WASHINGTON -- Blogger and political commentator Keli Goff was the guest of honor Thursday night at the Park Hyatt Hotel to celebrate the release of her first foray into fiction with "The GQ Candidate." The author of "Party Crashing," Goff regularly contributes to The Loop 21 and The Huffington Post, and has appeared on CNN, MSNBC, BBC and Fox News Channel.
Goff said she was inspired by her political peers when writing the novel, which follows the changes within a group of friends when one of their own places a presidential bid. Though the book's main character -- a well-dressed, charismatic African American man in his 40s who's a likely contender for the presidency -- is generating the most buzz, Goff said political junkies would recognize familiar personalities in many of the supporting characters.
"There are so many other characters sprinkled in this book that those people who are real followers of politics are going to [have] fun with a guessing game about who certain characters are based on."
While the book's plot is political, Goff said non-political types can enjoy the relationships between characters. "What's been great is seeing people who are not political junkies say, 'This is really fun, I finished it in one weekend'," she said.
Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) was among the party's hosts, along with CBS's Christine Delargy and D.C. blogger Pamela Sorensen Other notable guests included former Rep. Artur Davis (D-Ala.), the Ashcroft Group's Juleanna Glover, CNN and HBO commentator Amy Holmes, and The Nation contributor Julian Epstein.
Click through for photos of the event.
