Books in the Hall: Can Dreams Come True? by Krysten Lindsay Hager

Monday, November 12, 2018

Can Dreams Come True? by Krysten Lindsay Hager

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Krysten Lindsay Hager will be awarding a $10 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

What books were your favorite as a youth and why?

My Mother was Never a Kid by Francine Pascal. One of my favorite YA novels of all time. Victoria time travels to see what her mother was like as a kid. The humor in this one is great.

The Great Mom Swap by Betsey Haynes. I was obsessed with this book as a kid. One of the characters, Scottie, wants to be an author, too.

Good-bye, Glamour Girl by Erika Tamar. I read this for the first time the summer after 5th grade. It’s a coming of age story about a girl whose family escaped Europe during WWII and she is trying to assimilate in America.

What did you want to be when you grew up? Why?

I always wanted to be a writer, but I also wanted to write for a soap opera and eventually create my own. I guess the novels I write—in particular the series books—are kind of like a soap in their own way.

What would you write in a letter to your teen self?

I would tell myself not to focus on what other people think and not to worry about keeping up with a certain image. I would also tell myself to enjoy writing without worrying about whether or not I got published.

What book is on your nightstand currently?

Save Me, Kurt Cobain

Favorite TV show from your childhood?

I was obsessed with soaps when I was a kid and I was devastated when they cancelled One Life to Live. I had been watching it since childhood.

Sum up your book for Twitter: 140 characters or less.

The idea of dating your favorite singer is the ultimate dream, but what happens when he likes you back?

Ideal summer vacation.

I love going to cute beach towns on Lake Michigan. I wrote two young adult books set in Grand Haven: Next Door to a Star and the other one is Competing with the Star. It’s such a pretty town and my favorite place in summer.

Which of your characters would you most like to meet IRL? Why?

Andrew Holiday! I’d love to talk to him and find out more about him. He’s so grounded for his age and isn’t caught up in his ego like you’d think he would be.

You’ve just won a million dollars and you’re not allowed to save any of it. What do you spend it on?

Can I buy a lake cottage??? Something really cute and vintage looking.

Playlist for your current book.

Lights Down Low by MAX: The first time I heard this song I thought this is the type of song Andrew Holiday would write and sing. It also addresses how Cecily would feel going into a relationship with someone like him.

Perfect by Ed Sheeran: Ed helped inspire me as I was writing the book. This song came out after the book had been picked up by the publisher, but it really sums up the type of those sweet love songs that Andrew would sing and would make Cecily like him more as an artist.

Everybody Wants To Rule The World performed by Aron Wright: This is the kind of music I imagine Andrew would perform.

I Feel It Coming by The Weekend: I could see Andrew recording a song like this and I listened to this song a lot while doing the final edit of the story.

End Game by Taylor Swift Ft. Ed Sheeran: This song fits the book because Cecily is reeling over having her steady trustworthy boyfriend, Zach, show another side of himself. Plus, her feeling she might fit with Andrew and realizing what a big deal that would be if they started dating.

Faith by George Michael: This is the type of song I can see Andrew singing. George inspired me to write this book, too.

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?

Read the 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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