Wendy
Paris was standing on a stool, addressing a feisty crowd of some 200 New York
media folk gathered at APT, a hideaway bar in the meatpacking district, as mediabistro.com
and Bombay Sapphire celebrated the pre-Valentine's Day publication of her relationship
advice book, Happily
Ever After. (Subtitle: The Fairy-Tale Formula for Lasting Love.)
Paris was making a convincing case for Cinderella as a model
for bold and practical dating strategies for single people. "Cinderella
wasn't some spoiled East Side brat," she explained. "Think about it:
She had a verytraumatic childhood." The crowd laughed.
"Cinderella didn't go to the ball and say, 'I can't go
in alone!'" Paris said, adopting a whimpering tone. "'Everyone
will think I'm a looooser.'" She made an "L" with her
forefinger and thumb and held it to her forehead for emphasis. "No. Cinderella
went right in and she met her Prince Charming."
Click here
to learn more about AvantGuild, our premium membership service. To receive invitations
to mediabistro.com parties and events in your city, click here.
(Click for a larger
view of the pictures.)
mediabistro.com founder Laurel Touby, Smock magazine creative director Evan Deterling, and author Wendy Paris
Maxim’s Alec O’Meara, Upside’s New York editor Eriq Gardner, art director Amy Wegenaar, and iVillage writer Nicole Zizila
GuyCritical.com founder Matthew Milner and HarperCollins’ Shelby Meizlik
Journalist Yaël Bizouati and producer Arens Leka
Alphonse Falco and Michelle Cuccia
Writer and NYU lecturer Denise O’Kelly and Luis Castro
Scholastic’s Rachel Zuckerman and writers David Parker, Carol Huang, and Rachel Sklar
Beth Golden and Brad Wieners
Random House’s Jiminie Ha, Heidi Chua, and photographer Terry McGee
Writer Steve Moramarco and New York Times freelancer Sue Cummings
mediabistro.com salonista Taffy Akner and her men: writer Paul McLeary, animator Jason Galeon, and "ad-man/copywriter extraordinaire" Peter Johnson
Graphic designer William Jones, Kristy Prunetti, and Women’s Enews correspondent Carol Lee
Maxim's Alec O'Meara won our door prize, a three-day stay at Our Lucaya resort in the Bahamas
