Alexis Vs. Mrs. Partridge? Joan Collins Steaming Mad over Shirley Jones New Book

 Update: Apparently what Joan wants, Joan gets! After Joan's lawyers sent the publishers of Shirley's book Simon & Schuster a nasty cease and desist order with the threat of a libel suit, the publishers have agreed to eliminate any mention of Joan in all upcoming prints of the book as well as all digital copies sold. But, no news is bad news when it comes to book publishing and publicity, as Joan very well knows. She famously had to defend herself in court in the 90s after her book publisher tried to renege on her book contract, worth almost four millions dollars. The publishers claimed the manuscript she submitted was unpublishable, but Joan won the suit and got to keep the millions she was paid in advance. Certainly, Joan has taken advice from her bestselling novelist sister, Jackie (Hollywood Wives, Lovers & Gamblers), one of the world's most famous and richest authors!

This sounds very much like one of those delectable catfights between Alexis Morelle Carrington Colby Dexter Rowan and Krystal Carrington on the ultimate 80s glamour-fest Dynasty…

It seems that former Dynasty vixen Dame Joan Collins is not-very-pleased with the former Mrs. Partridge of The Partridge Family, Academy-Award winning actress Shirley Jones. The displeasure stems from a steamy anecdote Shirley included in her bestselling memoir. In the new book, Shirley claims that the first time she met aspiring starlet Collins in the 1960s, Collins’ then-husband, the late actor Anthony Newley, suggested a four-some with Jones and her husband of the time, Jack Cassidy. “It was clear what Tony was leading up to was swinging,” Jones writes in her new book.

This has irked Ms. Collins, now 80, who calls the claims “utter rubbish”. Joan contacted her busy lawyers and had them write up a cease and desist order, demanding the book be removed from stores and online retailers and vetted to have the anecdote removed from the publication!

For her part, Shirley is not backing down, claiming the story is one-hundred percent accurate and the truth. Will there be a dramatic courtroom scene coming out of all this or will we see Joan and Shirley battling it out in the lily pond a la Dynasty? I’m sure that would definitely spikes sales of both Shirley’s memoir as well as Joan’s long list of potboiler trash! 

Lucky/Chances: Superstar Novelist Jackie Collins Branches Out into Self-Publishing

She is the undisputed doyenne of the sexed-charged, page-turning novel, and now superstar novelist Jackie Collins is branching out, turning the publishing world on its ear (once again!!!).

Collins, the author of 28 steamy blockbusters that have sold close to half a BILLION copies worldwide, has turned her attention to two of the newest changes revolutionizing the publishing industry: e-publishing and self-publishing.

With a list of bestselling titles going back some 43 years (1968's The World Is Full of Married Men was her very first published book), Collins is now publishing some of her older titles (not that one has EVER been out-of-print) as eBooks. Her most recent addition to the eBook world is the novel that put her on the pot-boiling map, 1981's Chances. This multi-million copy international bestseller introduced Jackie's most legendary, beloved and popular heroine, Lucky Santangelo, who has thrilled readers worldwide with her incredible courage, devotion to family and friends and her amazing business acumen for over 30 years. Now a new generation of Collins fans can discover the charm and sex appeal of her dynamic novels, using their Kindle, Nook or iPad, while sipping a pina colada on the beach and ogling the hunks and babes rollicking half-naked on the sand. (Just the way Jackie would expect you to enjoy one of her books!)

Jackie is also turning heads in the publishing world with her decision to self-publish some of her titles. For decades, self-publishing was viewed as a "vanity press" and the choice of bad writers who couldn't land a contract, but with a new breed of self-publishing presses changing the rules and perceptions of the entire process, Jackie has decided to go the self-publishing route as well.

She has self-published a new edition of her classic book The Bitch, yes,  the book that inspired the infamous movie featuring Jackie's equally-famous sister Joan Collins as naughty nymph Fontaine Khaled, enjoying the Swinging Seventies topless above a pool. The title is now available in an edition from Amazon's self-publishing sister site CreateSpace. Jackie details the many reasons behind her decision to self-publish on her blog.

So, over forty years after changing the face of the publishing world, the beautiful and vivacious Jackie Collins continues to inspire, innovate and intrigue with the glittery, exciting world she manages to weave in the pages (both paper and digital) of her incredible novels. Expect her 29th bestseller, titled The Power Trip, to hit the presses next year, and you know it will be another hot and steamy read!