Friday Featured Author -Krysten Lindsay Hager

Last summer I featured children's authors on Fridays. This summer I'm starting  Friday Featured Authors for young adult writers. I pleased to introduce my first Friday Featured Author, Krysten Lindsay Hager.





What inspired you to become a writer?

 I've loved coming up with storylines since I was a little kid. I used to watch soap operas with my mom and instead of waiting for the cliffhangers to resolve on their own, I'd take my Barbie dolls and act the scenes out how I wanted them to play out. I was always scribbling story ideas down and my fifth grade teacher told my parents she thought I'd be an author one day. It took me by surprise, but it got me thinking.

What book(s) have you written that you would like to tell us about?

My new book is called, TRUE COLORS, 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 made the first cut of the modeling contest and becomes the perfect best friend, but can their friendship survive the competition? Throw in a new boy, jealousy issues, and hair stylist insults. How’s a girl to deal?

                                                                                   

Do you have any favorite childhood books?

 Hangin’ Out with Cici by Francine Pascal. One of my favorite YA novels of all time. Victoria time travels and sees what her mother was like as a kid. The humor in this one is great.

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

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 fit in while in America and becomes a fan of Rita Hayworth.

Do you have advice for aspiring writers?





The best advice I ever got was read over a hundred books in your genre before you attempt to write your own. I'd also suggest taking both writing and literature classes and getting into critique groups. 

Where can we find you and your books?

 Website: www.krystenlindsay.com

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

Twitter: https://twitter.com/KrystenLindsay

Instagram: http://instagram.com/krystenlindsay

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22444090-true-colors

Book Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=96jxcUH54hU

Amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/True-Colors-Krysten-Lindsay-Hager-ebook/dp/B00L2G0YJS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1403032881&sr=8-1&keywords=krysten+lindsay+hager

BarnesandNoble.com: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/true-colors-krysten-lindsay-hager/1119742726?ean=2940149747658

Out of the Comfort Zone





 By nature I'm shy and quiet. It's hard for me to reach out and share my writing with other people. To be true to my blog premise, that's exactly what I had to do. In order to improve my writing I had open myself up to critiques. Last summer I found my first critique partner. She was wonderful and pushed me to rise up to a level of writing that I didn't know I could achieve.
  Another first for me was to seek out a professional to  analyze my writing. I needed to ensure that my novella started strong. Heather Webb reviewed the first fifty pages of my novella and gave valuable insight to its strengths and weaknesses. It was worth every penny.
   When I finished, I sent my novella to be professionally edited by Eileen Brady. She did in amazing job.
  Finally, I was ready to submit my story. I sought out a publisher from whom I've read quality young adult books from. I was offered a book contract from Stephanie at Astraea Press within two weeks of my submission! My novella, Beyond Vica, will be available on July 8.
   The step out of my comfort zone and all the hard work paid off.  Thank you to my critique partner, Heather, Eileen, and Stephanie. I appreciate all of you!.

                                                                                            

 

Strength

 

                                       Easy Life Inspirational Quotes

I felt the shudder of my niece's body beside me in the court room. Her body shook as she sobbed uncontrollably.  The  man in an orange jumpsuit with shackles on his wrists and arms cooly and calmly explained to the judge how he shot her mother four times. Little did I know that in less than 2 years my niece would join her mother in heaven along with her father and brother.
   I glanced at my husband on the other side of me. His head down taking in the details of his sister's murder. I closed my eyes and prayed as tears fell down my face. In a few minutes, my husband would take the stand and confront the man that took his sister's life. I prayed for God to give him peace and strength.
   My husband showed great poise while facing the man whom his sister trusted, yet he shot her four times for waking him up. My husband relayed the effect of her death on his niece and her children....what their life is like without their grandmother. How is own mother has a difficult time understanding where her daughter is due to the dementia taking over her brain.
  Tears pour from all three of us when my husband rejoins us in the courtroom. My husband, niece, and I embrace each other and sob. A scene that later was played on the local news.
   We will never know why such tragedy had to happen, but I know that God gives you what you need to make it through. I've learned to lean on him and trust him in all circumstances.
   

Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. Proverbs 3:5


Domestic Violence Awareness

Love Each Other

 

I never dreamed just how much the YA novella I wrote almost two years ago, would reflect the events in my life over the last couple of months.  As I eagerly await the release of, Beyond Vica, I can't help but to compare Gabby's (heroin)  life lessons to my own, along with the young people in my life.

Tragedy struck my family for the third time this past March. As a result, I'm now raising two young people who are grieving the sudden death of their mother. My heart is filled with love and compassion for them.These amazing young people have been victims of the previous tragedies as well. They have been through more in their young lives than most people go through in a lifetime. They have every reason to be angry with the world and God, yet their faith remains strong. Something their mother modeled for them. In the words of my young niece, "My mom had a heart of gold and a pocketful of faith." God has blessed both children with loving and kind spirits.

 God has taught me through all of this that we need to love one another through tragedy. He showed this to me through people I'd never met until this happened. Enough money was raised by friends and people from the children's small town to pay for their mother's funeral. A group called " The Brotherhood of the Wheels", campaigned and collected money for the children. The children's church led by Bishop Sam Calloway, did so much for us through all of this, that I can't begin to list it all. I want thank all of these people publicly.

 My faith has grown so much in the last couple months and God has displayed his amazing love in so many ways.  I'm dedicated my next few posts to sharing the journey and lessons learned.


Until next time, LEO (Love Each Other)


Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God.  I John 4:7

A Writer's Heart

When does your best writing evolve? Check out my guest post titled A Writer's Heart at The Writer's Drawer.

Do Your Thing

 

 

 

 


       There is a certain kind of freedom in doing your own thing without worry of judgment from others. Last week I talked about being true to yourself. Take time to step back and look at what comes natural to you and motivates you. What inspires you to be better may not be what motivates others and that's okay.

     There is a sense of peace when you do what you know in your heart you are supposed to do. One of the children's stories that I wrote contains a character who discovers this. Emma is different from her peers, but shines when she is in her element. I think people are a lot like Emma.

   You can tell when someone is doing their "thing". There is a certain confidence and happiness that permeates from them. So do your thing, it's your life!




Life Lesson-Be True to Yourself

     I've  slacked off on writing posts at the Writer's Devotion, so this year I'd like to write periodic posts on life lessons learned. Many of my stories are inspired by lesson I've learned in life, so I thought I'd carry that over to my blog as well. Here it goes.....

     Life Lesson Post #1



 



  Be True to Yourself

 

 

  Something that has taken me time to learn is how to tune into my passions and be my own person. It is so easy to compare yourself to others and feel you don't measure up. I read somewhere that people can become aware of their gifts by taking the time to reflect each day on what motivates them and makes in them happy.

 

  This purposeful observation of my life allowed me to zero in on what gifts I have that make me who I am. For example, I'm happy when I encourage and help others. This is something that comes natural to me. That's part of who I am.

 

   I enjoy writing stories for young people because they are important to me. I spend every day with twenty-four 8 & 9 year old children and love every minute of it.  I like to create lessons to motivate them to learn, read, and write. That's another part of who I am.

 

 Others may not always understand my choices or the way I live my life, but that's okay. It's my life and I have to be true to me.

 

 

 

 *I want to give a big thank you to Mariana Llanos for naming me as one of her 5 authors to look for in 2014. I feel honored.