The Feminist Gold Digger

Elizabeth Ford and Daniela Drake — an Emmy-winning news producer and an M.D., respectively — are no bimbos. And yet, they've written what sounds like a bimbo bible. In a chatty, if bitter, tone, Smart Girls Marry Money: How Women Have Been Duped Into the Romantic Dream — And How They're Paying for It makes the case against marrying for love. We couldn't resist a few words with the authors.

MC: You're both accomplished working women, but you're telling us we should marry for money. What gives?

FORD: The juggling act required to be a successful woman, to be a good mom and to be a careerist, makes you want to say, "Screw it, I should've married money."

MC: So you're saying we should quit our careers?

FORD: You should definitely keep your job. But we haven't climbed the ladder as far as we should have. We have to keep that in mind when looking for a partner, and steer clear of seductive slackers.

MC: But what about all the gains we've made in the workplace?

DRAKE: You can always find a poster girl who earns more than a man. But the average woman earns one-third of what a man earns over the course of her working life.

MC: Did you two marry for love?

DRAKE: I did. And I've been happily married for 10 years.

FORD: I married the love of my life when I was 26 years old. Now I'm a single mom, and he's engaged to a girl 15 years younger than me.

MC: Oy, that sounds tricky.

FORD: I was with my husband for 13 years, and then he wasn't in love with me anymore. The bitterness is there.

MC: Thus the book's premise?

FORD: It's meant to be funny. It's meant to be catty. It's meant to be a good read. The title gets people's attention. You picked it up, didn't you?