“Bright Lights, Big City” [don't push it! -Ed] meets “Sex & the City”—with 30 fabulous recipes—in Brooke Parkhurst’s debut novel about a sassy, food-loving Southern belle who moves to New York City to chase her journalistic star... Belle Lee is a 25 year-old small town Southern girl who leaves Alabama—and the comfort of Granddaddy’s newspaper—for the fast-paced, glamorous Big Apple media world. But a career in Midtown and a love life south of Houston (the street pronounced nothing like the Texas city she knows) isn’t all that Vogue promised it would be. Belle finds herself at a thankless gig in the mosh pit of a conservative 24-hour news station facing corruption, conspiring co-workers and money-hungry executives intent on fixing the presidential elections. If this is what it takes to be a big time “journalist,” she’s not interested. In the end, Belle follows her true passions—writing, cooking and writing about cooking—and finds a career, love and, of course, herself.

Sounds like some low-level secrets about Fox News, Parkhurst's former employer, might be revealed. (As well as the secrets behind Grandma's sweet tea.)

[Photo: Nikola Tamindzic]

Update: Brooke tells us they're not her knockers. She'd also like to point out that she's only 27.

The Jane Guide To Breast Health [Jane]

• The Post names the "9 Hottest Celebs on the Web." These include Amanda Congdon, Tila Tequila, and Brooke Parkhurst. [NYP]
  
• Congressional Quarterly's Craig Crawford simply cannot keep up with the volume of Don Imus-related email he's receiving. Poor baby. [Politico]
  
• Some blogs make money, some don't. [Boston Globe]
  
• A corporate-speak glossary. Could someone at Portfolio be trying to tell us something? "Feature creep: The temptation to keep loading extra features onto a product release until it becomes an absolute mess. This usually happens under the advice of management consultants." [Portfolio]

• The "weight" not-blog, which will be loosely connected to Self, might be named ElasticWaist.com.
  
• We hear they're trying to get away with paying not-bloggers $1,000 per month for three posts a day. Of course, the cachet of being remotely associated with the Nast is better than money, right?
  
• Oh, right: Brooke Parkhurst may be somehow involved.

  Well, actually, if Brooke's going to contribute her celeb (Matthew Modine!) studded musings and her indefatigable classiness, maybe there's hope for this exciting new venture! —Emily
  

We know how yesterday's Pinup Gallery got you all hot and bothered. Wouldn't it be great if there were some kind of "making of" video to give you a peek behind the scenes? Guess what, there is! Thanks to the special videographic talents of Nick McGlynn and some fine editing work from Richard Blakeley, you can actually hear what Julia and Brooke sound like. Although we can imagine how that might be a turnoff.

Earlier: Gawker Pinup Gallery: Julia Allison and Brooke Parkhurst

Julia got her start as a sex columnist in Georgetown, and now writes the "The Dating Life" for AM New York. Brooke is a former Fox News Channel gal turned blogger and novelist.

As a Valentine's Day love letter from us to each of you, we took Gawker photographer Nikola Tamindzic and sequestered them for an afternoon of delicious pinup photography. These are the women of today, the daughters of Helen Gurley Brown and even Andrea Dworkin. Please enjoy them.

Gawker Pinup Gallery: Julia Allison and Brooke Parkhurst [photos]

Shot on location at the Pink Elephant, New York City.

Photographer: Nikola Tamindzic
Hair: Hair by Patrick
Makeup: Virginia Bradley
Stylist: Heather Ann Snodgrass

—

1-4: Both dresses by Jessica McClintock; model's own gloves; shoes by Nine West.
5: Bra and Panties by Anna Sui; vintage kimono, courtesy of Neva Lindner at Wardrobe-NYC.
6-10: On Julia: Bra and Panties by Anna Sui, her own shoes; On Brooke: Dress by Gucci, courtesy of Neva Lindner at Wardrobe-NYC, her own shoes; On Bill: his own suit.
11: Brooke's own Bra and Panties; antique Japanese kimono, courtesy of Neva Lindner at Wardrobe-NYC.
12-14: On Julia: Bra by Victoria's Secret, Panties by Anna Sui, her own boots; On Brooke: Bra by Victoria's Secret, skirt by Chl e.
15-18: On Julia: Anne Valerie Hash couture leather dress; On Brooke: Ferrera Metal and Swarovski crystal dress. Both dresses courtesy of Neva Lindner at Wardrobe-NYC.

Special Thanks To:
Neva Lindner @ Wardrobe-NYC
David Cohen @ Pink Elephant
Kat & Olivia @ Syndicate PR
Trojan Condoms
Asie Mohtarez
Nick McGlynn
Jessica McClintock, Inc.
Bill Draken

"i would like a correction on y'all's part but i'm sure that's too much to ask."

Nope, Brooke, not too much at all! See, what happened was that Brooke's sister, Sloane Stephens Cox, usually writes the cover stories for the magazine, and her name automatically comes up when a feature goes online. Whew. We sure are glad that's been resolved.

For those of you who missed what we just said: No, Brooke's sister didn't actually write the piece about her; she just writes the cover stories for the magazine that profiled her. But what's a little conflict of interest when it's all in the family?

We also heard from Ms. Cox herself:

Your post yesterday claims that I, Sloane Stephens Cox, wrote an article about my sister Brooke Parkhurst. Check your facts before hitting the keyboard. The author is Kimberly Blair. Feel free to verify it at http://www.bellamagazine.com/story_hostestdiva.shtml. By the way, you don't have permission to run one of the News Journal's photos. I'm going to report it to our executive editor.

Another Slow Day on Crosby Street [Belle in the Big Apple]

Earlier: Gawker's Coverage of Brooke Parkhurst

All her life, she had planned to follow the journalism paths of her mother and sister, Sloane Stephens Cox; and that of her late grandfather, Braden Ball, 30-year publisher of the News Journal. "And then suddenly, I'm a temp, and I'd go home after an empty and fruitless day,'' she said. That career derailment steered her onto the promising book-writing track.

Slow News Day at Gawker [Belle in the Big Apple]
Earlier: Breaking: Self-Promoting Blogger Hit On By Ron Perelman