Candace Bushnell, author and creator of the popular novel and series “Sex and the City,” entertained a full floor seating area at Foellinger Auditorium Monday night with personal anecdotes and pieces of advice.

Bushnell added the University onto her national book tour promoting her new New York Times Best Seller, “Lipstick Jungle.”

Dressed in a sheer leopard-print blouse, green-sequined jacket and three or four inch heels, Bushnell sauntered onto Foellinger’s stage with the theme song from HBO’s hit show “Sex and the City” playing in the background.

Bushnell briefly introduced herself and then turned her attention to the crowd.

“I heard at this school you’re really smart,” Bushnell said. “So that means you study hard… and party harder.”

The auditorium filled with handclaps and shrieks.

The crowd, mostly female University students, was sprinkled with a few males which Bushnell referred to as the “campus’ brave few,” burst into laughter several times throughout the night.

Beyond the stories of New York sex clubs and $400 Manolo Blahnik boots, Bushnell spoke of women empowerment and finding happiness in success.

Iryce Baron, an English professor who attended the event, teaches a course on woman literature. She said the novels studied are often termed chick-lit.

“Chick-lit is a genre of formulaic novels that come in pink and purple covers,” Iryce said before the event. “They’re usually about women in their late 20s or early 30s trying to find love.”

Bushnell is credited with starting the chick-lit trend, although Iryce insists Bushnell’s novels are more serious.

“None of my characters find happiness by the end of the novel by finding a guy,” Bushnell said, reinforcing her presentation’s main point, that women can and should find happiness in their friendships, careers and selves.

“I don’t think a woman’s number one concern should be finding Mr. Big,” Bushnell said referring to the great love of the main character Carrie in “Sex and the City.” “Women’s biggest concern should be becoming Mr. Big.”

Although some argue that Bushnell’s novels are more mature and serious than the general pink-clad, formulaic, comic chick-lit novel, Bushnell is proud to consider herself the creator of this literary genre.

“I read ‘Trading-Up,'” another of Bushnell’s novels, said freshman in LAS Kirstin Skurka, who attended the presentation. “I loved it. It was sassy and had attitude.”

Bushnell ended her presentation by encouraging female students to focus on their careers and not spend so much time worrying about men.

“Books have never been taken seriously when written by women,” Bushnell said. “Jane Austen wasn’t taken seriously. Even in the 1980s, publishers weren’t interested in women’s books. Now, women want to hear other women’s voices.”