Lauren Conrad does have something to snuggle up with at the end of the day – but it’s not a man!

The reality star-turned-author/designer stopped by Access Hollywood Live on Monday, where she dished on the status of her love life.

“Are you open to a relationship right now?” Billy Bush asked the star, who ended her three-year relationship with actor Kyle Howard last year.

“Um, like a committed relationship?” she joked. “I don’t know, I’m so busy right now.

“Honestly, I’m in a relationship with my novels,” Lauren, who was also previously linked to Brody Jenner and Derek Hough explained. “I’m always open, but I’m not really looking.”

Lauren, who said she’s “always” up for a date, explained that she likes to takes things slow with a new guy.

“I’m not really a person who kisses on a first date,” she said.

Lauren’s fourth novel in her “L.A. Candy” series, “The Fame Game,” is in stores now.

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Lauren Conrad saw her early reality television career as a ”business opportunity”.

The 26-year-old beauty rose to fame on ‘Laguna Beach’ before going on to be a fashion designer, and she does not regret living her life in front of the cameras because it allowed her to have a ”voice”.

She said: ”There were definitely great perks. I got to travel a lot and I got to meet great people as well.

”But for me, the reality TV platform was always a business opportunity. Also, it gave me a voice, and I think it’s really nice if you can turn that into something more.”

Lauren admits the best thing about her career now is that she can do things she really enjoys, like writing her new book ‘The Fame Game’.

She added in an interview with Look magazine: ”I’m really happy. It worked out well for me, because I am able to do the clothing line and write these books, things that I love, without the cameras around.”

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If you’re anything like me, the first time you heard about Lauren Conrad she was “LC” on MTV’s hit reality series “Laguna Beach.” She later got her own show with “The Hills” — and after leaving TV, Lauren focused on her work in fashion and also started writing. She’s already released three books in the L.A. Candy series, and this week she released the first book in a spin-off series, The Fame Game.

Lauren took some time out of her busy book tour schedule this week to chat with me by phone about her books, fashion, and — in typical Novel Novice form — other random topics!

We all know that your L.A. Candy and now The Fame Game series — though fictional — were inspired at least in part by your own experiences with reality TV, namely MTV’s “Laguna Beach” and “The Hills.” In some way, do you view the books as a sort of Hollywood cautionary tale?

I don’t think so. I think it’s more of a story that just gives people a sneak peek behind the curtains of Hollywood.

A lot of readers have likened your L.A. Candy character, Jane Roberts, to a fictionalized version of yourself. Did you feel any freedom getting away from that character and focusing on Madison for The Fame Game?

I don’t think so. I think it has the same backdrop as the first series, and all these characters live in the same world. But I had told Jane Roberts’ story, so it was time to tell a new one. And it was really fun because I got to tell it from a completely different point of view.

What was the most fun part of exploring Madison’s character separate from the L.A. Candy storyline?

I think it was just getting into the head of someone who is just shameless with their own publicity and image.

A lot of your former co-stars have gone on to careers in film and television, but you’ve gone the other direction — focusing on fashion and your writing. What made you go in that direction?

As far as fashion, that’s something that I always wanted to do since I was young, so that was just a career path that I’d been on for so long. Writing was something that I had always really enjoyed doing, but growing up I had this idea in my head that I had to pick one. So the fact that I got to do both and still do, has been really great.

Your Style Guide also just came out in paperback, and it provides lots of timeless fashion advice. But a lot of your readers are teens or young women, and are on tight budgets. What sort of budget-friendly advice do you have for being stylish on a tight budget?

I think it’s just to invest in classic pieces. Whether it’s a really great shoe that I get re-soled once a year, or a really nice bag I bought myself. I have certain pieces that were more expensive, but I wear them throughout the season. I think when it comes to trendier pieces, that’s where you go the more budget-friendly option.

Your L.A. Candy and Fame Game books are now part of this booming world of YA lit. Are there any books out there right now that you’re hooked on?

The last book that I read was The Hunger Games, so, everyone’s read that recently. I wanted to read it before I saw the movie. I really liked that, I’m actually in the middle of the second one.

That segues perfectly into my next question, which is about The Hunger Games. Obviously, it’s huge right now. Author Suzanne Collins has said she was partly inspired to write the books because of the blurring lines between reality and television. Many have even called her books a critique, in part, of reality TV. Having been a part of reality TV yourself, what are your thoughts on that approach?

Well, I think it’s a very extreme example. I just see where some people could think that, because you’re sort of entertained by other people’s pain, and I think that happens sometime in reality television. But I think the biggest difference is, when you’re on reality television, you’ve signed up for the experience. But in The Hunger Games, they’re just selecting people.

Is there anything you miss about being on TV regularly?

Really, the only thing that I miss is the people that I got to work with. That was really fun. It was fun to go to work everyday and be with really good friends. But as far as the lifestyle, and the way it affected not just me, but the other people in my life, I don’t really miss that part of it.

Private concert: who’s playing?

Oh gosh. Ooh. I’m so bad at this because I don’t really have a favorite band. Most of the time I’m seeing music it’s because my roommate just dragged me to a random show, because she goes to show every other night.

Pizza toppings?

I usually do veggie pizza, so lots of different vegetables.

Is there a book you can’t stop re-reading?

Not really, no. I mean, the only book that I’ve ever done that with is The Great Gatsby, but I’ve only read it a couple times. I think I always prefer to read something new, there’s just so many great books out there.

Living or dead, who would you like to have dinner with.

Oh, these are good questions, I wish I had good answers. Living or dead? You know, I think it would be Coco Chanel. I think that she was just such an amazing woman and she pioneered so many important trends in fashion that are still in use today.

Perfect vacation?

Perfect vacation is probably Cabo. I love going to Cabo, that’s my favorite place to go to.

You’re on book tour now, so what is one best and one worst thing about being on book tour?

The best thing is getting the opportunity to meet all the people that are buying the book and speak with them. It’s such an amazing experience, I love the experience. And the worst part is, I am so tired!

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Lauren Conrad is happy to have “reclaimed her own life” from reality TV.

The 26-year-old fashion designer and author shot to fame on reality sensation The Hills.

Lauren departed from the show in 2009 to immerse herself in the garment industry.

The star is content with her decision and isn’t sure if she’d return to the small screen in the future.

“I’m just really happy with where I left off,” Lauren told MTV News. “I think if you’re going to do a reality show, you have this obligation to share your life with people, and I did it for as long as I could, then I kind of reclaimed my own life. So, no plans to right now, but you never say never, and you always listen to ideas.”

Lauren remains in touch with her The Hills castmates, but she is reluctant to participate in an onscreen reunion.

“I don’t know [if I'd do a reunion show], because I catch up [with] anyone I still talk to from the show. I get to see [them] regularly anyway,” Lauren explained.

“So, that just happens on a Friday night, but it’s a game night at my apartment, which is so much more fun [than a reunion special].”

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Lauren Conrad (“The Hills”) is a master at mixing reality and fiction. Her 2009 novel “L.A. Candy,” based on her reality-TV-centered life, added New York Times [NYT] bestselling author to her resume, which includes reality starlet, clothing designer and columnist. The next installment in the series, “The Fame Game” (Harper Collins, $18.99) came out Tuesday. The novel follows Madison Parker, a supporting player in “L.A. Candy” who is now ready for the spotlight. Conrad, 26, who’ll be in Boston for a book signing Thursday, talked with the Herald in a phone interview.

Herald: There are so many references to the TV industry in the book (including a character who is an actor on a series called “Boston General”). How do you find inspiration for these?

Conrad: Being in the business for years, you see so many things. After spending several years in L.A., they start to feel normal, and then you’ll come home for a weekend and you’ll tell your parents what happened and they think what any normal person would think: It’s crazy! But you become immune to it. What I did is I started to take notes and I’m so glad I did because I use them all the time. … I would sometimes sit down with my editor and she would say, “I don’t know if this is believable,” and I would say, “But it really happened!”

As with any celebrity-written novel, there’s always talk that it wasn’t you who wrote it. How do you respond to that?

You have to take it as it comes. I take it as a compliment. When they tell you they didn’t think you could do it, you prove you can. … I really wanted to get younger girls to read. I remember never wanting to read growing up, but there were a few (books) that I could really get lost in. If you can ever get a young person to pick up a book and read it, that’s great.

What can your fans expect from the tour?

I love the signings. I think that’s one of the most fun parts — meeting the people that are gonna read it! It’s such a great opportunity to sign books and talk with all the girls.

What else is coming up in your life?

I’m working on the second book in the “Fame Game” series and that’s taking up most of my time. I’m also still working on my two lines: I’m designing spring right now for Paper Crown and I’m also working with a brand called Blue Avocado and we’re coming out with grocery, lunch and beauty bags, and they’re all made from reclaimed plastic. It’s been a really great experience with them.

When you have a month like mine you try not to look too far ahead, but I broke up this tour so I’m gone for a few weeks and then I’m home on the weekends. And then I’m gonna get to go to Coachella (music festival). I don’t know what I’m going to wear though — I have to shop online while I’m on tour!

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Lauren Conrad was never the type of reality starlet that bared it all in magazines. So when the former “Hills” star appeared wearing little more than her big smile on the cover of Glamour magazine, the author and fashion mogul definitely raised a few of her fans’ eyebrows.

In fact, her own eyebrows were also raised by that shot making the cover. With its vintage Hollywood glam feel, the photo — in which a sun-drenched LC sits by a pool in nothing but little white shorts, her knees covering her lady parts — made headlines.

When MTV News spoke to the “Fame Game” author Tuesday at the Barnes & Noble in Union Square, where she was signing her latest work of fiction, she opened up about seeing her Glamour cover for the first time.

“There’s a lot of me on there! Listen — that was a surprise to me,” she said, laughing. “So, that was supposed to be a very small inside shot, and I saw the cover, and I was like, ‘Oh my!’ I blushed when I saw it. I was like, ‘That is a lot of me!’

“So, it’s there. I didn’t know that was going to be the cover, no. But that’s how it works with magazines: If you take a photo, there’s always that chance. But, no, I did not expect that to be the cover.”

While she revealed a lot of her heart and soul for years on MTV, the shot marks the most skin fans have probably ever seen of the very lady-like mogul on a magazine cover. But, she said one day, she’ll be very happy about it. “You know what? Why not [do it] when you’re young,” she said. “Forty years from now, I’ll be not looking like that. Might as well!”

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MTV’s golden girl, Lauren Conrad, is all grown up and drama-free. How’d that happen? Hard work, a sense of humor, and a new perspective on everything she went through. Allow her to explain in this excerpt from Kyle Buchanan’s cover interview.

GLAMOUR: Your new book is about a bad girl who loves to cause drama on her reality show. Does any of that draw on your time in Hollywood?

LAUREN CONRAD: Yes, definitely. I knew people who called the paparazzi on themselves! Their point of view is “They’re going to photograph me anyway, and this way I get paid half of what they make.” I could never bring myself to do it, but it was kind of fun to write it from that point of view.

GLAMOUR: Are you able to watch other reality TV, like The Real Housewives or The Bachelor, or do you just complain to your friends, “Look how scripted that is!”

LAUREN CONRAD: I do! I’m always so bad about continuity errors, or all the little tricks they do; they cut and paste together these voiceovers. But you have to know that these poor editors have to make something out of nothing sometimes, because so much money goes into every shoot.

GLAMOUR: What’s another trick we might not know about?

LAUREN CONRAD: During shooting, the producers would send us quick text messages telling us what to talk about. They couldn’t walk through the shot, so they’d just text me, like, “Say something quick about this story line.” That’s why we were always checking our phones!

GLAMOUR: You’re awfully considerate when you talk about the crew on these shows.

LAUREN CONRAD: I was really lucky. You see the crew more than you see your friends and family. One producer, Sophia, is still one of my best friends. I think it’s funny because you’re never supposed to make eye contact with the crew during a shoot. Sometimes you want to turn to a friend and you can’t!

GLAMOUR: Did you watch the series finale of The Hills?

LAUREN CONRAD: I didn’t ever watch it.

GLAMOUR: Liar!

LAUREN CONRAD: I swear on my life! I only watched the last minute and a half at the finale party.

GLAMOUR: People often say that reality stars are famous for doing nothing. Did you feel like you had to prove yourself?

LAUREN CONRAD: I did, and it was very frustrating because I almost wanted to send critics my weekly schedule and say, “This is my ‘nothing.’ ” I would film all day, and then I had several other businesses on the side: In the last season I was running a clothing line and writing a novel. I work really, really hard.

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Lauren Conrad knows a few things about hot clubs, cute guys and life in the fast lanes of Los Angeles. Best known for her starring role in the MTV reality series The Hills, she’s also the best-selling author of the L.A. Candy series, which follows young interns on the prowl. Perhaps in designer threads from Conrad’s own clothing line, of course. Now she’s back with a new series featuring a favorite L.A. Candy character, Madison Parker. Conrad, 26, chatted with USA TODAY from her home base, Los Angeles.

Q: Your newest book, out Tuesday from HarperCollins, is called The Fame Game. What is it about fame that attracts so many people? It’s like a drug.

A: I think it’s just simply to be adored. The first thing you think of is people blindly loving you, and all the perks that come along with that.

Q: On a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the hottest, where do you put yourself on the fame meter?

A: I’d be down at the bottom right now. I haven’t been on TV for a long time.

Q: Did you ever wish you weren’t even on the meter sometimes?

A: I think that I had a love/hate relationship with it. I felt like I should appreciate it, and it’s lovely at certain times. And if you’re able to inspire another person, that’s the great side of it. And I was able to travel. That I loved.

Q: But it’s not all fun and games being in the spotlight. What’s the hardest thing about fame, do you think?

A: I think the level of criticism you’re under is never healthy. I think that’s why lots of people in Hollywood end up in rehab. There are the ups and downs. I was never a fan of the attention.

Q: Do you have a funny story about being “spotted” somewhere?

A: There were a lot of those. Most of the time it’s great. They ask for a photo with you. It’s a little overwhelming if it’s a young girl, though. They can overreact. Cry.

Q: After you were on the cover of Teen Vogue andSeventeen, didn’t people notice you more on the street?

A: If you’re on the cover of any magazine, you certainly get recognized more.

Q: Your Lauren Conrad Styleguide is now out in paperback. Any style tips you’d like to add now? Any trends?

A: That’s a good one! Let me think. I purposely didn’t put anything trendy in there. I wanted this to be a book that you could refer to for years. It’s all very classic. Things come in and out. I didn’t want that.

Q: You live in LA. Where should someone go to be seen?

A: Who do you want to be seen by? If you’re an aspiring actor? My experience is so different. I didn’t go through any of that. Most of my friends all tend to work in restaurants part time, doing acting classes on the side. I don’t know! I was walking through a parking lot when I met my producer.

Q: You’re heading to Africa for two weeks. Tell us more.

A: It’s a little work and a little safari. I’m excited because we’re going to see giraffes. I love giraffes. And I’m meeting with a bunch of groups, foundations. As soon as I finish my next book, I’ll have more time, and I want to devote some time working for a cause. So I’m going to take a look at various groups.

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The very first moment Lauren Conrad graced our television screens I knew there was something distinctive about this lady. Maybe it’s her personality or the fact that she’s well-grounded, but one thing we all can attest to is that LC is without a doubt driven for success. Many still call her ‘former reality star’ but I feel she’s far surpassed that by now. If you so choose to give her a proper title then ‘entrepreneur’ is more like it.

Over the years, Conrad has established an empire embodying her three fashion lines, a series of best selling books, and other business ventures. Lauren celebrated her 26th birthday recently and at such a young age she’s already accomplished a great deal. Indeed, the minimal and chic lover shows no sign of slowing down, so it’s quite a pleasant surprise that she even had time to spare for an interview with us. Therefore, it is significant that you continue on below because as usual, this interview was done on your behalf:

EY: Thanks for taking the time. Let’s start off by talking a little about your life before it all took off. What was it like growing up and did you always love the creative arts?

LC: I had a wonderful childhood in Laguna Beach. My family is very close and I am the oldest of 3 kids. We had so much fun as a family growing up.

EY: To be honest, I wasn’t expecting you to become an author because of your constant demonstration of your love for fashion. So, your novels were definitely a pleasant surprise. What inspired you to start writing?

LC: I have always loved reading. Ever since I was a young girl I had a book by my bed and would get lost in the world of make believe. When I was asked to write a book, what interested me most was trying something that was outside what I normally did. It was a challenge that I was up for.

EY: Were you expecting the positive feedback that you received for your previous novels?

LC: The main reason to write was to try something new and to really explore my creative side. I never did it for any other reason. Having the books become a success was really like icing on the cake and it was so wonderful as a first time author.

Read the Rest of the Interview Here . . .

We have a new writer on staff — and she comes with a pretty fabulous pedigree. Lauren Conrad is joining the PEOPLE StyleWatch magazine team, starting with our March issue, dishing out style advice and sharing her fashion and beauty must-haves. In her inaugural column, Conrad answers commonly asked questions (like how to get a great wardrobe on a budget) and tells us what’s on her spring shopping list (hint: there are blazers, button-downs and platforms involved). Thanks to her successful beauty blog and growing lifestyle site, the designer is definitely gaining traction as a style authority — and we’re excited to have her on board! Check out Conrad’s first column in the March issue of PEOPLE StyleWatch magazine and learn more of her style secrets here.

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