Q & A Candace Bushnell

By Jeff Chu

The Sex and the City author's new novel, Lipstick Jungle, about three fabulous fortysomething women in New York City, is out Sept. 6.

I have a confession: I haven't finished the book.

The men turn out to be much better than they seem at the beginning. A couple of guys have said, God, the men seem so awful at the beginning. At the end, they get sort of redeemed.

As a guy, am I supposed to get what "lipstick jungle" means? The lipstick jungle is the world of working women. My girlfriends feel like lipstick is the last thing you put on when you leave your house before you go out into the lipstick jungle. It's like your armor before you leave your house and take over the world.

What kind of lipstick do you use? I actually use Chap Stick. I'm a fairly low-maintenance person.

How many pairs of shoes do you have? I probably don't have that many pairs. Maybe 60? But I know that's really not many.

You sound almost guilty. I do feel really guilty about it, because I feel like I should have more. But how many pairs of shoes can you wear?

You've done women in their 30s and 40s. Are the 50s next? I've always wanted to write a book about four women who bad things happen to, and they all end up living together in a house in the country. Which is something that my girlfriends and I always say we're going to do when we're 50 or 60.

A colleague told me yesterday, You're so Miranda. You're very Miranda?

Do you have problems with that? No. I love that men are now turning out to be like my female characters.