Candace Bushnell signs books in East Hampton

Candace Bushnell, who wrote the original “Sex in the City” column that spawned an industry, was one of the honorary co-chairs at the Sixth Annual Authors Night at the East Hampton Library Saturday night.

One of the books she was signing, "The Carrie Diaries, revisits the iconic alter ego she created. "The Carrie Diaries 2” is still in the works.

"In the first, she’s a senior in high school,” Bushnell says, "and the second is her first summer in New York.” Looking into Carrie’s past was politic. Since she optioned the rights to Darren Star, Bushnell no longer has a hand in Carrie's future. Also politic, her take on others' vision for her creation: “I think Michael Patrick King is fantastic and I always think the writers do a wonderful job.”

But, Bushnell says, if you’re wondering how she sees “Sex in the City” for the 40-somethings and older, read the other book she was signing, “One Fifth Avenue,” a fictionalized account of the old and new money inhabitants of the stately coop facing Washington Square Park. “I always have a hard time coming up with one sentence about the book,” she says. “It’s really about a group of people in New York right before the crash. It’s about money, morays and relationships and being middle aged.“

Spoiler alert: The 40-something heroine triumphs over her callow 20-something competitor.