Seeing Red: Revlon and Me

"Seeing Red: Revlon and Me" is a memoir that reveals the inner workings of the cosmetic giant Revlon in the 1950's, a company which epitomized the male-dominated business world that was accepted as the norm by the "girls" who made up the workforce. I was one of those girls. And it was not acceptable to me. Behind Revlon's incredible growth there were secrets - a rigged TV show, spying on executives, and shocking sexual dalliances that were never spoken about. And behind the men who ran it there were equally talented women who were deliberately kept from setting foot on that ladder to success. Full of rich detail, this book depicts my journey from an uncertain 30-year-old, struggling to put a bad marriage behind her, desperate for a job -- to a confident woman, ready to buck the system and reach for what she wanted.

"Seeing Red: Revlon and Me" is a memoir that reveals the inner workings of the cosmetic giant Revlon in the 1950's, a company which epitomized the male-dominated business world that was accepted as the norm by the "girls" who made up the workforce. I was one of those girls. And it was not acceptable to me. Behind Revlon's incredible growth there were secrets -- a rigged TV show, spying on executives, and shocking sexual dalliances that were never spoken about. And behind the men who ran it there were equally talented women who were deliberately kept from setting foot on that ladder to success. Full of rich detail, this book depicts my journey from an uncertain 30-year-old, struggling to put a bad marriage behind her, desperate for a job -- to a confident woman, ready to buck the system and reach for what she wanted.

From my beginnings in the Bronx, through my college days at NYU to my acceptance of the job at Revlon, I sought one thing above all - respect for my brain power. When I failed to get it because I was a woman, I decided to drop out of the job market and try my hand at something that didn't depend on whether I was male or female. Writing! Whether it was luck or talent or timing, I hit a vein of gold. My first novel, "The Vengeance of Valdone" was published in 1973, followed by seven more, one of which was "Fever Pitch," a suspense novel about the pharmaceutical industry that was optioned by Paramount Pictures. I have just completed the memoir, "Seeing Red: Revlon and Me" and am currently working on a CIA thriller regarding stolen art during World War II in Nazi-occupied France, entitled "The Spoils of War."