Frankel was raised in a loving family who were also die-hard gamblers. On any given weekend, poker games were the norm in the Frankel household. Her father, a successful accountant, her uncles and several close family friends would all congregate in the living room, play poker and share stories. Her mother and the other woman would take over the kitchen, playing mah jongg. Not to be outdone, Frankel, her sister and cousins spent this time betting on anything...Mantle versus Maris, who could eat the most matzo, who could hold their breath the longest.

Growing to adulthood, Frankel said goodbye to gambling and began a successful career as an entertainment journalist. She was hired by the original DETAILS Magazine, which was just getting started at the time. Her monthly column, Book 'Em, took her to sold-out readings and signings, book festivals, and any place important writers would congregate. She met Jane Smiley, TC Boyle, Richard Ford, Ray Carver and others. Their stories inspired her to expand her own writing career. Over time, she did just that, gravitating to celebrity interviews.

In 1990, Frankel expanded her career to other magazines, interviewing the likes of Roman Polanski, Juliette Binoche, Anthony Hopkins and Robert DiNero. Her interviews have since appeared in The New Yorker, New York Times, The Times of London, Redbook, Cosmopolitan, Movieline's Hollywood Life, Japanese and German Men's Vogue and others. She also became an on-air contributor to Entertainment Tonight, Inside Edition and VH1's Sexiest Movie Moments. Life was idyllic.

In the mid-90s, Frankel was asked to collaborate with Hollywood producer and friend, Randy Finch, on a screenplay about two women, one of whom was a poker shark. To research the part, she contacted her cousin Keith in Ft. Lauderdale. Keith had been a professional poker player in Las Vegas for a many years. At her first lesson, she was told she "played like a girl." To her, those were fighting words. Resolved to change this assessment, she determined to become an expert.

Frankel played poker at every opportunity, booking assignments and scheduling interviews to coincide with high stakes games. She played hard and fast, winning frequently, and acquiring a respectable reputation in the poker world.

While playing in Atlantic City one evening in 1998, she overheard a dealer bemoan the fact that his tips were going to be small that night because there were so few customers. A second dealer quipped in response, "Why leave the house when you can play in your pajamas?" Why, indeed? Frankel couldn't wait to get home to her computer. It was the beginning of her nightmare.

So hooked did she become that she would look for any excuse to stay home, simply to gamble on line. She wouldn't eat, would hardly sleep, and when she left home, would do so for the shortest time possible. Then she would rush back and sign on again. She lost hundreds of thousands of dollars, assuring herself that the next big win was only a game away.

Lying became a way of life...to her family...her friends...her editors...everyone she loved and cared about, but worst of all, to herself. There's an old saying in the gambling world, when the ship sinks, what floats to the top is hats and eyeglasses. Frankel was sinking and sinking fast, and she was about to go down for the final time.

Hats & Eyeglasses is a triumph of the human spirit. It is charming and hilarious, yet poignant and sad. From the pinnacle of success to the depths of despair, Frankel has opened her life to the world - a successful debut work from a very talented writer. You will enjoy this one, I guarantee.

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