The Heart Held Hostage - Lengthy novel written by Diane Chambers (Shelley Long), a former waitress turned writer on the sitcom CHEERS/NBC/1982-93. When a publisher refused Diane's manuscript. her agent suggested she trim a couple thousand pages and turn it into a script. Her final draft (written on recycled paper) won an ACE Cable TV award for best movie or miniseries. The story was based on the life of Carla Tortelli (Rhea Perlman), a wisecracking waitress who taunted Diane while they both worked together at a Boston tavern called Cheers. Diane earlier in her career used the pen name Jessica Simpson Bordais when she helped friend Sam Malone (Ted Danson) write his memoirs (the book never materialized).