Want to know the recipe for becoming a published author?  Join award-winning young adult novelist Lara M. Zeises, author of The Sweet Life of Stella Madison, to find out what secret ingredient she credits for her success.  Learn about her double life as Lola Douglas, the pseudonym she used to write True Confessions of a Hollywood Starlet, and what it was like to have one of her books turned into a Lifetime movie.  A self-proclaimed “pop culture dork,” Lara will also talk about how blogging has changed the way she approaches the writing process, and the impact that the explosion of social media has had on her both personally and professionally.

Your students are sure to respond to Lara’s warm, funny, and incredibly honest take on her “sweet life” as a working writer, and leave the session inspired to cook up some stories of their own!

Videoconference Outline

• Welcome/Introductions (10 Minutes)
• Author Presentation (25 Minutes)
• Question and Answer Session (15 Minutes)
• Writing Exercise (10 Minutes)
• Wrap-Up

Pre Videoconference Activities

• Familiarize students with Lara and her work: Please have your students read one of Lara’s titles ahead of time, preferably The Sweet Life of Stella Madison.  Encourage them to think of questions they’d like to ask Lara during the Q&A portion of the event!  Each school will get to ask at least 1-3 questions, time permitting.
• Prepare Introduction: At the beginning of the videoconference, each school will have 30 seconds to introduce thsemlves. Please share the name of your school, where you are located, and why you are participating in this videoconference.
• Writing Exercise: Please have students complete the brief writing assignment, Writing from the Five Senses, under Resources.
• Writers and Social Media: As a class, take a look at Lara’s blog, “Girl Uninterrupted.”  Then use the worksheet “Writers in the Age of Web 2.0” to facilitate a discussion about how your students can hone their writing skills through social media. The worksheet can be found under Resrouces.

About Lara Zeises

Lara M. Zeises is the author of Bringing Up the Bones, a Delacorte Press Prize Honor Book (2001); Contents Under Pressure, a Delaware Blue Hen Teen Book Award winner and an IRA-CBC Young Adults' Choice (2006); and Anyone But You, a YALSA Popular Paperbacks selection (2008). Her latest novel, The Sweet Life of Stella Madison, was published in July 2009.

Lara has also published two novels under the pseudonym Lola Douglas: True Confessions of a Hollywood Starlet, which was adapted into a Lifetime movie starring multi-platinum recording artist Joanna "JoJo" Levesque and Golden Globe winner Valerie Bertinelli, and its sequel, More Confessions of a Hollywood Starlet.

In addition to writing, Lara teaches part-time at her alma mater, the University of Delaware, where she received her BA in English-Journalism. Lara is the recipient of a 2005 Emerging Artist Fellowship in Literature-Fiction from the Delaware Division of the Arts and holds an MFA in creative writing from Emerson College. She also facilitates creative writing workshops for both teens and adults.

In her spare time (what's that?), Lara enjoys playing Iron Chef in her own kitchen, especially when the secret ingredient is bacon. She worships at the altar of Alton Brown but credits her mother with turning her into an avid home cook and bona fide foodie.
Lara lives in Delaware, where she grew up, but you can visit her online at www.zeisgeist.com, www.facebook.com/lara.zeises, or zeisgeist.livejournal.com.

A Note About Lara's Work

Lara writes for a wide range of the young adult market.  Some of her novels, like Bringing Up the Bones and Anyone But You, deal with more mature themes and may not be appropriate for younger readers.  Feel free to email the author at zeisgeist (at) aol (dot) com if you have any questions/concerns