Lauren Conrad Lands Mega 3-Book Deal!

A new chapter for LC!

Lauren Conrad -- whose debut teen novel, L.A. Candy, hit No. 1 on a New York Times bestseller list -- just scored another three-book deal with HarperCollins, she tells Us Magazine exclusively.

Called The Fame Game, the Hills alum's upcoming trilogy is set in the reality TV universe, and features Madison Parker, an ambitious, ruthless character from the L.A. Candy series who's ready to become a star in her own right. In her way? Backstabbing family friends, dogged paparazzi and one media scandal after the next!

"We took the mean girl of the [L.A. Candy books], spinning her off," Conrad, 25, tells Us of The Fame Game's tough protagonist Madison.

"This series is about a girl who loves everything that fame is, and that's all she's ever really wanted," Conrad explains. "[Madison] has fun with the press, she enjoys the attention, she welcomes scandal!"

If Madison sounds familiar (Heidi Montag, perhaps?), Conrad assures Us her characters aren't based on anyone real. "No. We have fun with it! We kind of take [Hollywood] stereotypes.

With a clothing empire to run as well (her third line debuts this fall), when does Conrad write?

"Between 11 p.m. and 2 a.m.," Conrad tells Us. "My phone doesn't ring, and there's nothing on TV!"

Is Conrad's longtime beau, actor Kyle Howard, an L.A. Candy devotee? "He read my first book, which was very sweet," Conrad says, laughing. "I told him he didn't have to read the rest. "I don't think he's the target market!"

Credit: Us Magazine

Lauren Doesn't Need a Special Day For Love

Lauren Conrad's boyfriend Kyle Howard is in the clear for Valentine's Day.

The former Hills star says she doesn't need a present and doesn't really need to do anything special for the romantic holiday, either.

"I'm so not a romantic," she told PEOPLE Saturday at her belated 25th birthday party at Vegas's Pure Nightclub. "For me it's all about the little things that people do."

For the record, Conrad and her boyfriend have no plans for the big day. In his defense, Howard is "very sweet," she said in gold, shimmering Farrakhan dress. "I don't think you need a specific day to celebrate your love for someone. I think it can be a Tuesday. It's an everyday thing."

Though not one for romantic gifts, Conrad is a big believer in sentimental or practical presents. Her favorite birthday gift earlier this month was a photo album given to her by a friend, she said. Howard went the practical route, giving her an iPad case. "It was something I needed and it was great."

Though a recent internet report claimed the duo is secretly engaged, a ring-less Conrad denied the rumor but said things are going "great" between the two of them. She even joked that she's going to start capitalizing on the rumors.

"I think that's the fourth time that's happened," she said. "I'm gonna start a registry."

Credit: Mark Gray for PEOPLE

Lauren Conrad Out With Beau Post-Cancellation

Chilling out in Malibu, Lauren Conrad and her boyfriend Kyle Howard looked cozy in Paradise Cove yesterday (February 6).

The former “Hills” babe and her main squeeze also did some shopping at Pavilions at Point Dume before driving off into the mountains.

Credit: Celebrity Gossip

Photos by Splash News

Lauren Conrad & Kyle Howard Are Not Engaged

Looks like Lauren Conrad isn't joining the bridal brigade after all.

Though the The New York Post's Page Six reported that the 24-year-old MTV reality star is engaged to actor Kyle Howard, a rep for Conrad says there's no truth to the rumor.

"I will tell you exactly what I told The Post," her rep tells Us Magazine. "This is totally false."

Dating since 2008, Conrad has kept her relationship with the My Boys actor, 32, away from MTV's cameras -- which was one of the many reasons she walked away from The Hills in 2009.

"By the time I had met Kyle, I had already perfected my 'double life,'" she explained to Seventeen last year. "There was my TV life and my real life."

Credit: Us Magazine