I’ve been getting a LOT of questions about You First, my new novel that publishes January 6, 2015. So, I thought I’d take this opportunity to answer some of them.
I thought you said YOU were writing a new book. Who is this Cari Simmons person?
Excellent question! Cari Simmons is the beautiful genius behind the Picture Perfect series. She provided a short synopsis for each title. Then authors were selected to take these ideas and turn them into full-fledged novels. The synopsis for You First was literally 716 words. I took that, made it my own, and turned it into a 42,000-word novel.
Wait a minute – your name is Lara (rhymes with mascara), not Lola. So who’s Lola Douglas?
Ahh, you must be new around here. Lola Douglas is the pseudonym I used for True Confessions of a Hollywood Starlet and More Confessions of a Hollywood Starlet. My editor, the lovely and talented Kristen Pettit, thought it would be fun to bring Lola out for another spin, so “she” got to write You First.
Wasn’t True Confessions of a Hollywood Starlet a Lifetime movie?
Yep. It was based on the book. It still airs from time to time. It’s deliciously cheesy and one of the coolest things that happened to me during my short writing career.
Speaking of short: Didn’t you, like, “retire” back in 2010?
I did.
Why?
There are a lot of reasons. I wrote about most of them here.
So what happened to bring you out of “retirement”?
Kristen happened. See, she got out of the children’s book business before I did. Then, in 2013, she decided to get back into it. She sent me a Facebook message saying that we should talk. When we did, she pitched me the project. It had “me” written all over it – set in Delaware! With a protagonist who’s into theater and likes to bake!
Even so, at first I was like, “Um, I don’t do this any more.” But then I thought, “This is a pretty incredible opportunity. I’d be a fool to pass it up.”
We talked, and I started to get excited about the idea of diving back into fiction. So I figured I’d give it a shot.
Are you writing anything else?
Why, yes, I am! I’m working on a wickedly fun YA novel for Kristen. It’s tentatively slated to come out summer 2016.
What’s it about?
I’m not at liberty to say. (Don’t you know it’s bad luck to talk about a WIP before you’ve finished a draft?)
Whatever. Is it another Lola book?
No, this one will be published under my married name, Lara Deloza. It will be the first Lara Deloza novel ever!
Anything else I need to know?
Um…not that I can think of. But let me know if you have any more questions, okay?
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