Kathy Lette

Love is Blind (Quick Reads)

When Jane decides to move to the Australian outback in search of a husband, her sister Anthea thinks she’s mad. But then again, the sisters have never seen eye-to-eye. Anthea is slim, beautiful and has a perfect life and fiancé. Jane has always felt like the ugly duckling in comparison. But when Anthea follows her sister Down Under to try and save Jane from this latest crazy plan, she ends up taking a walk on the wild side herself…

 The Boy Who Fell To Earth

 The best way to describe this novel is as “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time” told from the mother’s point of view. It’s basically the tale of a single mum raising a child with Aspergers Syndrome, with all the heartache and hilarity that entails. It’s currently being made into a Hollywood film by screen goddess Emily Mortimer. As the book is also a love story, it involves casting a whole delicious male menu, which is why I’m currently driving around town with a casting couch strapped to my roof racks!

 To Love, Honour and Betray

 A book for all women who have fallen in love with a man who thinks monogamy is something you make dining room tables out of. Divorce, lust, toy boys, surf life saving, moving to Australia and the hilarious horrors of raising a teenage daughter are all thrown into the hormonal mix. I absolutely loved writing this book and was thrilled when it reached number one on the Australian best seller lists. This British fish-out-of-water comedy has just been optioned by the BBC, so am hoping for a mini series soon. I am keen to audition the hunky surf life savers… At my age, it’s the only way I’ll ever get to hear heavy breathing again! 

Nip ‘N’ Tuck

 This book, written before the TV series, is a send up of cosmetic surgery. Women suffer from facial prejudice – we get judged on our looks in a way that men don’t. Obviously beauty comes from within – within a jar marked “Anti Wrinkle Cream”. Yep, beauty is one of the most natural things… which money can buy. But why would you want a man who only wants you because you’re silicone from tonsils to toenails? Besides which, my mother told me never to pick my nose – especially from a catalogue. 

Altar Ego

 Optioned by Scott Rudin of “First Wives Club” and “Stepford Wives” fame. I wrote it as an antidote to “Bridget Jones” and other books which promote the idea that a woman is nothing without a Knight in Shining Armani. And that once the snooze alarm goes off on her biological clock, she’s no longer looking for Mr. Right, but Mr. Kinda Okay, Mr. Too Corpses Short of a Serial Killer, just to get her eggs fertilized. In truth, marriage suits men much more than it suits women. Married men live longer than single men, have less heart disease and mental problems. While single women live longer than married women, have less heart disease and mental problems. Marriage stats are lower than Lady Ga Ga’s bikini line at the moment and I think it’s women who are getting P.M.T – pre monogamy tension.

 Mad Cows

 A huge hit for me. It was the first novel to take the sacred cow that motherhood is the ultimate fulfillment for a female, and whack it on the Barbie. No matter how much you love your progeny, there are those days when you’re tempted to whack them back into the condom vending machine for the refund. Always remember that perfect mothers only exist in American sit coms. The book was made into a movie staring Anna Friel and Joanna Lumley and spawned a whole new genre – “Mummy Lit.”

 Foetal Attraction

 My satire on the trials and tribulations of pregnancy, lust, love and the occupational hazard of the single girl – falling in love with a married man. It’s one of the books I most enjoyed writing. If you’re up the duff, or even just contemplating stretching your vagina the customary five kilometers, this book will tell you what to expect when you’re expecting. This was my ‘break through’ book in Britain. And, I hope it will ensure you break your waters laughing. I’ve sold the rights many times, to the BBC and to various independent producers, but it is still in cinematic gestation.

Puberty Blues

 An Australian cult classic. Its popularity means that I can never escape puberty. I’m currently having my fourth. There was my actual puberty, then the book, then the movie of the book directed by Bruce Beresford, and now the 8 hour mini series. Channel Ten have just commissioned a second 8 hour mini series. As I’m mid menopause, it’s all very hormonally confusing! I think the follow up, “Menopause Blues” must be on the creative cards.