Interview with Krysten Lindsay Hager, CAN DREAMS COME TRUE?

Can you give us a brief overview of your latest book? Is it part of a series?

In Can Dreams Comes True? my character Cecily Taylor Damone loves to escape with both books and music. She’s 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?

Do you have a favorite character?

I love Cecily because she’s very real—she’s funny, she sits to think up a comeback and then realizes she doesn’t have the courage to use it anyway, and she wears her heart on her sleeve.

Have you ever had a minor character evolve into a major one? Did that change the direction of the novel at all?

Yes, back when I was writing my YA romance, Competing with the Star, the mean girl character, Pilar Ito, showed a different side of herself. You saw what was behind her defensive nature and why she came across the way she did. She went from a mean girl who went along with whatever the most popular girls told her to do to becoming Hadley’s friend who truly had her back. I loved the character transformation (Pilar is very different in Next Door with a Star) and I get a lot of messages from readers saying that she became their favorite character.

If you used a graphic designer/publisher’s designer, how involved were you during the creative process for your cover?

I worked with the cover artist, Cora Graphics, on the cover. I was really glad to have input and I got to pick the model and the backdrop tablet with the singer on it that I felt looked like Andrew. The colors on it are beautiful—I love the way she put everything together.

What is your writing process? Do you listen to music or do you like silence?

I listen to music to inspire me, but when it actually comes to sitting down and writing I need complete quiet.

Do you outline your story or just go where your muse takes you?

I go where the muse takes me.

Besides Amazon, are there any other sites where your books are for sale?

You can find the paperbacks also at Barnes and Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/can-dreams-come-true-krysten-lindsay-hager/1128104849?ean=9781621357469 

Do you find it difficult to juggle your time between marketing your current book and writing your next book?

Yes, you can easily run out of time and energy to write. Some days there are just so many emails to deal with it gets crazy.

Besides writing, do you have any other passions?

I love to read and stay in touch with friends. I also love movies and I’m a bit of a TV addict.

Some fun facts about you, which do you prefer –

Dogs or cats? Dogs

Chocolate or vanilla? Chocolate

Coffee or Tea? Tea

Talk or Text? Talk

Day or Night? Night

What’s next for you?

I’m working on the second book in the Cecily Taylor Series and another YA project.

Can Dreams Come True?
Krysten Lindsay Hager
Publication date: March 20th 2018
Genres: Contemporary, Romance, Young Adult

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?

Goodreads / Amazon

Author Bio:
Who knew all those embarrassing, cringe-y moments in middle school and high school could turn into a career? And who would have thought that daydreaming in math class would pay off down the road?

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 (The Star Series: Book 2) and Dating the It Guy. True Colors, won the Readers Favorite award for best preteen book and the Dayton Book Expo Bestseller Award for childen/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 Living Dayton. Coming soon: Can Dreams Come True

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