Katie Price: Six-figure deal

London, Aug. 27: Most aspiring novelists toil away for years before they can dream of a three-book deal with a publisher the size of Random House.

Jordan, the glamour model and reality TV star, has, however, secured her debut as a novelist with a six-figure advance before she has written a word.

Random House, Britain’s largest publisher, announced yesterday that it has signed up the model, whose real name is Katie Price, to write an autobiography and two novels.

Better known for her appearance on the show I’m a Celebrity, Get Me Out Of Here and subsequent romance with her co-star, the former pop star Peter Andre, Jordan is adding fiction to her CV at the suggestion of the publisher.

Her first autobiography, Being Jordan, sold close to 500,000 copies and earned ?4.7 million when it was published by Blake last year.

The second autobiography, to cover her forthcoming wedding to Peter Andre and the birth of their baby in June, is scheduled to be published in February next year by the Century wing of Random House.

The two novels, which it is promised will be “sexy and irresistible”, will come out in paperback in June and November next year on Arrow, a division of Random House.

Several heavyweights of the literary world were impressed to have an unexpected new novelist in their midst.

JG Ballard, the veteran author of more than 30 books including Empire of the Sun, said: “I hope she has every success. It might win the Booker Prize. One has to accept that we are living in times when the only things that matter are celebrity and money, and if Jordan writes a novel, that will bring the two together. Whether that’s a good thing or a bad thing, I’ll leave for you to judge.”

Fay Weldon, who has written more than 20 novels, said: “We have learnt that Victoria Beckham has never read a book, so we should be delighted that Jordan wants to write one.

“She should give it a go and let’s see what happens. It seems unlikely, but some very unexpected people have written novels. If she finishes it then we will be able to judge it. Jordan is a lucky girl that she was born beautiful and seems to be a perfectly nice person. She deserves to be taken seriously.”