Bushnell's Money Bushel

By Stephen M. Silverman

10/03/1997 at 12:00 AM EDT

Author Candance Bushnell, whose New York Observer columns are the basis for HBO's "Sex and the City," has signed a $1 million contract with Manhattan-based Hyperion Books to write two novels about a Hamptons-hopping, money-loving model, reports New York magazine. The character, named Janey, reportedly comes straight from the pages of her most recent book, "Four Blondes," which had been published by Grove/Atlantic. "Hyperion came to me with the idea," Bushnell told New York, explaining why she jumped publishers, "and I'm very excited about it."