The Square Donut, a story of love, death and donuts. 

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Coffee. Sugar. A jelly-filled. And two girls in love. 

 “Sugar?” One question, one word, sweeps Toby Renfrew onto love’s uncharted path when a hitchhiker named Carolina plants her skinny butt at the donut counter and orders up a jelly-filled.
 
Graduating a year early with the Best from Hell to Heaven Class of ’77, seventeen-year-old Toby thought she was sentenced to a tediously dull life slinging donuts at her family’s shop, The Precinct Donut Emporium.
 
But when Carolina shows up with all of her cool intensity and sets up a pup tent on the Lake Erie shore just two short blocks away, Toby starts rethinking life in "Dishrag," Ohio.
 
Just as she is finding her place in the world, the small-town, homophobic local fuzz goes on a rampage, and Carolina heads for home to face her demons, leaving Toby with a decision to make—is she brave enough to claim her love? 

Try a sample.

WORK IN PROGRESS: An excerpt from an earlier draft and artwork from the first cover option for The Square Donut.
 
​Narration and text by Lauren Crane. Film, artwork and really cool nail polish by Sarah Sarwar.

Reviews and Reader Comments

“Quick-paced without feeling rushed and poignant without being preachy. Crane got me to laugh out loud. A banner first novel.”
  —Leah Downing, Best-Selling Author
                   Catch a Falling Star
The Path of Least Resistance 

"Lauren Crane writes with the deft blend of humor and poignancy that can only come from having a deep and wise soul. The Square Donut charms, illuminates, and nourishes - just what a reader hopes for from a great story. Don't miss this one!"
    -- Anna Lefler, Comedy Writer and Author
Preschooled
The Chicktionary
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What Readers are Saying
“I laughed out loud on pg. 14
   I cried on pg. 173
   I looked up a word on pg. 230
   I wished there was more on pg. 242
   I had the middle seat on my flight and didn't even know it!”

“Totally charming!!! Hard to put down, yet I didn't want it to end.”
 
“This book was my reading pleasure for my week away at the beach. Thank you, Lauren Crane.  Look forward to book #2.”

“Absolutely loving The Square Donut. It's funny, witty, and makes you reminisce about your first loves in life.”
 
“Read in one day, and promptly passed along to those I think will love it as much as I did. Excellent read. Well done, Lauren Crane. Thank you for sharing that world with us.”
 
“The story is touching, funny and heart-breaking. I think many of us can relate to ‘walking around feeling like a donut...’”
 
“The Square Donut is clever, funny and heartwarming. (I didn't copy that from NY Times Book Review.)”
 
“The highlight of my 4th of July weekend. Nothing better than a fabulous book and sunshine. Thank you, Lauren Crane. Loved every page. Please begin work on the next.”
 
“Almost done reading The Square Donut by my songwriter bud Lauren Crane. Highly recommended. I don't want it to end!”