Q: Jackie, tell us about your new book.
A: “Lola Zola and the Lemonade Crush†is my new middle grade book, written with co-author Marcy Winograd, about self-assured, goal-oriented, eleven year-old Lola Zola. Ever resourceful, Lola tries to support her laid-off parents and her tuxedo cat Bowzer by going into business selling “magical†lemonade rumored to zap wrinkles and promote world peace. Trouble arises when her class rival, Buck, aka Slime Bucket, opens a competing ‘limo-nade’ stand from the back of his father’s Cadillac limousine right across the street from Lola’s house. Intrigue and spy organizations run amok until closely kept secrets are revealed and Lola must decide what it means to win.
Q: Who is the intended audience?
A: “Lola Zola and the Lemonade Crush†is for girls age 9-12. It’s the first book in
the Lola series. (Of course boys can read it, too, and have loved it.)
Q: What lessons, in particular, are in the book for today’s kids?
A: Kids today are smarter than ever, but they also seem to worry more than ever. Lola shows them that a regular girl can help make her world a better place. A timely story about tweens weathering today’s financial challenges, its zany star Lola encounters everything from labor strife and business ethics to girl power and puppy love. Though Lola is far from perfect, she is an imaginative problem solver who never gives up and remains ever hopeful that life will turn out all right.
Q: What gave you the inspiration to write this?
A: We wanted to write a book that empowers tweens to right the wrongs of the world.
Q: What’s your connection to Brentwood?
A: My family moved to Brentwood from New York when I was seven. I used to ride my bike down San Vicente Blvd., and pull my little sister Claudia in my red wagon up the street to the “forest†which was Norman Place and Bundy before the trees went down and the houses went up. I used to find rose quartz there, and once I found an Indian arrowhead. My favorite places were Brentwood Books which became Dutton’s Bookstore (I still hope it will return one day). When I wasn’t riding other people’s horses with Egon Merz in Sullivan Canyon, I lived in the bookstore. I went to Kenter Canyon, Paul Revere, and Palisades High. When the Brentwood News was born I headed over to the office, introduced myself to Jeff Hall and landed the Local Heroes column which I wrote for about three years.
Q: How can someone find a copy of “Lola Zola and the Lemonade Crush†?
A: The novel is available at Diesel book store in the Brentwood Country Mart (a great independent book store for those who haven’t yet discovered it), on Amazon, and soon at Barnes & Noble and other online bookstores. A sample chapter is posted on the Lola Zola blog http://lolazola.com/. Stay tuned for school visits, writing workshops, and a lemonade book launch in Brentwood.
