August 9th, that's this Saturday, TRUE CONFESSIONS OF A HOLLYWOOD STARLET from the novel by Lola Douglas (AKA Lara Zeises) airs on Lifetime TV! At 9 pm! Here are all the details. And here's an interview with JoJo, who's the star.
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.
Now without further ado, here are Lola/Lara's answers to my Disreputable History questions, in which she reveals how she used her sneaky nature to find romantic happiness, and explains why she's a feminist:
In my new book, The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks, the heroine infiltrates an all-male secret society and stages ornate and controversial pranks on the campus of her boarding school.
1. Tell me the sneakiest thing you ever did.
Junior year in high school, I saw this boy in the hallway that looked like Brad Pitt. I fell instantly in smit. So, my best friend Candace and I launched a covert mission to find out everything there was to know about him. We even broke into his file in the E2 staff center. My sleuthing wasn’t for naught; we ended up becoming really close and even dated for a while.
2. Tell me the sneakiest thing that happens in your new book.
My protagonist, Morgan Carter, has to deal with Harlan Darley, a former co-star of hers, spreading rumors that they’re dating. While the press is busy spilling ink about “Marlan,” she’s trying to deal with the fact that this guy stole her virginity in a date-rape situation several years ago. I guess that’s more than sneaky – it’s insidious.
3. Are you a prankster? Tell me a story.
I wish I were more of a prankster! The closest I got was calling my mom one April Fool’s Day when I was in college, fake crying and telling her I was pregnant. (I wasn’t.) She still hasn’t forgiven me.
4. Were you in any clubs or societies in high school? Did any of those club activities make it into your novels? I was a theater brat, which was very useful in terms of MORE CONFESSIONS. My other activities were of the dorkster variety, like being on the Academic Bowl and Mock Trial teams. I can’t see myself mining that for material anytime soon!
5. Do you consider yourself a feminist? Why, or why not?
God, yes. I’m fiercely independent, and have been since I was a teenager. I moved out at 17, put myself through school twice, and bought my own home before I was 30. For a long time, I didn’t know if I wanted to get married, or if I’d find someone I could see myself married to. Then I met my fiancé Joe. One of the things I loved best about him in the beginning was that he shared my belief that we didn’t need someone else to “complete” us – that we were complete already. I see our relationship as the whipped cream on the sundae of my life, not the sundae itself.
6. How does your answer to question 5 show up in your new book?
The ending. I don’t want to give it away, but I get a lot of angry e-mail about what happens to Morgan in the end. But it’s true to the character, and it definitely reflects my beliefs about the role of romantic relationships.
7. The club in my book is called The Loyal Order of the Basset Hounds. If you were to found a secret society, what would it be called, and what would its mission be?
The Sisterhood of the Golden TiVo, charged with dictating good television tastes to the masses.
