Her first novel, "Chilly Scenes of Winter" (1976), was adapted as a film alternatively titled "Chilly Scenes of Winter" or "Head Over Heels" in 1979 by Joan Micklin Silver, starring John Heard, Mary Beth Hurt, Gloria Grahame, and Peter Riegert. The first version was not well received by audiences, though upon its re-release in 1982, with a new title and ending to match that in book, the movie was successful, and is now considered a cult classic. She was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2004.