Schnurnberger, Lynn 1950(?)–

(Lynn Edelman Schnurnberger)

PERSONAL:

Born c. 1950; married Martin Schnurnberger; children: a daughter. Education: Attended City College of the City University of New York.

ADDRESSES:

Home—Westchester, NY. E-mail—JaniceandLynn@gmail.com.

CAREER:

Journalist and writer. Also worked as a special consultant in costume at the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art; paintings included in international collections, including the Museum of Modern Art. Founder of a Foster Pride, which offers art classes and mentoring to children in the New York City foster care system.

WRITINGS:

Kings, Queens, Knights, and Jesters: Making Medieval Costumes, Harper & Row (New York, NY), 1978.

Star Trek, the Motion Picture, Make-Your-Own Costume Book, Pocket Books (New York, NY), 1979.

A World of Dolls That You Can Make, Harper & Row (New York, NY), 1982.

Kids Love New York!, Congdon & Weed (New York, NY), 1984.

Let There Be Clothes: 40,000 Years of Fashion, Workman (New York, NY), 1991.

Contributor to periodicals, including More, Parents, Glamour, Mademoiselle, New York, and Self.

NOVELS WITH JANICE KAPLAN

The Botox Diaries, Ballantine Books (New York, NY), 2004.

Mine Are Spectacular!, Ballantine Books (New York, NY), 2005.

The Men I Didn't Marry, Ballantine Books (New York, NY), 2006.

SIDELIGHTS:

Journalist and author Lynn Schnurnberger has been writing for many years on lifestyle topics for magazines across the country, including More, Glamour, and Mademoiselle. Early on, she studied stage and costume design at City College of the City University of New York, and worked at the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art as a costume consultant. Her first three books provide instructions on making dolls and medieval costumes, and her fourth book, Kids Love New York!, serves as a travel guidebook for child-friendly activities and places in New York City. Schnurnberger has also been a frequent guest on national talk shows, such as Oprah, Good Morning America, and Today.

In 1991, Schnurnberger wrote and published her first widely known book, Let There Be Clothes: 40,000 Years of Fashion. Her work provides a look back through history at clothing trends and how they have changed or, in many cases, stayed the same. The text is peppered with random and obscure facts about clothing accessories, shoes, jewelry, makeup, and cultural influences. The book also contains numerous photographs and a continuous timeline on each page. Let There Be Clothes proved popular with readers, who picked up on the author's entertaining writing style. "Schnurnberger's prose is laced with wry humor to point out the foibles of fashion, but she also explores the more serious role of clothes," wrote Lisbeth Levine in the Chicago Sun-Times.

In 2004, Schnurnberger collaborated with friend and fellow writer Janice Kaplan to write the novel The Botox Diaries. The story revolves around forty-something New Yorkers Jessica Taylor and Lucy Baldor. The two friends try to sort out life and all that it brings with it—husbands, children, and growing older. Lucy, a television producer, is having an affair behind her husband's back, while Jessica, a single mother, tries to balance a stagnant love life and her nonprofit career.

Overall, reviewers found The Botox Diaries to be an entertaining comedy within a growing genre of novels targeted to women. "This amiable, good-natured comedy will put the reader in mind of her favorite flannel pajamas—not sexy, exactly, but comfortable and fun," wrote a Publishers Weekly contributor. Other critics focused on the book's overall readability and fast-moving plot. "With snappy dialogue, hilarious and lovable characters, and enough tension to keep the pages turning, this first-time collaboration will be a great beach read," commented Booklist reviewer Kaite Mediatore.

Schnurnberger has continued her collaboration with Kaplan for the novels Mine Are Spectacular! and The Men I Didn't Marry. In an interview on the authors' joint home page, Schnurnberger commented on her and Kaplan's process of writing together. The author noted: "We sat in a room side-by-side and wrote every word together. We found it was actually more fun to work as a team. We'd toss out ideas and lines to each other, and urge each other on to make every joke funnier." The author went on to comment: "We're tough on each other and every page has to pass the wrinkle-your-nose test. If one of us isn't excited by a line, it's gone."

Mine Are Spectacular! focuses on Sara Turner. Set to get remarried, the forty-one-year-old, divorced mother of one lands a job hosting a new show on the Food Network. The book follows Sara's tribulations as she works with a hunky actor who flirts with her. She also ponders her real relationship with Bradford, her fiancé, whose ex-wife keeps trying to seduce him. The book delves into the lives of Sara's friends as well: the highly successful dermatologist, Kate Steele, who is having an affair with a married man, and Berni Davis, pregnant with twins but missing her job as a Hollywood agent. "This is a very lighthearted and funny look at the lives of three ‘older’ females, the theme of the book being that women over 40 can be beautiful, successful, and can even start new careers," wrote Marie Hashima Lofton in a review posted on Bookreporter.com. A contributor to Fresh Fiction called Mine Are Spectacular! "a fresh, funny novel about starting over."

In The Men I Didn't Marry Schnurnberger and Kaplan tell the story of Hallie Pierpont, whose husband, Bill, helps drop off their last child, Emily, at college and then promptly tells Hallie that he's leaving her for another woman. Hallie is devastated. However, her daughter urges her to go out and live. Eventually, Hallie meets Dr. Tom Sheppard, who rescues her during an adventure hike. In the process, she learns that Sheppard is a friend of Eric Richmond, Hallie's college sweet- heart. Hallie then finds that she has a new choice to make in life. Sheri Melnick, writing for Romantic Times, noted that the authors "have created a laugh-out-loud novel with earthy charm and universal appeal." Midwest Book Review contributor Harriet Klausner called the novel a "fine contemporary that shows there is life after dumping."

In an interview on the author's home Web page, Shnurnberger noted: "Our book tours have been great since they gave us the chance to talk to women all across the country. We met women of all ages who were leading exciting lives and getting started on new careers or marriages. That sense of new possibility at any age is what we've tried to capture in our books."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

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

Chicago Sun-Times, December 8, 1991, Lisbeth Levine, "Staying in Style—for the Millennia," p. 45.

Journal Star (Peoria, IL), January 17, 1992, Mary Boone, "Clothes Encounters," p. 6.

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; May 1, 2006, Jane Jorgenson, review of The Men I Didn't Marry, p. 79.

New York Times Book Review, June 6, 2004, Liesl Schillinger, "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun," p. 19.

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," p. 12; May 9, 2005, review of Mine Are Spectacular!, p. 47.

Redbook, July, 2005, Janice Kaplan, review of Mine Are Spectacular!, p. 208.

ONLINE

Best Reviews,http://thebestreviews.com/ (August 9, 2005), Harriet Klausner, review of Mine Are Spectacular!

Bookreporter.com,http://www.bookreporter.com/ (June 10, 2008), Marie Hashima Lofton, review of Mine Are Spectacular!

Fresh Fiction,http://freshfiction.com/ (June 10, 2008), review of Mine Are Spectacular!

Janice Kaplan and Lynn Schnurnberger Home Page,http://www.janiceandlynn.com (June 10, 2008).

Midwest Book Review,http://www.midwestbookreview.com/ (June 10, 2008), Harriet Klausner, review of The Men I Didn't Marry.

Random House Web site,http://www.randomhouse.com/ (February 10, 2005), "Lynn Schnurnberger."

Romantic Times,http://www.romantictimes.com/ (June 10, 2008), Sheri Melnick, review of The Men I Didn't Marry.