Out & About
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Book Party for Robin Hazelwood
It’s often easy to spot the authors at their book parties: They’re the shy ones with the glasses and the bland outfits. That was not the case on Wednesday night at SoHo House, where author Robin Hazelwood was the most beautiful woman in the room —and was sporting a beautiful outfit. Ms. Hazelwood launched her first novel, “Model Student: A Tale of Co-Eds and Cover Girls” (Crown).
That’s what happens when former models become writers. Ms. Hazelwood, however, is a downto-earth woman. As she confessed, she had “turned it on” for the party. And for the three years she spent writing the book, she did not look her model-best. “I was not putting on that much makeup, and I really got into loungewear,” Ms. Hazelwood said. “I can barely walk in heels now, and I used to be able to walk with any kind of a heel and look quasi elegant while doing it.”
Writing kept her at home. “There were times in the dead of winter when I didn’t even leave my apartment,” she said.
With the book in print, the chic habits she’d acquired on photo shoots in Paris and London have made a return. For her upcoming 12-day book tour in Midwestern cities and Washington, D.C., Ms. Hazelwood has done some shopping. “I probably have packed more outfits than I need, and more shoes, too, but fortunately the tour corresponds with sale time,” she said.
Book Party for Gideon Defoe
Pirate themes are taking over, and it’s not just thanks to “Pirates of the Caribbean.” Literary types are going crazy for Gideon Defoe’s “The Pirates!” series and Vintage has just issued a trade paperback that contains both “The Pirates! In an Adventure With Scientists” and “The Pirates! In an Adventure With Ahab.” Or maybe it was just the free ham and beer available on the pirate ship anchored on the Hudson River Tuesday night (actually, the party boat named the Frying Pan) where the publisher threw a party for the book.
The hot accessory was the eye patch. Some serious fans added a hook and blackened a few of their teeth. They shared pirate stories, songs, and jokes, all of which was missed by the author, who was reportedly stranded on a pirate ship on its way from London, where he resides. (In truth, he was stuck in London because a family crisis.)
And the pirate craze is likely to continue. Mr. Defoe has completed his next installment, “Pirates! In an Adventure With Communists,” due out in the fall, and has also optioned his series to Hollywood.
