Candace Bushnell talks about 'Sex' and 'Blondes'

Candace Bushnell's column and novel "Sex and the City" has spawned a hit TV show. Her new book, "Four Blondes," is now in bookstores    VIDEO Candace Bushnell discusses her latest book, '4 Blondes,' with Daryn Kagan on CNN Morning News Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media)

(CNN) -- No, Sarah Jessica Parker is not her, says "Sex and the City" author Candace Bushnell. But she does play a "me-like character," Bushnell told CNN anchor Daryn Kagan in an interview earlier this week.

"You could say I lived the life, I wrote the book, and then it was made into a TV series starring Sarah Jessica Parker," Bushnell said. "(The character) would have been me about four or five years ago."

Bushnell, in fact, has gotten away from her own life with a new book, "Four Blondes" (Atlantic Monthly Press). The work concerns -- yes -- four blonde women, who inhabit the wealthy, status-conscious Manhattan of Bushnell's other work. But, as with the women of "Sex and the City," money, material possessions, and even boyfriends do not love and happiness make.

Bushnell is pleased with the result. "It's a more ... in-depth book than 'Sex and the City,' and it's very funny, it is very juicy," she said.

She noted that she's earned praise from readers and viewers who recognize themselves in her characters, particularly since those characters have entered mass consciousness with the TV series.

"When I first started writing the column and then the book came out, there were so many women who would come up to me and say: This is me. This is about my life, you know, and nobody has done it before," Bushnell said. "And I think that that's what they've done really successfully with the TV series, is they made women feel like it's about their lives."

"Sex and the City" continues to attract attention for its sexually up-front attitude. That's deliberate, said Bushnell.

"One of the premises of the first show and the premise of one of the first chapters of the book was: Can a woman have sex like a man? And, of course, that garnered quite a bit of controversy when that episode came out because, of course, a lot of men were saying: No, no, no. You don't want women having uncommitted sex."

Bushnell faced a problem last Sunday night: "Sex and the City" was a major presence at the Emmy telecast, where it was up for nine awards, while an episode of the series aired on HBO. (HBO is a unit of Time Warner, which owns CNN.com.) What did she do?

As might befit a Bushnell character, she had it both ways. "I'm lucky. They send me the tapes," Bushnell said. "I will probably watch it (later)."

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Sex and the City

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