Krysten Lindsay Hager: Good friends have your back, but some go behind it.

Going Back to Those Teen Years
 

Krysten Lindsay Hager

Good friends have your back, but some go behind it.

 

Why would someone want to go back in time and revisit those early teen years and the awkward, cringe-worthy moments of insecurities, growing up, trying figure out where you fit in, who you are, and on top of that dealing with crushes, schoolwork, and friendships? Well, I decided to write the book I wanted to read when I was that age. Going back to that time period was a bit chaotic, but I am so fortunate there weren't camera phones to capture my scrunched hair period (Salon Selectives hairspray and spray gel to get it crunchy and scrunchy—what was I thinking?) And let's not forget Daisy Duke shorts, the MAC lipstick with dark brown lip pencil outlining my lips, yeah, that was…cute. Nothing like looking like you just finished a bowl of chocolate pudding and forgot to wipe your mouth. Oh, and I danced to Paula Abdul in a grade school talent show in a Guess sweatshirt and jean shorts. We won't even discuss how I thought using Sun-In on dark brown hair would turn out well. So the teen years are all about trying to figure out who you are and trying on different personas (or in my case, hair colors) to see where you fit in best. It's a confusing time where you can feel insecure, but it feels more isolating when the very people who are supposed to have your back are the ones that are creating that insecurity. Frenemies are a big part of growing up and learning how to deal with them is never easy. I wrote the series that I not only wanted to read when I was that age, but what I needed to read back then and I hope other readers will feel the same way.
 

The Landry's True Colors Series is a clean reads young adult/middle grade series about friendship, self-esteem, fitting in, middle school and high school, frenemies, modeling, crushes, values, and self-image. Best Friends…Forever? (Book 2) was ranked at #1 on Amazon's Hot New Releases in Children's Books on Values and #1 on Amazon's Hot New Releases in Teen & Young Adult Values & Virtues Fiction. True Colors (Book 1) is an international bestselling book.
 

 

 

Blurb: 

Landry Albright hopes the new year will start off in an amazing way—instead she has to deal with more frenemy issues, boy drama, and having most of her best friends make the cheerleading squad without her. Suddenly, it seems like all anyone can talk about is starting high school next year—something she finds terrifying.

            Landry gets her first boyfriend (her crush, Vladi), but then gets dumped just as things come to a head with her friends. She feels lost and left out, but finds good advice about dealing with frenemies from what she considers an unlikely source. Landry faces having to speak up for what's right, tell the truth (even when it hurts), and how to get past the fear of failure as she gets another shot at competing in the American Ingénue modeling competition. Will she get a second chance with her friends, fame, and Vladi?

 

Excerpt:
 

"Landry, it's gotta be so awkward for you to be going to Vladi's school next year," Tori said. "I mean, what if you run into him during the tour?"

"It's a huge place,ʺ Ashanti said. "People break up all the time. It's not a big deal.ʺ

Tori raised her eyebrows as if to say, "Yeah, right," and went back to her sandwich. Meanwhile my delicious homemade soup was no longer sitting well. It never occurred to me Vladi might be around during the first pre‑freshman tour. I would be mortified if I ran into him and he was with a girl. Or worse yet, running into him, and he was with Yasmin. Plus, I hadn't told my mom about the breakup, so if she saw him, she'd probably go over to talk to him. I could already imagine it: "Landry, Vladi's here! Hon? Why are you hiding behind the garbage can? Your boyfriend, Vladi, is here. Come say, 'hello.' Stop trying to run away. Why is everyone laughing and pointing at you and calling you a 'loser dumpee?' What does that mean?"

Well, maybe the world would end and I wouldn't have to deal with high school or Vladi and my mother running into each other.

 

****

 

 

Sadly, the world did not end, and on Thursday, we all had to go to the high school for a freshman information night from 6 to 9 p.m.
 

Book Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RFp2fPFbvTQ&feature=youtu.be

Author bio:
Krysten Lindsay Hager is a book addict who has never met a bookstore she didn't like. She's worked as a journalist and writes middle grade, YA, humor essays, and adult fiction. She is originally from Michigan and has lived in Portugal, South Dakota, and currently resides in Southern Ohio where you can find her reading and writing when she's not catching up on her favorite shows. She received her master's degree from the University of Michigan-Flint.

 

Buy Links:

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Best-Friends-Forever-Landrys-Colors-ebook/dp/B00UIP1N5S/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1426663576&sr=8-1&keywords=krysten

Amazon international: http://authl.it/B00UIP1N5S

Barnesandnoble.com: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/c/krysten-lindsay-hager

itunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/krysten-lindsay-hager/id890673226?mt=11

Kobo: https://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/search?query=Krysten%20Lindsay%20Hager&fcsearchfield=Author&fclanguages=all

Connect with Krysten:

Website: http://www.krystenlindsay.com/

Instagram: http://instagram.com/krystenlindsay

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KrystenLindsayHagerAuthor

Twitter: https://twitter.com/KrystenLindsay

 

 

 

 

 

 

May I introduce: Krysten Lindsay Hager "True Colors"

 

True Colors

by Krysten Lindsay Hager

Krysten has travelled around a bit, and the ideas she's picked up on the way sound great. And so does her latest release "True Colors"

Please make her welcome!

1 - Jealousy and competition amongst teens / YA is a delicate issue. What drew you to this subject?

I think the subject of jealousy and competition is something we all face at that age—at all ages really. I know I sure ran across it and recently I had a cousin of mine (who is in college) complaining about dealing with jealousy drama on the same day I was talking to someone with a twelve year-old daughter who was dealing with the exact same issues. It’s difficult to deal with things like that, but when those negative feelings are coming from people you considered good friends…well, it hurts all the more.  I used to like to read about girls I could relate to and I hope someone reads TRUE COLORS and feels a little less alone in the world.

 2 - Where do you get your ideas from?

From everywhere really: from old journals (thanks for keeping those, Mom!), to tabloid stories, to my overactive imagination that runs wild—especially at night. I keep little notebooks that I jot down little ideas in all the time.

 

3 - Tell us about your favourite author or favourite book.

I have so many favorites, but the writer I call my “literary boyfriend,” is F. Scott Fitzgerald. I actually started off interested in his essays before I got into his fiction. I read “The Great Gatsby” in both seventh and ninth grade, but it didn’t do much for me until I read it right before the film came out. Suddenly the book spoke to me and I got what all the fuss was about.

 

4 - Tell us about your current project.

I’m working on a follow up to TRUE COLORS that picks up right where the first book left off with Landry getting off the train with her mom to meet her dad. There’s a scene with Landry dealing with makeup counter salespeople in it that I think every girl can relate to—oh, and lots more Vladi Yagudin!

 

Blurb:

True Colors is about Landry Albright, an eighth grader who enters a modeling competition with her two best friends, but runs into jealousy when she advances to the next level without them. Enter the gorgeous Devon, who also makes the first cut of the modeling contest. Devon seems like the perfect new best friend, but can their friendship survive the competition? Throw in a new boy, jealousy and loyalty issues, and insults from hair stylists. How’s a girl to deal?

 

 

Author:

Krysten Lindsay Hager is an author and book addict who has never met a bookstore she didn't like. She has worked as a journalist and also writes middle grade, YA, humor essays, and adult fiction. She is originally from Michigan and has lived in South Dakota, Portugal, and currently resides in Southern Ohio where you can find her reading and writing when she’s not catching up on her favorite TV shows. You can see what she’s up to at: ww.krystenlindsay.com. 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/KrystenLindsay

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KrystenLindsayHagerAuthor

Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/krystenlindsay/

Website: http://www.krystenlindsay.com/

Instagram:http://instagram.com/krystenlindsay 

 

Purchase Links:

ღ Amazon ღ Barnes & Nobel ღ Smashwords ღ

 

Excerpt:

 The competition was for girls between the ages of thirteen and seventeen, but it felt like Ericka, Tori, and I were the youngest ones there. I only saw a couple of girls from school, and the lineup looked more like something you’d see on a music video set. All the girls were gorgeous, and they had these curvy womanly bodies. I looked like a skinny little kid next to them. The first girl walked out, and I heard the judges say she “owned the runway,” and, “walked like a gazelle.” I was starting to feel ill. I wasn’t sure which way it was going to come, but I knew I had to find a bathroom — fast. I started to get out of line when Ericka grabbed my wrist.

“It’s almost time,” she said. A tiny bit of spit flew out of her mouth and hit my cheek.

I wasn’t sure why she was so intent on me going through with it, but she had a death grip on my arm, so I didn’t have much of a choice. Her number was called and she walked out to the stage. One of the other girls said she walked like a kid with sand bucket stilts on her feet, but she came back with a smirk on her face like she knew she’d get chosen.

“They said they had never seen such long legs,” she said.

Tori was next.

“She walks like a gorilla at feeding time,” said the girl behind me. I went next, and I tried to focus on not tripping over my feet. My mom’s pumps had a rubber sole on the bottom, which probably wasn’t the brightest idea seeing as my shoes were making squeaking noises as I walked. I was so nervous I couldn’t stop smiling as I walked. I looked like the plastic clown who blows up balloons with its mouth at the Pizza Palace. When I got to the end of the runway, I tried to cross my feet to turn like the other girls had, but I over rotated and ended up doing a full spin which made my kilt fan out and gave the mall walkers a view of my blue underpants. I tried to act like it was intentional and did an extra turn. One of the judges put her hand up to stop me, and I held my breath as she started to speak.