In Her Own Words: Lauren Conrad's 'Sweet Little Lies'

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LAUREN CONRAD MAY have left "The Hills" when she departed the MTV reality show in May, but that doesn't mean glittery, glitzy Los Angeles is totally behind her. In fact, it isn't — that world is splashed all over the pages of her latest novel, "Sweet Little Lies," which hit bookstores Tuesday. In June, Conrad stumped all her haters with her best-seller, "L.A. Candy," which introduced readers to a group of pretty young women who became reality stars thanks to a show on the infamous network PopTV. So, you know — her rise to fame, but on paper. "Sweet Little Lies" is the follow-up to "L.A. Candy," yet another thinly veiled account of Conrad's life, as her main character, Jane Roberts, deals with the hardship of being young, rich and famous. Conrad is stumping for her book like any mortal, but its 309 pages basically tell us everything there is to know about her life, no interview required.

» EXPRESS: What's the most blatant example of you injecting yourself into the novel?
» LAUREN CONRAD BOOK EXCERPT: "Sweet, natural and vulnerable, [Jane] was a person everyone could relate to. She was pretty, but not too pretty. She liked to go out, but she didn't like to get wasted or do drugs. She worked hard. She was loyal to her friends. She came from a close-knit family."

» EXPRESS: Does anyone else from "The Hills" make an appearance as a fictional character in this new novel? Say, just to pull a name out of the air, Heidi Montag-Pratt?
» LAUREN CONRAD BOOK EXCERPT: "Madison was the perfect cliché, with her dyed-to-the-max platinum hair and penchant for shopping, partying, and guys. But she was constantly bugging Trevor for more airtime; so far, he'd managed to keep her at bay with carefully worded compliments on the theme of 'quality over quantity.'"

» EXPRESS: What will people learn most about your rise to fame from reading the book?
» LAUREN CONRAD BOOK EXCERPT: "Jane remembered then that the cameras were still rolling. ... This was what Trevor had told her to do when they spoke on the phone last night, wasn't it? ... Trevor's suggestions ... were simply meant to help shape the girls' conversations while they were on-camera. To make things more interesting for TV. After all, they couldn't just sit there and talk about nothing, right? Right?"

» Borders, 11054 Lee Highway, Fairfax; 22030; Sun. Feb. 7, 2 p.m.; free; 703-359-8420.

Written by Express contributor Roxana Hadadi
Photo courtesy Andrew Macpherson