carriejones - GCC TOUR: Confessions of a True Hollywood Starlet on LIFETIME!! YAY!!!!

GCC TOUR: Confessions of a True Hollywood Starlet on LIFETIME!! YAY!!!!

Aug. 1st, 2008 at 8:02 AM

There are some writers that I just want to hang out with all day long and that feeling comes through in their books, Lara M. Zeises is one of those writers. She's funny, kind, deep and smart. So, are her books, And Hollywood is smart enough to notice.

The Lifetime adaptation of the first book, TRUE CONFESSIONS OF A HOLLYWOOD STARLET, premieres August 9^th, at 9 p.m. Lara will be blogging LIVE during the premiere.

Beneath the cuts are a little more about Lara (also known as Lola Douglas) and her book.

MORE CONFESSIONS OF A HOLLYWOOD STARTLET

Just when Morgan Carter was falling in love with the simple life she'd built in Fort Wayne, Indiana, her true identity as an infamous Hollywood starlet was exposed. Now Morgan has a choice to make: return to her glamorous movie star existence--or stick with the wholesome life, and the new love, she's found in the Midwest.

In this sequel to True Confessions of a Hollywood Starlet, Lola Douglas's heartfelt prose and headstrong heroine return to delight readers.

THE BLOG: http://zeisgeist.livejournal.com (Lara’s blog)

WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING:

Kirkus Reviews

The continuing travails of 17-year-old Morgan … come across with delightful zing, yet address serious subjects. … Douglas manages the lightest of styles while delving into deep issues for adolescents. Fun, breezy entertainment with thoughtful undertones.

KLIATT
More gossipy stuff for all those YA readers who love to think about celebrities and dream about their lives. ... This sequel [is] appealing.

Saving the World Daily Through Information (blog of YA librarian “Cedarlibrarian”)

The sequel does not disappoint. … This book has a lot more serious content than the first, but it's by no means gloom and doom. There's lots of girly brand-dropping, Hollywood gossipy angst, and romance. Verdict: Style and substance.

A Chair, A Fireplace, and a Tea Cozy (blog of YA librarian Liz B.)

If I didn't know better, I'd say Lola is the pseudonym of Drew Barrymore. Maybe someone 'in' the industry would be able to point out howlers and mistakes galore, but the essence is what is important: Lola respects these teens, the Britneys and Lindsays, MaryKates and Ashleys and Mischas. She respects Hollywood and the entertainment industry, yet is not seduced by it. This isn't a rosy picture of tinsel town. But it is a wake up call to the public not to judge teenagers by ridiculously high standards; to the adults in the profession to be adults, not business managers; and to the teens themselves, saying, you have choices.

True Confessions of a Hollywood Starlet – NOW A LIFETIME ORIGINAL MOVIE!

Here’s a recent blog post that has lots of info/links: http://zeisgeist.livejournal.com/722604.html

From Lifetime:

http://www.mylifetime.com/on-tv/movies/true-confessions-hollywood-starlet (main info page)

http://videos.lifetimetv.com/?fr_chl=574e072e40452f1a57bacfc402b91e0e0aa162bc&rf=sitemap (four short video clips w/ JoJo, Valerie Bertinelli, and Tim Matheson (director)

http://www.mylifetime.com/on-tv/movies/joanna-jojo-levesque-living-normal-life?page=0,1 (interview with JoJo)

Fun fact! Morgan’s best friend Marissa Dahl is played by Shenae Grimes, a Degrassi vet who’s now a cast member of the upcoming 90210 remake!

BIO:

Lola Douglas is the author of True Confessions of a Hollywood Starlet and its sequel More Confessions of a Hollywood Starlet. A TV movie adaptation of True Confessions starring multi-platinum recording artist Joanna “JoJo” Levesque and Golden Globe winner Valerie Bertinelli premieres on Lifetime August 9, 2008 at 9 p.m.

Lola also happens to be the alter ego of Lara Zeises, author of Bringing Up the Bones, an honor book for the 2001 Delacorte Press Prize Competition; Contents Under Pressure, winner of the 2006 Delaware Blue Hen Teen Book Award and a 2006 IRA Young Adult Choices selection; and Anyone But You. Lara holds an MFA in creative writing from Emerson College and lives in Delaware, where she grew up.

For all of the latest Lola updates, make sure to check out Lara's LiveJournal at http://zeisgeist.livejournal.com.

1. Are you a gluer or a taper?

When I’m scrapbooking, it’s all about the glue dots.

2. How do you think love and writing are similar? How about duct tape and writing?

Libba Bray just wrote this brilliant post about how writing a book is like falling in love. She says it better than I ever could - http://libba-bray.livejournal.com/36896.html. As for duct tape and writing … it comes in many different colors, has many different functions, and can put its user into a big sticky mess?

What's the craziest thing you've ever done as a writer?

This has nothing to do with fiction, but here goes: I wrote for my college newspaper, and my junior year I had the opportunity to interview Barry Williams, aka Greg Brady, who was coming to our school to support his “juicy” tell-all autobiography, GROWING UP BRADY. There was a chapter in the book titled “Dating Your Mom,” and it was about the time he asked Florence Henderson out and she said yes. During the phone interview, I pressed him a bit, to see if there was more to the story than what he’d written, and I don’t know why but he exploded. He was like, “Do you really think I’d have sex with the woman and then write about it? How about this: who was the last person you had sex with? What’s your favorite position?” I almost threw up, I was so upset. So then of course I had to use that as the pop out quote on the piece. The day of Barry’s appearance, I got the article laminated and stood in line to have him autograph it. The bastard looked me in the eye, told me I’d done a great job writing up the interview – clearly, he was lying about reading it! – smiled and signed his name. To this day, I can’t watch THE BRADY BUNCH without feeling totally bitter.

You know, Lara, Greg always gave me the heebie-jeebies.

Okay. I really love Muppets. Grover is my own personal writing cheerleader and for some reason John Wayne (who is not a Muppet is my personal internal critic/task master). Who is your favorite Muppet? And who (Muppet, dead movie star or other) would be your internal critic.

I’ve got to go with Emmett Otter, he of the Jugband Christmas fame. A minor-league Muppet, to be sure, but so cute and caring. Sometimes my dog makes me think of Emmett Otter.

As for my internal critic, it’s a tie between my mother and myself – but not normal me, me when I’m leading workshops or teaching writing classes. It’s amazing how many times I watch myself falling into the same traps I try to get other writers to avoid!

Thanks, Lara/Lola/Cool Chick. Good luck with Hollywood and Lifetime. xo-Carrie