So Knoll uses her writing to exorcise her own curiosity of "the dark side." But Knoll's journey toward success actually resembles that of the characters in The Favorite Sister. In an op-ed for the New York Times entitled "I Want to Be Rich and I'm Not Sorry," Knoll explains, as matter-of-factly as Stephanie did in the book, her definition of success. "Success, for me, is synonymous with making money. I want to write books, but I really want to sell books. I want advances that make my husband gasp and fat royalty checks twice a year," she wrote.