II. HELL: PUBLICATION PARTY FOR \u201cTHE LOVE MACHINE\u201d MAY 1969, AMERICAN BOOKSELLERS ASSOCIATION CONVENTION, WASHINGTON, D.C.<\/p>\n
\u201cHades ain\u2019t for ladies.\u201d<\/em> The high point of Simon and Schuster\u2019s massive publicity campaign
\n\u2013Susan Wheeler<\/p>\n
\nfor Jacqueline Susann\u2019s second \u201ctorrid roman \u00e0 clef potboiler,\u201d
\nThe Love Machine<\/em>, was a party given for 500 booksellers at the
\n1969 ABA convention is Washington, D.C. Jackie commanded
\nstar treatment, unusual for an author at that time.\u00a0 She always
\ntraveled in a stretch limo, not <\/em>a sedan or normal-size limo; her
\ndriver had to be dressed in a black suit and chauffeur\u2019s cap;
\nand she expected the presidential suite in any hotel the publisher
\nsent her to.\u00a0 Editor Michael Korda concurs with Capote: \u201cShe
\ndid<\/em> look a bit like a truck driver in drag \u2026 She was tall, broad
\nshouldered, large bosomed, with the deep, husky voice of a
\nlongshoreman, and she wore stage makeup that looked as if
\nit had been put on with a trowel and then baked.\u00a0 Her face was
\nan improbable dark tan, her lips a glossy bloodred, and her spiked
\neyelashes, striking on TV, were truly alarming up close. Her eyes
\nwere dark, bright, and very, very shrewd and tough.\u201d \u00a0 And:
\n\u201cJackie \u2014 a chain-smoker \u2014 exhaled out of both nostrils like a
\ndragon.\u201d\u00a0 The ankh, the ancient Egyptian symbol of eternal life,
\nwhich played a role in the plot of The Love Machine<\/em> and which
\nappeared on the cover of the book, became a vital part of the
\nnovel\u2019s promotion. S&S spent thousands of dollars on gift ankhs
\n(pendants on gold chains, rings, tie clasps, and cuff links) that
\nwere to be given to booksellers at the ABA party.\u00a0 There were
\nto be cakes in the shape of the book, with the cover reproduced
\nin icing.\u00a0 There was to be a \u201cLove Machine Cocktail,\u201d specially
\ninvented for the occasion by the bartender of Danny\u2019s Hideaway,
\na New York show-business bar and steak house, which Jackie
\nand Irving frequented.\u00a0 The cocktail consisted of cr\u00e8me de cacao,
\nvodka, Pernod, and papaya juice.\u00a0 \u201cIt was dreadful,\u201d recalls one
\nguest.\u00a0 \u201cIt was liquid laxative.\u201d\u00a0 During the planning of the party,
\nJackie insisted that \u201cno cripples were to be invited.\u201d\u00a0 When the
\nS&S publicity director asked her to explain, she said \u201cthe sight
\nof them depressed people and was therefore counterproductive
\nto good promotion.\u201d\u00a0 Then she reiterated: \u201cNo cripples.\u201d\u00a0 Dinner
\nwas served at candlelit tables in the ballroom of the Shoreham
\nHotel.\u00a0 Each table had one empty chair, so that Jackie could move
\nfrom table to table and sign copies of her book.\u00a0 As booksellers
\nfiled past Jackie and Irving, receiving line-style, each was handed
\na potent \u2018Love Machine Cocktail.\u201d Soon, the publication party
\nescalated into a drunken brawl.\u00a0 The noise level grew out of
\ncontrol; inebriated booksellers refused to be seated for dinner.
\nThe menu included flamb\u00e9 dishes, which Jackie had chosen for
\ntheir drama.\u00a0 Korda: \u201cGreat bursts of flame lit up the room, with
\nthe occasional smell of singed hair, illuminating, as in hell, Jackie,
\nas she made her way from table to table.\u00a0 Booksellers were making
\npaper airplanes out of the promotional material and sending them
\nflying through the room.\u00a0 Amoretti di Sarono, the small, round
\nItalian biscuits wrapped in tissue-thin paper \u2026 had been placed
\non each table, and people were setting fire to the wrappers to watch
\nthem float slowly in flames to the ceiling.\u00a0 Jackie could be seen
\nsmiling fiercely, while attempting to shield her wig from flames.\u201d
\n—<\/p>\n