A popular diet book is getting a fictional spinoff, but whether it will help readers lose weight remains to be seen.

Simon & Schuster's Gallery imprint will publish "Skinny Bitch in Love," a novel by Kim Barnouin based on the 2005 diet book "Skinny Bitch," which she wrote with Rory Freedman, Publishers Weekly reported. According to PW, the novel will be about a vegan chef who "loses her job and her boyfriend in quick succession, then finds a new beginning after launching a vegan cooking school and falling for a meat-eating man." Barnouin has a two-book deal, according to PW.

"Skinny Bitch" gave tips on eating healthily and discouraged readers from consuming sodas and processed foods, among other things. The book became a mini-cult phenomenon of sorts and got the attention of a variety of people, including Detroit Tigers first baseman Prince Fielder. The book inspired the baseball player to become a vegetarian while he was still playing for the Milwaukee Brewers, but that decision didn't last long, "I'm not a vegetarian,'' he said in January when he was traded to the Tigers,SI.com reported. "I was, for like three months.''

The news of the book deal comes as the film "What to Expect When You're Expecting" still plays in theaters.

That star-studded movie, which has received less-than-enthusiastic reviews, takes a fictional spin on the nonfiction book of the same name by Heidi Murkoff and Sharon Mazel. Is it only a matter of time until the "Skinny Bitch" books get the same treatment?

(Source: International Business Times)