She is editor-in-chief of Cosmopolitan and author of 6 novels — 5 Bailey Weggins mystery novels and the new psychological suspense thriller Hush. This latest centers on a single New York City working mom, who finds herself in a life-threatening jam after a one-night stand.

Why Cosmo thrives "It continues to be the bible for fun fearless females. Women change, but they still need their bible. "Plus, with a lot of help, I've taken Cosmo to #1 on the newsstand and kept it there. We outsell our nearest competition by over a million copies."

About men "Men want to be seduced, they want to be told we find them attractive. Remember, Rielle Hunter helped ruin John Edwards' marriage and political future by simply saying, 'You're so hot.' And it's not good to be your husband's soulmate: Relationships thrive on a little mystery."

Latest "woo-hoo" moment "Having Lady Gaga on my April cover."

A.M. starter "Greek yogurt: It's like eating pure bliss for breakfast."

The writer's life "The trick has been to write every day without fail — I do it early in the morning and even on vacation — and not setting super-big goals for myself. If I promise myself I will do too much, I grow distracted writing and become overwhelmed with an urge to de-fuzz my sweaters! I aim for only a page a day on weekdays and 5 on each weekend day. It's never too much and, damn, the pages do add up."

Sister in crime "I admire Linda Fairstein [crime novelist and former head of the sex crimes unit for the Manhattan DA's office]. She writes a great book every year, but is still 'in the world' — appearing on TV, speaking at events, writing nonfiction pieces, doing pro bono legal work."

Icy pleasure "It was the time I arrived in Antarctica after 2-1/2 days on the Drake Passage. Even remembering now makes me want to cry — it's so breathtakingly beautiful there."

Happily ever after "[My proudest personal achievement was] marrying a guy, Brad Holbrook, who is as happy doing eco trips with me as he is going to a Picasso exhibit or a Civil War battleground, and raising two kids, Hunter and Hayley, who don't appear to be psychopaths and seem to really like me. "Of course, I wouldn't even mind if they were psychopaths as long as they like me."