The Love Machine (novel) The Love Machine (novel) The Love Machine is the second novel by Jacqueline Susann, the follow-up to her enormously successful "Valley of the Dolls" (1966). Published by Simon & Schuster in 1969, the book was a "New York Times" #1 best seller. "The Love Machine" tells the story of ruthless, haunted Robin Stone and his life and career in the cut-throat world of 1960s network television. Handsome but promiscuous, the latter earning his nickname the Love Machine after he describes television with the same sobriquet, Robin is loved beyond all reason by three women: Amanda, the beautiful but doomed fashion
Jacqueline Susann credited with creating the modern-day book tour. Michael Korda, editor of Susann's "Love Machine" said in 1995 that, prior to Susann, "people weren't so much interested in selling books as they were in publishing them." To what had once been considered a "gentleman's profession," she brought a show business sensibility. She toured extensively in support of each book, making appearances at bookstores and on countless television and radio shows. Her books were advertised on the entertainment pages of major newspapers, and Mansfield tested her book covers to see how they appeared on television. She even served coffee and doughnuts to