Q&A with Krysten Lindsay Hager (Author of "Can Dreams Come True?")

Today, I'm taking part in the blog tour for Krysten Lindsay Hager's new novel, "Can Dreams Come True?" I got the opportunity to put some questions to Krysten to share with you, so without further preamble, here's my Q&A with author Krysten Lindsay Hager. Enjoy!

1. Hi Krysten, thanks for taking part in this Q&A blog post for your new book, Can Dreams Come True? Let’s kick things off by talking about your new book; can you tell my readers what the book is about?

The book is about a girl named Cecily who goes to a music video audition for her favourite singer and they hit it off on the set. Cecily really connects with Andrew’s music and the two of them become friends. 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. Cecily begins to realize Andrew understands her more than her unreliable boyfriend, but she wonders if she really can date her fantasy crush.

2. And what was your inspiration for writing Can Dreams Come True?

I wanted to showcase the feelings you’d have if you got the chance to date your ultimate crush. I thought it would be interesting to have it be realistic and funny instead of the romance and roses people often write about in these types of novels.

3. Is there an underlying theme in your novel? If so, tell us about it and why/if it’s important to you.

I had been seeing a lot of girls posting about things they were putting up with in relationships. They were also talking about celebrities who were putting up with cheating and bad behaviour from boyfriends and I wanted to show a character dealing with that who starts to notice red flags and then contrast that relationship with a healthy one. It’s so important to be able to walk away from an unhealthy situation if it can’t be worked on.

4. The YA market is huge. What makes your book stand out from the rest?

I use humour and try to show the real side of life. My characters are funny, wear their hearts on their sleeves, have adventures (like being on a music video set), and share their feelings from anxiety to euphoria. You find both humor and heart in my books.

5. Let’s move on to some more personal questions and get to know the author behind the book! How many unpublished and half-finished books do you have?

I have 7 published books, have one that’s almost finished and unpublished and a few half-finished. There’s one I lost on my computer when it died when I was in Europe. I’m not ready to admit it’s completely gone, but…sigh.

6. What kind of research do you do, and how long do you spend researching, before beginning a book?

I read a ton of books on music stars and watched ton of bios and documentaries. I used singers from different time periods to see what they had in common. I researched before and during writing Can Dreams Come True because I knew this was going to be a series.

7. How many hours a day do you write? And do you have a particular writing ritual?

I don’t have a set schedule, but I prefer to write at night. I listen to music sometimes before and after writing, but I need total silence while writing.

8. Do you believe in writer’s block? If so, has it ever hit you? And how did you overcome it?

Yes, there are times when we need a break. I have had it hit me when I’ve dealt with the loss of a family member. I wrote a lot when my dad was ill, but it took me a while to get back to it when he passed. I also was unable to write when I lost my aunt.

9. If you didn’t write, what would you do for work? Was being an author always your dream career?

Being an author was always my dream career, but I also had a passion for journalism. I started out in TV stations and then moved to newspapers. I loved writing for newspapers.

10. Finally, let’s end this Q&A with you sharing a few favourite lines, or a favourite paragraph, from the book! Thanks for taking part in this Q&A blog post, Krysten.

This was a section a reader just told me she loved, so I thought I’d share it:

"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-sweet-girl-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."

I hope you enjoyed this interview with Krysten Lindsay Hager, author of Can Dreams Come True? If you'd like to buy the book, you can find it on Amazon (UK or US).