Judith Regan, the former News Corporation publisher who almost brought us the "crimes" of OJ Simpson in book form, has found a new role as part-inspiration for a satire of the publishing industry.

Because She Can, by former Regan employee Bridie Clark, not only builds upon the tumultuous legend of Regan, fired last month amid reports of anti-Semitic remarks, but adds to what has been a surprisingly small genre. While Hollywood and the magazine world have been endlessly parodied, there are few takeoffs on the book world, which is generally not seen as an industry which serves up enough dirt to be successfully fictionalised.

If anyone could turn that maxim on its head, it's Regan, known not only for Simpson's abandoned If I Did It, but for her romantic affairs and atomic temper.

Clark, 29, worked for 11 months as an editor at ReganBooks before leaving at the end of 2004. She quickly put together a manuscript about the publishing business; what she calls a "coming of age novel disguised as a 'boss from hell' story".

In Because She Can, Iowa native Claire Truman is an idealistic young editor who leaves the old-fashioned confines of Peters & Pomfret for better pay and more responsibility at Mather-Hollinger, where she will work under the notorious Vivian Grant. Claire's professional and personal life are soon ravaged by Vivian, who harasses her at all hours, at all volumes.

But, of course, Vivian is not Judith Regan. "The character from Vivian Grant really is a composite," Clark said. "There is nothing directly lifted from life in the book."

Then again, Claire and Clark would have a lot to talk about.

"Yeah, she's demanding," said Clark of Regan. "When she's not happy with something, she lets you know. I was certainly yelled at my fair share of times, and got a few late night phone calls and things like that."

Clark acknowledges the influence of the film version of The Devil Wears Prada. Jamie Raab, senior vice president and publisher of Warner Books, says Because She Can was substantially revised from the original draft, with Vivian practically screaming from the page - profanely, no doubt - for more attention.

"The scenes with the wicked boss were so hilarious and so strong that I thought if we put more of that in the book, the book would work better," he said.

Ms Regan did not immediately respond to several requests for comment about Because She Can.