Lara, who now lives in New York City, grew up in Yellow Springs. “I’ve been writing for a long time, since about the fifth grade. I was also part of (the scholastic competitive writing program) Power of the Pen, which certainly is part of how and why I became a writer.”
She graduated from Wright State University in 2012 with a B.A. degree, majoring in English, minoring in Women’s Studies, and taking enough history classes, she says, “to give me an unofficial minor in that as well.”
Lara credits her Wright State professors for helping her move her writing career along, citing Scott Geisel, as her thesis advisor, as well as professors Erin Flanagan and Brady Allen, among the many she says helped her explore and develop her talent.
Though Lara describes Yellow Springs as “wonderful,” she was ready to spread her wings and live somewhere else. Before recently moving to New York City, Lara lived in Louisville, Ky., because that is where several members of her father’s family are located, and it gave her some connections while also an independent experience.
“I worked at a variety of jobs, wrote stories, wrote a novel that I shopped around but never sold, and finally wrote ‘Amberlough,’” Lara says. “Actually, ‘Amberlough’ started as a series of stories. But after my mom, who is also a writer, read the second of the stories, she said I was trying to fit in too much, and perhaps the stories needed to be a novel. I said ‘no!’ of course. But then I thought about it and realized she was right.”
The idea for “Amberlough” came, Lara says, from two disparate sources: her love of the movie ‘Cabaret,’ and a trip to Ireland with her father.
“We were in the northernmost part of Ireland, in a beautiful and windswept but desolate mountain pass,” Lara says. “A cabaret-like character came to me. I knew his name — Aristide. And I could somehow see him in this desolate place, so unlikely for such a character. So I asked myself, well, how would such a character end up here?”
From there, Lara kept asking herself questions, and eventually wove together her novel.
You can learn more about Lara and “Amberlough” on her website, www.laradonnelly.com.
You can also meet her at two upcoming local reading and autograph sessions:
• Wednesday, Feb. 15, 7 p.m., Books & Co. at The Greene.
• Saturday, Feb. 18, 3-5 p.m., Dark Star Books & Comics, 237 Xenia Ave., Yellow Springs.
Other Upcoming Literary Events
• Monday, Feb. 13, 1-3 p.m., Washington-Centerville Library, Centerville branch, Library Lobby — The "2nd Monday Authors" series welcomes Dan Baker and Gwen Nalls, and their co-authored nonfiction book, "Blood in the Streets," and David Warren and his children's book, "Mealtime Guests." Learn more about the event and authors at www.wclibrary.info; click on "Programs" tab and the 2nd Monday Authors link.
• Thursday, Feb. 16, 6:30-8 p.m., Dayton Metro Library, Community Room of Kettering-Moraine branch (3496 Far Hills Ave., Kettering) — "You're a Real Character: Defining Self in Creative Nonfiction." Learn tips and techniques for writing personal essays. Led by author Erin Flanagan (www.erinflanagan.net). Free and open to the public.
• Friday, Feb. 17 — Deadline for the Dayton Metro Library Teen Fiction Writing Contest. Entries will be accepted from writers grades 7-9 in three categories: Flash Fiction, General Fiction and Fan Fiction. Visit www.daytonmetrolibrary.org or your local branch for entry details.
• Sunday, Feb. 19, 7-8:30 p.m., Wright Memorial Public Library, 1776 Far Hills Ave., Oakwood — Writers' Café, a casual hangout for writers ages 18 and up and of all experience levels, meets the first Friday and third Sunday (at 2:30) of each.
• Sunday, Feb. 19, 2-3:30 p.m., Books & Co. at The Greene — The Antioch Writers' Workshop at the University of Dayton (www.antiochwritersworkshop.com) will present a free and open to the public mini-seminar on "Incorporating Research into Your Work." The session will provide tips and techniques on how to use details gleaned in research into stories, novels, essays, memoirs or other writing. It will be led by novelist Sharon Short, www.sharonshort.com
• Tuesday, Feb. 21, 7-8:30 p.m. Wright Memorial Public Library — The Wright Library Poets will meet to share poetry and hone craft. Poets of all levels are welcome. For more information, contact Elizabeth Schmidt, Schmidt@wrightlibrary.org, or call 294-7171.
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