Lara Zielin

The day that Aggie Winchester launched, I received a cake from Rob. This rules because a.) it’s cake and b.) my husband is the kind of guy who will buy me cake. For those of you who don’t believe that this actually happened, I present Exhibit A:

As you can see from the way my arms are straining in this picture, the cake was HUGE. Possibly too big for two people, one might think. Is this a good thing? In fancypants literary terms, we call these hints that all this cake may not be a good thing foreshadowing. In non-fancypants literary terms, it’s called buying waaaay too much delicious cake but then having Rob go all Goodfellas on the thing.

Because, let me just be clear, within hours of cake arriving, Rob had formed a special relationship with it. Rob and cake were tied together by a beautiful, frosting-covered string that only they could see.

Not that Rob didn’t share his beloved cake. During the Girls Taking Over the World tour, Rhonda, Christine, and Saundra all had cake. I don’t have a picture of it, so I will reenact the events here.

Soon, Rob started to change. His skin retained a greasy, pale look that Rhonda dubbed the “buttercream sweats.” All he could talk about was the cake. All he could think about was the cake.

Our friend Erica came over. She had a piece. That was the last time any of us remember it being shared.

We talked about taking the rest into work to distribute among colleagues, but in the end there was always an excuse: it’s sort of old now, we don’t want to bring in dried-out cake; there’s hardly that much left anyway, why bother?

And then, sometimes, there was just the look. Like, this Wuthering Heights kind of moment where Rob is Heathcliff and cake is Catherine and why, why can’t they just be together forever?

But in the end, cake did leave us. Rob announced, as we were getting ready to watch HGTV’s Design Star, that cake had passed into the gray havens and would remain there forevermore.

It was gone. I didn’t get to say goodbye. But then again, I didn’t have the relationship with it that Rob did. While it lasted, it was a beautiful thing.

Cake is dead. Long live cake.

Cake: August 4, 2011 – August 12, 2011

Tonight is the launch of my new book, The Implosion of Aggie Winchester! I’ll be at Nicola’s Books in Ann Arbor at 7:00 p.m. along with authors Saundra Mitchell, Rhonda Stapleton, Christine Johnson, and Aimee Carter.

This is awesome, and I’m super excited. Tours are wonderful, and signing books is great. I love it. But I think the best part about being an author is being inspired. And boy, was I inspired this past Wednesday night.

Considering that a delicious-looking donut can give me goosebumps, I realize this might not seem like much.

But trust me. It was.

I had the great honor of helping out with 826michigan’s first ever “Jump Up and Write-a-Thon,” an event to celebrate books and writing. The bulk of the event was a writing marathon where kids plunked their butts in seats and just … wrote.

For FIVE HOURS.

You might think it was distraction city, but the room was quiet. The kids were focused. And at the end, they shared some of their stories with the group. The prose was amazing.

Fellow Ann Arbor author Will Purves and I were on hand to witness all the incredible work. We got to help the kids out a little — drop a writing prompt or two, encourage them to share — but really we didn’t do much. These kids had writing in their marrow. All they wanted to do was get their words down on paper.

Even after five solid hours of writing, the 826michigan kids weren't sick of prose. Here, I'm reading a bit of 'Aggie Winchester' to them.

I was so honored to be around these budding writers. As I told the audience, I’m not sure I could have kept my butt in that chair for five hours in such a disciplined way.

Later in the evening, I was able to share a little bit from The Implosion of Aggie Winchester. Will read from his book, Fairmont Forever. The kids were into it. After five hours, they still wanted more writing. More books. More words.

These kids were awesome. The event was awesome.

And for me, being THIS inspired? Was priceless.

Book reviews are like a bit like first dates. When they’re good, you can rave about them and be all like, Zomg, sooo amazing!

When they’re bad, you can shrug and say, Meh, it’s only one, we’ll see.

Either way, there’s no indication about any kind of long-term success. A good review doesn’t mean your book is going to be a best-seller. A bad review doesn’t mean your career is over.

And yet.

Andyetandyetandyet.

It sure feels amazing when you get a great review. I mean, just speaking from the heart here — as someone who really, really likes it when people really, really like my books — it feels fabulous.

And guess what?

Publisher’s Weekly — as in THE Publisher’s Weekly — likes The Implosion of Aggie Winchester!

I’ve pasted their entire review below, and you can also link to it here. Please, please do the happy dance with me because, okay, I know I can’t hang my hat on this long-term, but for right now? I am totally kicking my heels.

One of Zielin’s strengths as a writer is that she really “gets” teens: their voices, angst, and insecurities. Another is that she’s not afraid to throw her protagonists into no-win situations and watch them claw their way out. Aggie Winchester, a junior and self-professed goth, thoroughly resents her mother–who is also the principal of Aggie’s high school, which fuels her rebellious, self-destructive behavior. But then Aggie’s best friend, Sylvia, gets pregnant and is nominated for prom queen, an old boyfriend rears his gorgeous but devious head, and Aggie discovers that her mother has breast cancer. Though Aggie is not always a lovable main character, Zielin (Donut Days) keeps her real and honest. As Aggie heads ever deeper into the hole she’s dug for herself, she grapples with some tough choices. Should she have sex with her old boyfriend to get him back? Should she rat on Sylvia, who may have rigged the prom queen election? How can she make her mother actually listen to her? For teens confronting similar questions, Aggie’s realistically bumpy journey will be welcome, timely, and thoroughly satisfying. Ages 14–up. (Aug.)

Picking a winner for the Implosion of Aggie Winchester contest was tough. All those prom stories and entries? Were amazing. Just totally fabulous. And hilarious. And, okay, a little heartbreaking. You guys really jerked my heart-strings. In a good way.

So it is with much applause and fanfare for all the entrants that I announce the winner is …

Susannah!

The combination of unrequited teen love, a bad four-way date, and an aqua zoot suit totally got me. I was laughing (leaving room for the Holy Ghost, hahaha!) — and also cringing. I love that Susannah also offered a bit about what she’d do differently if she had to do it all over again: lighten up, laugh at it, realize it’s not the end of the world, even though it sure felt like it at the time.

So congratulations, Suz! You’re el winner-o! I’ll get a copy of Implosion to you asap.

Huzzah! And thanks again to all of you for bringing me into the gym and under the lights with you.

More giveaways! My next book, THE IMPLOSION OF AGGIE WINCHESTER, won’t be out until August, but you can win an advance copy now!

Much of the book centers around the prom and what a big deal it is to the small Minnesota town where Aggie Winchester lives. In the comments, please tell me a prom story — or one you heard, or even one you made up if you haven’t actually been to prom — and I’ll choose one of the stories as the winner! I will base the selection on originality and heart, which are totally subjective but it’s my blog so, uh, there.

I’ll leave the comments open until June 3 and pick the winner that day.

And, even though I’m not eligible to win, here’s my story anyway:

I went to my junior prom with my friend Chris, who is my pal to this day. He was a total gentleman the whole time, and I kept telling him he made me feel like Cinderella.

A few days after the prom was over, Chris visited my house and gave me a miniature glass slipper.

Cinderella indeed.

** Oh, oh, and for the record, Chris’s daughter just went to prom! So, like, I totally feel old but I love that his daughter went to prom the same year my book about prom (and, okay, a lot more than prom) is coming out. Yay!