Kathleen Flynn-Hui: a debut novelist finds her muse among the wash-and-set set

"My clients were always saying, 'You're such an amazing storyteller; you should write a book,'" Kathleen Flynn-Hui recalls. As a star colorist at a top New York City Salon, the mother of two didn't need to add another commitment to her schedule, but she found she couldn't shake her clients' persistent refrain. So, setting her 40th birthday as a deadline, she finally decided to follow their advice. The results? Her debut novel, Beyond the Blonde (Warner Books), due out this month. The breezy, compulsively readable story is packed with hilarious scenarios and astute social commentary that offer a behind-the-scenes look at a fictional New York City salon as seen through the eyes of one Georgia Watkins, a small-town girl with big hair dreams.

It's a subject close to home for the colorist-cum-novelist. Raised in Lee, New Hampshire, by her hairstylist mother, Flynn-Hui moved to New York City in the late '80s to pursue her career, eventually landing a job at one of the city's most respected salons, Frederic Fekkai. There she met husband Kao Hui, a stylist and now co-owner of celebrity-favorite Salon AKS, where for the last eight years Flynn-Hui has worked her magic on some of the most glamorous heads in New York City.

The book presents what amounts to a perfect movie plot, and Walt Disney Pictures has purchased the film rights, which just adds to the fairy-tale quality of Flynn-Hui's own story. It's an achievement that's prompted many of her clients and friends to come seeking advice on their own literary ambitions: "They all say, 'Do you think I have a book in me?'" Her response: "Absolutely. Just start writing."

Carolyn Murnick last wrote about actor Jesse Bradford in the July issue.

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