Please welcomeLindsay Hager author of Can Dreams Come True
Krysten Lindsay Hager will be awarding a $10 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.
Can Dreams Come True?
by Krysten Lindsay Hager
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GENRE: YA
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INTERVIEW:
3. As far as your writing goes, what are your future plans?
BLURB:
1. What or who inspired you to start writing?
I used to watch soap operas with my mom and grandpa and it inspired storylines that I’d play out with my Barbie dolls. This went on for years until I started writing little stories in notebooks, so I pretty much always knew this was what I wanted to do.
2. How did you come up with your idea for your novel?
I wanted to take a normal teen and have her get the opportunity to meet (and date) the singer/songwriter she connects with on this deep level. Everyone has a music crush, but this is the guy whose lyrics speak to her and now she gets to see if he’s like what she’s imagined. So it was a lot of fun to bring this idea to life.
3. As far as your writing goes, what are your future plans?
I’m finishing up the sequel to Can Dreams Come Trueas we speak. I think you’ll really enjoy the characters journey. Cecily and Andrew’s relationship really deepens in such a beautiful way. I’m working on another YA book as well as an adult book.
4. If you could be one of the characters from this book, who would it be and why?
I would like to be Cecily getting these opportunities to do everything she’s dreamed of and have the big life she’s always fanaticized about. Who wouldn’t want to see what it was like to get a taste of your dream life for a little bit.
5. Can you give us a sneak peek into this book?
Sure! Cecily goes along on an audition for her favorite singer’s music video. She gets cast in a bit part in the video and she and Andrew (the singer) connect behind the scenes. Pretty soon she’s in the position of seeing what it would be like to date her ultimate crush and all the funny, cringe-y and awkward moments that go with that.
6. Do you belong to a critique group? If so how does this help or hinder your writing?
I have been in several. Some were more helpful than others and sometimes you can need time away for a bit to work. Writing is all about solitude, but sometimes you need feedback. I did go through a period where I was constantly meeting with critique groups and I needed a bit of time alone to work and write because sometimes you can start tailoring your work to what the group thinks you should be doing and it can take you off course.
7. When did you first decide to submit your work? Please tell us what or who encouraged you to take this big step?
I had a professional critique with an editor at a writing conference and she encouraged me to send her my manuscript when I was done and that gave me a boost of confidence. I always tell people when they’re starting out to attend conferences and workshops and classes for a long time before they even consider submitting their work.
8. What is the best and worst advice you ever received? (regarding writing or publishing)
The best advice is to let your characters take you where they want to go. It’s a double edged sword though because sometimes it takes you to a plot line you didn’t intend and you wonder how that will go over with your readers. But I always assume I’m led down a path for a reason, so I just go with what the characters want to do.
9. Do you outline your books or just start writing?
I have tried to outline, but I either run out of steam for actually writing the story or it goes in another direction. For a series book or sequel I need a bit of an idea of where I’m going with it, but I don’t do a full outline by any stretch of the imagination.
10. How do you maintain your creativity?
Watching movies/TV and reading is one way that I get inspired. I also collect articles and pictures of things that inspire story ideas.
11. Who is your favorite character in the book. Can you tell us why?
I love Cecily, of course, but Andrew has become very dear to me. There are moments when he will say things that later on, in editing, I realize were deep in my subconscious. I love how grounded he is at a young age in a career that could have him obsessed with his own ego.
BLURB:
Cecily has always had a huge crush on singer Andrew Holiday and she wants to be an actress, so she tags along when her friend auditions for his new video. However, the director isn’t looking for an actress, but rather the girl next door—and so is Andrew. Cecily gets a part in the video and all of Andrew’s attention on the set. Her friend begins to see red and Cecily’s boyfriend is seeing green—as in major jealousy. A misunderstanding leaves Cecily and her boyfriend on the outs and Andrew hopes to pick up the pieces as he’s looking for someone more stable in his life than the models he’s dated. Soon Cecily begins to realize Andrew understands her more than her small-town boyfriend—but can her perfect love match really be her favorite rock star?
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EXCERPT:
I started to feel anxious after lunch. After all, I had been an Andrew fan for a long time, and even though I had seen him in person, this was a huge deal to get to meet him. What if he wasn’t what I had imagined? I didn’t expect him to fawn over me or anything, but what if he was rude or ignored me? It would kill my fantasy of him as being this sweet, quiet, sensitive songwriter who wore his heart on his sleeve while also being kind of a loner/rebel with just a touch of bad boy in him. Oh man, I would be crushed if he didn’t notice me or worse—if he ended up flirting with Harlow.
In all his magazine interviews Andrew always said looks weren’t important to him, and what he noticed in a girl was if she was true to herself. He said he went for “bright girls who were sweet and easy to be with.” Now that I thought about it, that was the kind of fake crap magazines put out about all the teen celebrities. It was like when I saw Lawrence Claibourne, my favorite actor who claimed to be Mr. I’m-just-looking-for-a-sweetgirl-to-read-poetry-to on a red carpet with a model whose boobs were falling out of her dress and had overdone the lip fillers—I mean, you just knew he wasn’t into her for her personality. But Andrew wasn’t like Lawrence. Andrew seemed so sincere and deep. Lawrence had a smirk and you could tell he was a player, but Andrew seemed like he had been hurt and needed to find the right girl who he could open up to and learn to trust again. . .or at least that’s what he said in his last interview.
The final bell rang and my heart shot up to my throat. This was it. I was on my way to meet my crush. From now on, any dreams of him would be marred by the reality I was about to face.
Was it better to keep wondering what if and keep the fantasy alive or to go and actually meet him?
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AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Krysten Lindsay Hager writes about friendship, self-esteem, fitting in, frenemies, crushes, fame, first loves, and values. She is the author of True Colors, Best Friends...Forever?, Next Door to a Star, Landry in Like, Competing with the Star, Dating the It Guy, and Can Dreams Come True? True Colors, won the Readers Favorite award for best preteen book and the Dayton Book Expo Bestseller Award for children/teens. Competing with the Star is a Readers' Favorite Book Award Finalist.
Krysten's work has been featured in USA Today, The Flint Journal, the Grand Haven Tribune, the Beavercreek Current, the Bellbrook Times, Springfield News-Sun, Grand Blanc View, Dayton Daily News and on the talk show Living Dayton.
AMAZON BIO: https://www.amazon.com/Krysten-Lindsay-Hager/e/B00L2JC9P2/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1518310668&sr=8-1
Buy links:
Barnes and Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/can-dreams-come-true-krysten-lindsay-hager/1128104849?ean=9781621357469
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GIVEAWAY INFORMATION and RAFFLECOPTER CODE:
Krysten Lindsay Hager will be awarding a $10 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.
Thanks for hosting!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for taking time to bring to our attention another great read. I enjoy these tours and finding out about many terrific books.
ReplyDeleteWelcome to the Angel's blog. I hope you have a great tour. Allana Angel
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DeleteWho is your favorite character from the book? Congrats on the release. Bernie Wallace BWallace1980(at)hotmail(d0t)com
ReplyDeleteLila was a fun character to write because of her sense of humor. Thank you!
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