Lara Deloza

Young Adult Author

When a peanut isn’t just a peanut…

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So about six weeks ago, in a renewed quest for greater health and well-being, my candy- and white carb-loving husband and I embarked on a new adventure: a no-sugar, no-flour diet eating plan. It hasn’t been nearly as hard as we’d both feared, to be honest. The most difficult part has been finding all of the hidden sugar in the foods we eat. Like, the kind that sneaks into mayo and (here’s a favorite) ShopRite brand chicken stock. Really? Sugar in chicken stock? What’s THAT about?

Apparently, ShopRite loves to put sugar into its brand foods. For instance: during this evening’s shopping trip, we picked up a pack of lightly salted dry roasted peanuts. Joe dug into them when he was unpacking the groceries. Then, when I came into the kitchen to start dinner, he said, “I ate some of the peanuts already. We chose wisely.”

I opened the jar and popped a few into my mouth. They tasted good, but not entirely peanut-ty. I checked the label, and this is what I found:

Peanuts

I read the ingredients out to Joe.

“No wonder they were so tasty,” he said.

This reminded me of a very important lesson: ALWAYS READ THE LABEL.

I mean, you can see, nothing about these  peanuts indicates that they are seasoned with both sugar AND corn syrup solids. Nothing screams “extractives of paprika” or garlic and onion powder. Note that there is “natural flavor” added into this mix of very unnatural flavors.

Thanks, but no thanks, ShopRite. These will likely end up on the free table at one of our offices. To whichever co-worker ends up with these in their tummy, I extend my sincerest apologies.

Mobile blogging and other crazy tech things.

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I’m writing this on my iPad, using the Belkin keyboard that turns it into a netbook of sorts, driving back to Delaware after a fun afternoon with my stepdaughter. Correction: my husband is driving. I’m just in the passenger seat.

But it’s so crazy to me, the woman who didn’t even own her first cell phone until 2001, that I could be doing something like this.

The iPad/keyboard combo alone trips me out sometimes. I take it to meetings instead of lugging my heavy, work-issued laptop around the building. I take it to conferences for live tweeting. I’ve used it as a mobile hotspot. I’ve used it to watch movies on plane rides. I’ve shot and edited video on it. And yes, I’ve also been known to play a little Candy Crush on it as well.

I got my first smartphone in 2009, balking at first at the high price tag – not only of the phone itself but the monthly service. Up until then, I’d been paying $39 a month. (Goodness, I miss those days!) Keep in mind that I stayed on (free) dial up until 2005, because I couldn’t fathom paying for high-speed Internet.

But now, in 2014, I am all teched out. I’ve got my iPhone and unlimited texting plan. I’ve got the aforementioned iPad of Wonder. I have a 3D television (how did THAT happen?). I have a combo package that gives me fast Wi-Fi, a broadband phone, and a DVR.

Can we just talk about the DVR for a second? As soon as Comcast started offering them, I got one. I mean, fast-forwarding through commercials? No more recording shows on VHS? And with this X1 platform, buggy as it is, I can now recored four shows at once. Who needs this? you ask. I do. Sunday night TV is intense. FOUR SHOWS AT ONCE.

Welcome to the future.

Someday, when we all have Feed-style brain implants connecting us to everyone and everything, I’ll look back on the tech of 2014 and think of how positively quaint this all is.

But for now, as we cruise down I-95, in the car that lets me talk on the phone through its dashboard, I will continue to be amazed.

Words with friends.

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Tomorrow I have an early-morning writing date with my friend Carolee, who I met when I was teaching a creative writing class at the Brandywine Y some 11 (or is it 12?) years ago. We meet up at Panera semi-regularly, do a quick catch-up on our lives, and then dive right in, laptop to laptop.

It’s great because writing is such a solitary activity by nature. And writing dates are like gym dates in that they keep you accountable. Plus, if I’m going to schlepp all of my gear to Panera I’m less likely to pack it in after just 45 minutes. So I’ll often hit my daily writing goal and keep on going. One time this summer I put in something like seven or eight hours in Panera – long enough to eat two meals and drink several cups of coffee.

All good things, right? (Well, maybe not the several cups of coffee part. I switched back to decaf about six weeks ago.)

It’s shaping up to be a busy weekend, but I’m glad that I can carve out a couple of hours to spend with Carolee. Even if we will spend most of that time typing, not talking.

The new book, part 2: FAQ.

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You First coverI’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.

True Confessions of a Hollywood Starlet movieWasn’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?

The new book, part 1: Overview.

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I’d totally planned to write a big ol’ blog post about my new book, You First, which comes out on January 6, 2015. Except, it’s 9:20 p.m. as I sit down to write this and I’ve been go-go-going all day long. What I’m saying is, I am out of steam.

So for now, here’s the cover and the flap copy. The backstory will come tomorrow (I promise!).

You First coverBFF 4 eva?

Gigi Stewart and her best friend, Finley, are always together. And everything they do, they document on the Wall, their collage in Gigi’s room that holds layers and layers of memories—from movie tickets to magazine ads to embarrassing baby photos—and they never stop adding to it.

But when Gigi suggests they start planning their annual joint birthday blowout, Finn just doesn’t seem that into it. She’s more interested in extra soccer practice and hanging with the girls from the varsity team than choosing a party theme or going to cooking class or sleepovers with Gigi.

Though she tells herself it’s no big deal, Gigi can’t help but be hurt. And she’s even more hurt when she discovers that Finn’s been lying about what she’s been doing and who she’s been hanging out with instead of her.

Gigi thought she and Finn would be friends forever—but what happens when “forever” comes to an end?

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