. Is the Plastic Surgery Capital of the World," review of Mine Are Spectacular!, p. 12; May 9, 2005, review of Mine Are Spectacular!, p. 47.

ONLINE

Bookreporter.com, http://www.bookreporter.com/ (September 5, 2005), Harie Hashima Lofton, review of Mine Are Spectacular!, and Jocelyn Maeve Kelley, review of The Botox Diaries.