Jacqueline Susann hated the film; after its November premiere aboard the passenger liner, "Princess Italia", she confronted the film's director, Mark Robson, and stated, "This picture is a piece of shit." In 2001, author Rae Lawrence published a continuation of "Valley of the Dolls", titled "Jacqueline Susann's Shadow of the Dolls" (Crown), which was reputedly based on notes left by Susann for an intended sequel. In its review, "Publishers Weekly" stated, "This tedious, tame sequel is aptly titled, as it languishes deep in the shadow of the original... Susann's original still packs a wallop; the sequel is a pulled punch." Susann's second
Jacqueline Susann out. Let's just say that now we're not speaking louder." Referring to Philip Roth and his best-selling novel "Portnoy's Complaint", notorious for its graphic descriptions of masturbation, she said to Johnny Carson, "Philip Roth is a good writer, but I wouldn't want to shake hands with him." Not everyone, of course was a fan. Gore Vidal said, "She doesn't write, she types." In July 1969, Truman Capote appeared on "The Tonight Show" and announced that Susann looked "like a truck driver in drag." On Susann's next visit to the show, Johnny Carson, gave her a chance to respond to Capote