Lauren Parvizi on Embracing New Beginnings: Insights from the Award-Winning Author

Discover how Lauren Parvizi, author of La Vie, According to Rose, overcame challenges to achieve literary success. Learn her strategies for starting anew

This month we’ve explored how spring reminds us that it’s never too late to begin again. Sometimes starting over feels like failure—but really, it’s a quiet act of courage. Stepping away to recharge often brings the clarity needed to return with fresh energy and purpose. And as Lauren Parvizi proves in this month’s Interview with a Dreamchaser, those quiet, unseen hours of persistence are exactly what pave the way to success.

Lauren’s debut novel, La Vie, According to Rose, won the 2024 Women’s Fiction Writers Association STAR Award—but it wasn’t her first attempt at writing a book. In this conversation, Lauren shares how she overcame self-doubt, learned to trust her process, and kept going even when no one else was watching. If starting over feels daunting, Lauren’s story is a reminder that sometimes the biggest breakthroughs come from simply showing up, again and again.

Photp by Nazaneen Ganji

Tell me about a time you had to start over, or a dream you accomplished.

Writing is all about starting over. Whether it’s a new draft or a new idea entirely, beginning anew is, for me, always painful but necessary. Like so many authors, I have a “drawer” manuscript that will never be published but that taught me so much. I spent many, many hours over multiple years writing and revising that story before moving it into a folder on my computer never to be looked at again. A few months later, I cracked open a new notebook and started what became my debut novel, La Vie, According to Rose. I truly don’t believe I’d have one without the other.

What big hurdle did you overcome to reach your goal?

Prioritizing writing a book when no one cares if you finish it (except you), and no one may ever read it (except you) is an exercise in perseverance and self-discipline. It takes a certain level of tenacity to keep going despite all the other things vying for your attention. Just sitting down and finishing the dang thing is absolutely the hardest part of publishing thus far. (The second hardest thing is the nagging imposter syndrome. But I haven’t entirely overcome that yet! I’ve just gotten used to it, which maybe is the best any of us can do.)

What’s the main lesson you learned?

Keep going; baby steps; mindset matters—these are the mantras that stay with me. Micro progress counts, and if you don’t give up, you’ll get there eventually. Or maybe you won’t, but you’ll learn something along the way that will give you the information you need to adjust your goals.

Lauren’s second novel, Trust Me on This, about how two half sisters on a road trip to see their dying father end up miles from where they expected in an emotional novel about secrets, forgiveness, and what it means to be family, released this month.

Do you have another goal or dream?

More published books! On a personal note, I’d love to live abroad for a short period of time one day.

A career artist must hustle to sell themselves and their work. What’s your #1 Hustle Tip?

Whether it’s putting yourself out there in a way that doesn’t come naturally or asking questions that reveal your inexperience, you must be willing to embarrass yourself a little. Growth comes at the edge of your comfort zone, so if you’re not uncomfortable, you’re probably not doing it right!

What’s your advice for someone who’s starting over, or wants to achieve a dream?

I’m starting to contemplate my next book, which feels essentially like starting over. Something I’m often telling myself is that it’s okay to be afraid. I don’t have to spend time or energy trying to fix anything or stop the fear—even though the impulse to do so is strong, because who the heck likes feeling scared?!—I just have to keep showing up anyway. And, yes, some days are much harder than others. But no feeling is final. You create through the good and the bad, the lighting bolt moments of inspiration and the excruciating hours of self-doubt, and eventually, you will find that you’re not at all where you started. Maybe you’re even close to a new beginning.

Lauren Parvizi is the author of Trust Me on This and La Vie, According to Rose, winner of the 2024 Women’s Fiction Writers Association STAR Award in the Debut category. She worked for more than a decade as a digital editor and content writer and earned an MFA from San Francisco State University. She lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband and sons. Find her online at laurenparvizi.com and @LaurenParviziAuthor.