Special Sunday Edition: Cover Stories, True Confessions of a Hollywood Starlet

Lara M. Zeises is a fellow member of the Girlfriends Cyber Circuit, and she also has a ton of news, plus a good cover story to share!First, she writes under her own name, and also as Lola Douglas. Lola has written two books, True Confessions of a Hollywood Starlet and More Confessions of a Hollywood Starlet. And here's some big news: The Lifetime adaptation of True Confessions of a Hollywood Starlet premieres August 9th, at 9 p.m. And it stars Jojo (whom I met when I edited Seventeen Prom) and Shenae Grimes, a Degrassi vet who's now a cast member of the upcoming 90210 2.0, as I like to call it. How cool is that? Anyway, here's Lara "Lola Douglas" Zeises's cover story for True Confessions of a Hollywood Starlet: "The first draft of the cover for True Confessions of a Hollywood Starlet (left) was a bit of a disappointment to me. I loved the idea of a tabloid cover, but the image of the actress they used looked nothing how I pictured my protagonist. And that alone ruined it for me. I told my editor that I wasn't happy with how Morgan was portrayed, but the truth is, most covers use stock photography, and it wasn't easy for them to find an image like that to begin with. So my words had no impact. "The publisher ended up changing the entire cover concept after reading the full draft of the manuscript. My editor at the time, Kristin Pettit, said they were surprised by how warm and funny the book turned out to be. They felt like that initial cover was too harsh in light of that, and that's how we ended up with the second draft - and the one that made it to hardcover (below). "I liked the design of that cover but was never crazy about the muted colors. So when the publisher decided to keep that design but shift the colors for the paperback version, and I saw it morph into the sparkly hot pink and black cover it is today (below), I was thrilled. It had the right vibe and the right impact. "I've always loved the cover for More Confessions of a Hollywood Starlet, which had that same bright, sparkly look and feel (left)." Great story, Lara, and so fun to see the early drafts and different hardcover/paperback versions! Lara will be blogging LIVE during the premiere of the Lifetime movie on 8/9 at 9 p.m. She promises to reveal stories and secrets and reactions while she's watching. Super fun. PS-Tomorrow, the Cover Story behind Brooke Taylor's Undone!