To be a single woman in a big city is a kind of tightrope actyou're very much alone, trying to keep your balance, and go forward. Women About Town is about two women, each making her way in Manhattan.

Iris Biddle, a divorce, has returned to the city out of necessity. She is known for making impeccable custom lampshadescreations as elegant and poetic as she is. Though her shades are the most expensive in town, her career is one of tight finances with little margin for error. Iris is turning forty when the book begins, and determined to take it gracefully. Still, it's hard to move ahead very fast when you're constantly glancing backward.

Lana Burton, thirty-four and unfazed, is an eager young theater critic delighted to have landed in Manhattan. She is moving up the New York hierarchy one step at a time, and in the process learning that some friends resent a slow climb as much as a fast one. Meanwhile, she's trying to figure out the best way to bring her relationship with her boyfriend to the next levelliving together.

I began the book as a series of sketches, written to amuse my husband. After a day's work, I would sit down and try to capture as precisely as possible the kind of frissons and contretemps that are a day-to-day reality for us all, but are so often ignored in fictionmainly because they don't seem dramatic enough. But a misunderstanding, an offhand insult, a sudden pang of memorythese moments bristle with drama and are the things women discuss endlessly with friends.

You'll also notice that finances are a nagging consideration in the book, especially for Iris. New York City is extremely expensive compared with other citiesrent can be half your salary. And the finances of people in the artspeople who are the lifeblood of New York Citycan be shockingly hand-to-mouth, even if the person is considered a success. And with its millions of ambitious people cramped on a tiny island, everyone's elbowing for space and success, which can be very daunting if you're a "good girl," brought up to behave in a certain way. It takes enormous focus and spine to make it in New York while staying true to your ideals.

Over the course of two years, we come to know Iris and Lana intimatelythe epiphanies, joys, and losses that have made them who they are. And we watchthrough everyday excursions, events, confrontations, and contemplationsas each finds her very own way into the next phase of her life.