by Chris Munzing
Fischkin and Mulvaney are the basis for two characters in the book appropriately named Barbara Fischkin and Jim Mulvaney. The book chronicles the mostly true, occasionally exaggerated story of how the two met as reporters at a daily newspaper in the 80's, became rivals, and then become husband and wife.
That their relationship was born out of competition is still evident today. They refer to each other by their last names, and alternately put down and applaud each other's abilities. Fischkin boasts about her husband's Pulitzer Prize, which he won at the Orange County Record for investigative journalism in 1996, and then tells him he'd have two or three if he would just apply himself occasionally.
The story of Fischkin's novel started because Mulvaney decided to apply himself by writing a screenplay, modestly titled "The Jim Mulvaney Story."
"I thought to myself, 'why is my husband writing a memoir?'" Fischkin said. After reading through it, Fischkin only had one note to add. "I thought it was terrible. He kind of didn't get it right."
"Hey, I was the last white guy in Tiananmen Square," Mulvaney countered.
"Okay that part's true," Fischkin said.
Despite Fischkin's analysis, an agent named Frank Weyman liked the story enough to suggest that a book accompany the screenplay. Fischkin, who previously wrote a nonfiction book called "Muddy Cup," was the natural choice to write the book, despite her objections.
"I sat down and wrote a few chapters to get them off my back," she said. "It started out as nonfiction, but then I thought I should make some stuff up to make it more interesting. I changed the characters in many ways, but it's still Jim and myself. Every time I sat down to write, I said 'what if.' What if this really happened like this?"
The book was originally titled "How Could You Be So Stupid: A Love Story," after one of the first things Mulvaney ever said to Fischkin while covering a murder. "It turned out to be a better pick-up line than you might think," Fischkin said.
Those first few chapters were good enough for Weyman to decide that the book would come out first. "Exclusive" found a publisher in Bantam Dell, a division of Random House.
"To her shock and horror they told her to write not only this, but another one," laughed Mulvaney, now the managing director of corporate intelligence at FortressGlobal Investigations, and if you ask, the "world's greatest reporter."
Readings are scheduled for July 14 at Book Revue in Huntington and July 21 at the Barnes & Noble in the Country Glen Shopping Center in Carle Place.
"Exclusive" follows their relationship from its beginnings in a newsroom to their coverage of the conflict in Northern Ireland to their lives in Long Beach.
The second book will chronicle the Mulvaney-Fischkin relationship into marriage and introduce the couple's real-life sons, Danny, 17, and Jack, 14. Fischkin said that the second book, which is already underway, will mirror their lives much as "Exclusive" does, but with a few fictional wrinkles thrown in.
While putting your life down on paper may seem simple, however, Fischkin said it proved difficult with her husband looking over her shoulder. "What's weird is writing about your husband while you're living with him," she said. "I don't recommend it. It's a little deranged."
Mulvaney agreed that featuring a character based on him is more than a little intimidating. "It's a hard job to be this hilarious all the time," he said.
The book, now available on Amazon.com and in local bookstores, received strong reviews from Publisher's Weekly and Entertainment Weekly.
"I hope [that readers] laugh, and laugh at some of the saddest moments," Fischkin said. "The story of my mother is in this book. The story of Northern Ireland is in this book. And I think there's a lot of questions raised. I hope it opens people's minds."
Comments about this story? DMiller@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 213.
