Lara Zielinsky's Blog: Newsletter, page 38

on the internet the past never dies

On the internet, the past never dies, it just gets archived.

This is a tribute to the waybackmachine and a reflection on my life writing fiction.

I am a writer. I have always been a writer. The depth and breadth of my writings astounds me.

A random chance link sent me on an archival expedition to see what of my past writings organized on handmade (ancient self-coded HTML) websites (webhosting companies that no longer exist like xoom and geocities) remained available on the internet.

It made me realize that I have been sharing my writing forever. I found a Xena work which I first posted in August 1997. I even found stories I had written before the 1990s but which I had added to my sites as a way to practice my nascent web building skills.

I found my an entire cache of Star Trek: Next Generation fanfiction (I was a die-hard Picard/Crusher fan) and all my (thought lost) Star Trek: Voyager music videos and manipulated graphics celebrating a Janeway/Seven relationship.

I found one-off little original stories that, even now, I wonder at and marvel how my muse works. Stories with mindgames, rooted in reality, but featuring galactic thieves, or fantasy and magic. There are themes and threads and isolated ideas I never explored again but they are there in these older writings with thousands upon thousands of words.

There are tiny fics (what today might be called 'flash fiction') which I wrote for fandom challenges in small, but dedicated, groups of fans, like KissMeKate, the J7 Board, and even the roleplaying stories I wrote as a member of The Center for Xena Studies.

I wrote full-length scripts for Next Generation and Xena. It is only because of the internet that these stories exist in any form.

Thank you to the internet waybackmachine for this walk down my Memory Lane.

cover art

Cover art is definitely an art. I'm currently working on ideas for the cover art design for my next novel with the publisher.

It has made me wonder about the effects of elements included (or expected but absent) in covers that affect a reader's decision to buy or not a particular title. What you see below are the four covers for my previous two novels (first editions from one publisher, second editions from another).

I've included the blurbs between (didn't really change) editions. Which cover do you think did a better job "advertising" the story inside, or inviting a reader to look deeper? Why? Add your comments below.

Hopefully it will give me some ideas for the next book about what to include, or definitely leave out.



1st edition 2nd edition blurb Turning Point
It’s Hollywood. Actresses hate getting passed over for roles and cold shoulders are common. Petty sniping is part of the fabric of the place, but it takes two to fight. Actress Cassidy Hyland is throwing a birthday party for her son which she hopes will spark a truce with her cold co-star Brenna Lanigan. Instead the encounter becomes the first step of a journey neither woman ever imagined her heart could take: to love another woman. Turning Point explores the struggle of these women caught between what is safe and sure, and what the heart truly wants even if it doesn’t understand.


Turn for Home
Falling in love wasn’t easy. Staying together may be impossible.
In this sequel to Turning Point, as her divorce proceeds, Brenna Lanigan struggles with her sons’ cold shoulders and opposition to her intimate relationship with Cassidy Hyland. Cassidy’s son Ryan eagerly accepts their relationship, making Thomas and James’ lack of support even more upsetting.

When the women return from holiday hiatus to resume shooting on “Time Trails,” they sneak precious moments of intimacy in shadows and trailers. As many in the cast and crew openly show support, Cassidy and Brenna try to date. The paparazzi give chase. When the romance is publicized, the revelation sets off Cassidy’s ex-husband. Mitch Hyland will take his son from the lesbian couple… by force if necessary.

It's my birthday!

It's my birthday, but the present will go to some lucky reader!
Here's the pitch: What I would really love for my birthday is new followers. Like and Follow my author page on Goodreads or this blog directly by August 4, 2018, 11:59 p.m. EST (that's GMT -4:00).

I will select one lucky follower to PM and mail them a free autographed, HARDCOVER 2nd edition of my first award-winning novel, Turning Point.

There's a summary and reviews of the book on the Supposed Crimes website.

Share and forward this post to whomever. I would love everyone to get to know me and my writing.

(there's going to be a new book out in 2019!)

The sequel

The sequel to "We Three" (coming in 2019!) is now being written. I have begun sharing the rough draft at my fictionpress site.

The sequel is titled "We Fit" and continues to deepen the relationships building between Eric, Elena, and Jess while the trio navigate new job prospects and living together.


More sex. 
More love. More drama.
We Fit.

Good news!

The manuscript of "We Three" has been picked up by Supposed Crimes, the publisher of my previous two novels. This will make it super-easy for anyone to find my work. All in one place.

They'll let me know where it sits in the production pipeline soon and I'll pass the word here when I learn.

I am very excited that this title is in the works to find its way to my readers' hands. Writing "We Three" has been a great personal journey.


A couple of experienced swingers. A single woman new to Miami.

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No strings,
just sexy fun.
Will "one date at a time" build something more?

A Taste of We Three

My next novel is a bisexual erotic romance that starts with swingers and grows into a polyamorous relationship.

Here's a peek at the first three chapters of "We Three."

Leave a comment to let me know what you think.

Follow this blog, and/or the AO3 story to be alerted when and where the entire novel will be available.