Lara Zielin

FAVE LINKEY-POO RIGHT THIS SECOND: When my friend Colleen says “I think I just wet myself laughing,” you know it’s good. Behold, the New Yorker iPad app introduced by Jason Schwartzman.

If you’ve seen the headlines lately, you know Bishop Eddie Long is in some hot water. Several members of his megachurch have come forward accusing him of taking sexual advantage of them (and using his pastoral power to do so).

Is it me or are the pastors of these megachurches getting the lids blown off their back-door dealings in record numbers? It doesn’t necessarily surprise me, though: the megachurch structure is set up to make one person, the pastor, largely powerful and infallible.

A recent CNN.com article reported that Long is often the focus of the church — more so than even God sometimes — and that he maintains power over his congregation by talking “consistently telling his congregation that he speaks for God.” He also has talked about dissolving his church board.

I have to say, I blinked when I read that, because those were the same issues that plagued the megachurch I attended in my 20s. It was the same church that inspired me to write DONUT DAYS. The plot of the novel is all about how money and power can infiltrate a church  and totally destroy it. It’s all about how some people can convince other people they’re the mouthpiece of God, when they’re SO not.

Of course, the logical conclusion is to send Bishop Long a copy of DONUT DAYS. Either that or a box of crullers. Which, I’m going to guess they don’t have those in the small, cramped cell where Long will probably be spending some time in the future.

FAVE LINKEY-POO RIGHT THIS SECOND: One of the highlights of my weekend was watching Sharktopus on the SyFy Channel last night. When they re-air it, and you know they will, I can’t recommend its campy goodness enough. To convince, you, here is the trailer.

Other than watch Sharktopus, the other awesome thing I did this weekend was take part in a young-adult writing panel at 826 Michigan. I always enjoy meeting other writers, and our room was filled with people who wanted to learn more about the publishing process. I also loved (did I say loved? I meant LOOOVED!) my fellow panelists.

I clicked like a pair of ruby-red slippers with Margo Rabb, (pictured left), whose books, I confess, I’ve never read. But all that’s about to change because Margo is smart, funny, and has a writing pedigree longer than some countries’ constitutions. Her YA novel, Cures for Heartbreak, looks especially fab.

I also have an official girl crush on Kathe Koja, (pictured right), who has a number of YA novels out including Headlong, Stray Dog, Kissing the Bee, Buddha Boy, and Going Under. Holy resume, Batman! And that doesn’t even begin to cover her historical fiction work, coming out next month, which she’s adapted for the stage and which will be opening in about a year in Detroit.

Um, hello. Can we just take a moment to digest that? Girlfriend adapted her play for the stage and it’s actually going to be a show! Aaaa! How awesome is that? I don’t know any writers, frankly, who have done that, and it amazes me.

Which brings me to my point. I love meeting other writers and getting inspired by them. Published or no, writers are the coolest people on the face of the planet. At least to me. Every writer out there is engaged in a project that is totally, completely, uniquely them. No one else could do Kathe’s historical fiction book/play, anymore than someone else could write Donut Days. And I think that’s the coolest thing ever.

Has anyone been to an awesome conference lately and has had a great networking or ah-ha moment? If so, tell us about it in the comments!

FAVE LINKEY-POO RIGHT THIS SECOND: It’s definitely Ok Go’s new video featuring canine helpers. Omg. Great song, great vid, and they’re also supporting animal rescue efforts!

You guys. I think I sort of forgot to mention something. I mean, I put it on Facebook and Twitter but I forgot to blog about the fact that DONUT DAYS is out in softcover! What the what? How could I forget about something so exciting?! I mean, have you seen the cover?

I love this design. Yes I do.

The other thing? Is that I’m totally on a”get published” panel this weekend, sponsored through 826 Michigan. If you live in or near Ann Arbor and have any interest in this, here’s the link for more info.

Okay, and finally, I just HAVE to share Rob’s movie trailer with you all. For those of you who are new to Larawrites, Rob is my husband and a filmmaker. He rules. He has a movie showing at some film festivals — it’s called Starlight and Superfish. And here is the kickass trailer for your viewing enjoyment!

Happy weekend, y’all!

WE HAVE A WINNER! Congratulations Liz, you’re the lucky winner of Getting Revenge on Lauren Wood (now in softcover!).

Yay!

But really, you are ALL winners because here is Lauren’s second video on how to be popular! “Saying it With Style” never sounded so … well, just watch for yourself.

Have you guys heard of Lauren Wood?

Lauren knows what it takes to be popular. You could call her ruthless when it comes to the subject, but the thing is, she’s just so pretty. When you’re that beautiful, nothing’s really your fault, right?

We can all learn a lot from Lauren. And in fact, Lauren knows this. So she’s created a series of videos to help us all. Here is the first one. If you watch it, let me know, because I’m giving away a copy of the book in which Lauren is featured called Getting Revenge on Lauren Wood. Now out in paperback! (You can leave a comment or Tweet about the vid to let me know you’ve seen it and to be eligible for the prize.)

Also, for the record, the author of Getting Revenge on Lauren Wood is awesome. Her name is Eileen Cook.

I sort of love her. But not in a stalkery way. Just in a “oh, I totally watched though your window while you ate that bowl of cereal” kind of way. You know, totally normal.

Today’s post is by Neil Shurley, someone I met on Twitter and liked instantly because a.) we share the same birthday, b.) Neil is a writer, and c.) Neil runs a blog called The Holy Donut that is dedicated to celebrating the best pastry ever. Neil likes me because a.) we share the same birthday, b.) I wrote a book about donuts, perhaps you’ve heard of it, and c.) my Twitter avatar has me in front of a rack of donuts at Dunkin’ Donuts.

Neil, bless him, writes short stores about donuts. And so, friends, today I give you Neil’s entertaining little story, appropriately titled “Holy Donuts.”

Torus of love. Frosting of light. Sprinkles of peace.

Wherever we gather, whenever we gather, we take the donut, we break it and we bless it, saying, “Take. Eat. Holy pastry purchased for you.”

And so it is with the coffee. We fill our mugs and bless them, saying, “Brown liquid of understanding, poured for you. Take, blow gently, sip. Creamer is in the back for any who need it.”

And the service begins.

Most days, Jack shares first.

“Good morning. My name is Jack and I love donuts.”

“Hello, Jack,” we reply.

“Sunday mornings were all about the donuts,” he begins. “My parents popped an 8-track into the stereo, usually the Kingston Trio, but sometimes Neil Diamond or America’s Greatest Hits. Then Dad would say, ‘Let’s go,’ and we’d hop into the car and drive the ten blocks to Dunkin’ Donuts. I’d always pick the chocolate crème filled, even though I kind of thought it was gross. My sister would get maple logs or some other godawful thing. I used the comics section of the Sunday paper to capture the drifts of powdered sugar.”

Here he gets a little misty-eyed. “Damn, I miss those times.”

And we raise our mugs to Jack and we dunk or not dunk, depending on our personal choice of donuts, and we take a large bite, savoring it, trying to become one with the donut, even if only for a moment.

After we go around the circle – always a circle – I step up to the center and make my plea.

“Friends, we thank you for coming. We thank you for partaking in the holy donut. And we thank you for your generous love offering of cash or gift cards.”

Folks drop what they can spare into the coffee canister I keep perched on a chair next to the door. They shuffle out, with promises to return next week.

Today, a young woman, she’d called herself Ruth during her testimony, held back after the rest of the group cleared out. She helped me stack chairs.

“I wanted to thank you,” she said. She couldn’t have been more than 25. Not conventionally pretty, she maintained an air of disarray that vanished, I’d noticed, while partaking in the donut.

“No, no,” I said. “Thank you for coming. We wouldn’t be here without folks like you.”

Trite, I know, but in my experience, donut worshipers prefer their pastries large and their talk small.  She stacked the last chair and followed me to the front of the room.

“I just know there’s something in them,” she said. “It’s, well, more powerful than us.”

I nodded. “The sugar. Real addictive. You’ve got to be careful.”

I flicked off the lights and motioned for her to lead us out of the room. She lingered in the doorway.

“No,” she said. “It’s more than that. There’s an energy. A light. You guys seem to understand it. There’s power there, something…” She trailed off, bit her lip, then finally walked outside.

I pulled the door closed. “We all sense it,” I said.

We put the group together last year when Jack and I found ourselves waxing poetic about the appeal of donuts. We started meeting at a local Dunkin’ Donuts until a rather dour woman named Charlotte started going on and on about Krispy Kreme. So to be more ecumenical, we started meeting at a local rec center.

“Well,” I said, “thanks again for helping straighten up.”   Ruth nodded, shoved her hands into her pockets and walked toward the parking lot.

I locked the door, then turned to find myself face to face with her.

“Oh,” I said.

“I’m Jessica,” she said.

Before I could ask about the name change or even blurt out my own name she backed me against the door and kissed me.

And kissed me.

And kissed me.

I did not resist.

She took two steps back, shoved her hands back into her pockets and then smiled at me.

“The power of donuts,” she said.

I nodded. The power of donuts indeed.

“Same time next week?” Ruth who was actually called Jessica asked.

All I could do was nod and watch her vanish into the darkness.

Torus of love. Frosting of light.

FAVE LINKEY-POO RIGHT THIS SECOND: Admittedly, it’s a shameless link to Destination Truth, my fave show, which comes back for a new season tomorrow. Oh, did I mention the host, Josh Gates, is super geeky? Okay, and super cute. Fine, super really cute. But that has nothing to do with why I watch. *coughs*

I love it when I find myself on a roll reading really good books.

I’m on that roll right now!

I have to tell you guys about Mandy Hubbard’s new book, YOU WISH. I read it in one sitting and it’s one of the most funny, engaging, full-of-heart books I’ve picked up in a while. When she turns sixteen, the main character, Kayla, finds that every birthday wish she’s ever made is suddenly coming true — and this is bad news because the year previous, she wished she would kiss a boy who is now dating her best friend.

In the midst of this delightful premise, Kayla is also wrestling with family issues, school issues, and friendship issues. These challenges probably would have been enough to carry the book alone. But throw in the wishes all coming true, and it’s like the frosting on a super fabulous cake. I love Mandy, who also wrote PRADA AND PREJUDICE, which I confess I haven’t read but you can bet it’s next on my list.

That is, right after I get done with the HUNGER GAMES series. I just blasted through the first book and, like everyone else on the face of the planet, I’m hooked.

Three cheers for awesome books!!