An interview with author Lauren Parvizi
Read to the end for a great Caesar salad recipe
I have SUCH a treat for you today!
I’m so pleased to interview my friend Lauren Parvizi here today, on the publication day of her second novel, Trust Me On This.
The way Lauren and I met is so cool. I was driving down highway 5 from the Bay Area to Pasadena and I thought, “What do I want out of being an author?” Besides riches, obvi.
(I often ask myself this question and then attempt to manifest it.)
Anyway I was like you know what, I really want more author friends. I don’t know how to do that, but maybe I could slide in some authors’ DMs?? Idk.
Then, when I arrived in Pasadena, I had a DM waiting for me from Lauren, who had read A Very Typical Family and, having spent many years in Santa Cruz where the book is set, loved it. She reached out and I was like SEE!!! Manifesting WORKS!
(It actually does work. It works for me all the time.)
Lauren, it turns out, is one of the most delightful humans I know, and she lives somewhat near me—near enough for coffee meet ups. She is an incredibly thoughtful writer and I adored her first novel, La Vie, According to Rose, which is set in Paris. And I’m proud to say that Lauren is one of the people I text first when I have good writing news or need a pep talk.
So I’m delighted to welcome her to the newsletter tp talk about her book, Trust Me On This, which is out TODAY, April 8! 🎉
Lauren, hello! Massive congratulations on the publication of your second novel, Trust Me On This, which is out today. How are you feeling about it?
Lauren: Thank you! I'm feeling like a nervous mom dropping her kid off at preschool for the first time (which I actually did recently, so trust me, I know it well), fluctuating between anxious tears and giddy pride. This book is more emotional than my debut, La Vie, According to Rose, and my close friends have described it as "more you," so it all feels very tender, and I expect the crushing vulnerability hangover any day now. But also, at the moment, I'm having fun! So, yeah, wild fluctuations!
Can you share a little about Trust Me On This?
I call it my West Coast sister road trip book, and it is that in a nutshell, but it's also much more. Trust Me On This is the story of two completely different half sisters, Zahra and Aurora Starling. Zahra, a passionate chef and recipe developer, prefers the solitude of her LA kitchen to other people, and masks the pain of her past with a prickly exterior. Aurora is a young, bubbly Hollywood starlet on one of the season's hottest shows. But she has a big secret that could end her career.
When they get a call from their dad that he's hospitalized and needs them to come to his bedside so he can share something he can only tell them in person—and together—they wind up on a road trip from LA to Seattle. Trying to escape a major scandal, Aurora is happy to leave town and grateful for the opportunity to finally win over her big sister. Estranged from their father, Zahra sees this as the last chance she has to get the apology she's owed. She just has to get there with as little interaction with Aurora as possible—not so easy when you're trapped in a car together for over 1,000 miles!
What starts as a rough ride with plenty of unexpected stops and old wounds laid bare turns into a trip neither expects. By the time the sisters make it to their father, they need each other like never before. But first, they have to face the truth their father's been hiding.
How did you start working on it? What was the inspiration?
One thing I consistently heard after La Vie, According to Rose published was how much the sister relationships in the book resonated with people, so I knew I wanted to write a sister story the next time around. But I also felt adamant that I wanted these sisters to be half sisters who share little else than half a bloodline. As a half sibling myself, I think this family dynamic is under-explored in fiction and media in general. To be clear, I think half siblings are "real" siblings, and I don't think of my own four sisters or brother as half anything. But when you don't share the same two parents, or sometimes, the same childhood home, it can also make things more complicated. Good thing I love me some family drama (on the page, not in real life)!
I couldn't agree more that half sibling relationships are under-explored. As someone with a half-sister myself, I find the dynamic of choosing to have a sibling relationship as an adult is really interesting. But I grew up as an only child and only learned about my sister when I was much older; I think I was 40. How do adult sibling relationships change from the childhood ones?
Fascinating question! This is exactly the kind of stuff I love to dissect, and one of the reasons I wanted to write about this kind of relationship. To answer, some of it is that we begin to recognize our siblings as individuals rather than whatever their role was in our family, and likewise, we break free from our own role, too.
Once we do, we can also empathize with our sibling’s specific childhood experience within the family, a change in perspective that can often (not always) shift long-stagnant dynamics. And, of course, as adults you can reminisce together—memory-bonding is real! Even though, like Zahra, none of my siblings share the same two parents as me and I’m significantly older, they remain the keepers of certain key memories and defining moments I’ll never have with anyone else. That’s a sacred role. And it’s something I can appreciate so much more as an adult.
The book takes place largely over a drive up the California coast. Talk a bit about the locations in the book.
I loved writing about Paris in La Vie, According to Rose, but with my second book, I wanted to return to my roots while still taking my characters on a bit of a destination-led journey. I don't have to tell you, Sierra, why I love the West Coast so dearly, but for any readers who haven't spent time here, the natural beauty both along the Pacific and inland is staggering, as is the diversity of people and experiences. Trust Me On This starts in LA, a city I have such an affinity for despite never having lived there (and despite getting rejected from UCLA, which was my dream school, and yes, I am still a little bitter). It's such an amazing food region, and because of Zahra's career and Aurora's it made sense they would both live there.
From LA, the sisters travel north to Santa Cruz, a Central Coast beach town where Zahra grew up, and where you and I both grew up too! (And, notably, where your book A Very Typical Family is set.) After that, there are a few more Northern California and Southern Oregon stops, and then onto Portland. There's a lot of good food throughout this book, but I knew Zahra needed to have a special meal along the way, and Portland, another incredible food city, provided the perfect opportunity to do so. Finally, the sisters make it all the way to Seattle, but as they say, it's all about the journey, not the destination.
You do such a good job describing meals and food, since Zahra is a recipe developer and chef. Did you do research for that? I was in awe at how knowledgeable Zahra was.
Growing up, I mostly lived with my mom, a woman with few to nil cooking skills. There were vats of spaghetti with jarred sauce that had to last the whole week and many fast food dinners. My dad, however, had spent his childhood in Iran at his mom's side while she cooked. He carefully diced fresh fruit for me, scrambled eggs for breakfast, and made many of the Persian dishes he'd grown up eating. What this combination meant was that at a young age I had a great appreciation for a variety of food without much access to the good stuff. In high school, fueled by the rise of the Food Network, I started cooking for myself, as well as meals for my family, and managed to teach myself a ton.
When I met my now-husband in college, we immediately bonded over food stuff. He comes from a passionate food family, and like my dad, learned to cook from his mom. Eventually, he began a career as a food strategist (yes, it's a real thing!) and is now the creative director of a culinary consulting company. I've learned so much from Mike and his vast cookbook collection—let's just say the cookbooks on our shared shelves rival the number of novels—not just about technique, but also what it means to create recipes and how restaurant kitchens function. Because of this eclectic mix of experiences, writing about food comes almost as easily to me as eating it! And, needless to say, it was handy to have a fact-checker living in the house.
Will you share a recipe with us?
I’d be remiss not to share a Caesar salad recipe (read the book to find out why!), so this is my go-to version to delight a group. I don’t know that Zahra would approve because it’s not technically authentic, but it has that classic Caesar flavor and a pleasing light-creamy texture.
Frankies Spuntino Caesar Dressing
Serves 4-6
3 hearts of romaine (pull away the outer green leaves)
1/3 cup grated Pecorino
2 tbsp water
1.5 tsp red wine vinegar
1 garlic clove
1/4 tsp Worcestershire sauce
8 turns freshly ground white pepper (sub with black if you don’t have it)
Fine sea salt to taste
Black pepper to serve
1. Wash and dry the lettuce. Let chill in the fridge while you prep the dressing.
2. Combine 1/4 cup of the Pecorino with remaining ingredients and blend until smooth. Check texture, and thin with a little more water if desired. Taste and add a pinch of salt, if needed.
3. Toss the chilled lettuce hearts with the dressing. Serve and garnish with extra grated Pecorino and black pepper. If you wanna be extra classy, like my mother-in-law, chill the forks too!!
Thank you Lauren!!!
Buy Trust Me On This from Amazon (or read for free on KU)
Connect with Lauren on Instagram
Visit Lauren’s website
A little housekeeping 🏠
Cool Book Facts: A new newsletter for times of curiosity and escape: I’m currently deep in research for my next book and as such, I’ve uncovered SO MANY cool things. I started a second newsletter called Cook Book Facts. (click!) A generic, but apt, name. (Name may change??? What do you think?) Anyway you’re all automatically subscribed and the first one should be going out later this month. You can unsub from that if you don’t give a rat’s ass about cool book facts, no harm done, no offense taken. I’ll remind you later when there’s an actual post.
Currently watching: That season finale of the White Lotus! My goodness. I needed time to process all that was being shown. I think, in the end, it really was about what people do with pauses in their lives. Some people squander them. Some people enrich themselves. Some people use the pauses to better themselves, fall back to vice, and then better themselves again. I loved it.
Also watched season 3 of Love on the Spectrum, which my husband and I absolutely binged. I ADORE this show and fiercely love each of the cast members. It’s so good and so loving.
Currently reading: The Dagger and the Flame by Catherine Doyle, a romantasy with a really good enemies to lovers set up. I always think the best ones are when the people appear irredeemably against each other. Like they REALLY hate each other. Now, turn it around! A masterful feat, if pulled off.
Also reading many other books but I’ll do a full book round up next time.
Okay! Thnx bye! 🧟