Can Dreams Come True?
by Krysten
Lindsay Hager
GENRE: YA
BLURB:
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?
Excerpt:
I
felt disloyal sharing my problems with Zach with another guy, but in some weird
way it was like no one got me like Andrew did. Even though we had only known
each other for a little over twenty-four hours, it was as if I had known him
for ages. Although I guess it made sense seeing as it always seemed like he
understood what I was going through whenever I listened to his music.
I
ended up pouring out the whole gross story about how insecure I felt about
Tanna and how I didn’t want to seem jealous, but I didn’t feel comfortable with
Zach hanging out with her.
“I
know you’re probably thinking, well, obviously her first serious boyfriend, how
insecure and jealous can she be?” I said wishing I hadn’t opened my mouth.
“Nope,
not at all. In fact, I was thinking this crap is why I don’t date more. What is
it with our generation being so casual about stuff? Again, people call me
old-fashioned, but I don’t think you and I are wrong to expect people not to
hang out with their exes anymore. And if I’m old-fashioned, then why are my
songs about this exact thing so popular? I can’t be that out of touch if people
are relating to the lyrics, right?”
“Yeah,
I think a lot of people want commitment deep down,” I said. “Or maybe I’m
wrong. Maybe guys just want to date as many girls as possible and not settle
down.”
“The
media says I come off as this wounded guy as an act to get more female fans.”
I
bit my lip. I had heard those rumors, too. In fact, at my old school, people
made fun of me for falling for his fake image and said I was too naïve to see
he was a player.
“Why
are people so cynical?” he asked. “There was this article about me called,
‘Vulnerable or Vulgar: Is Holiday for Real?’”
I
had read the article five times and then went online to read the outtakes from
it, but all I said to him was, “Oh?”
“Yeah,”
he said. “The journalist who interviewed me had an edge to him. The whole time
I could tell he didn’t like me, and I almost wanted to call him out on it. I
gave short answers and he labeled me, ‘moody and reclusive.’ Actually, I’d like
to be reclusive, but I can’t get enough time off to do it,” he said laughing.
“Being a recluse is just a dream at this point.”
I
giggled. “It’s annoying how people just make snap judgements about you and they
can put it out there.”
“I
know, right? And if I’m having a bad day because I don’t feel good, nobody
writes, ‘He had a sore throat and doesn’t feel like talking.’ No, they make it
sound like I was being stuck up when all I wanted to do was go to bed and not
die from the flu.”
Interview with Krysten Lindsay Hager
Can you tell us a little bit about the characters in Can Dreams Come
True?
Cecily is a high school student who
loves music. Her favorite singer/songwriter is Andrew Holiday and she gets a
chance to be in his music video and get to know him. She and Andrew find they
have a connection behind the scenes and it’s a dream come true for her to have
her dream job and get to know her dream crush.
Can you tell us a little bit about your next books or what you have
planned for the future?
I recently finished the sequel to
Can Dreams Come True and am working on the third book in the series. I also am
working on another YA book and an adult one. The sequel will take Cecily to New
York City on a modeling job and to see Andrew.
How
long would you say it takes you to write a book?
It depends. Some I’ve written in less than
a year, others have taken years.
What
is your favorite childhood book?
The Great Mom Swap and also Just as Long as
We’re Together
If
you could spend the day with one of the characters from Can Dreams Come True
who would it be? Please tell us why you chose this particular character, where
you would go and what you would do.
I would want to hang out with Andrew and
see what his life is like. He’s very grounded despite being a celebrity at such
a young age. I would like to see what his songwriting process is like and go
into the studio with him and watch him record his album.
What
was the hardest scene from Can Dreams Come True to write?
The scene where Cecily finds out her
boyfriend, Zach, was hanging out with his ex-girlfriend while Cecily was away
and that one of her best friends was there. It felt like such a double betrayal
that I physically felt it as I was writing the scene.
What
made you want to become a writer?
I
always loved coming up with storylines for my Barbie dolls as a kid and that
love never left me. I was always obsessed with reading and movies/TV, so the
fact that I write stories for a living is fitting.
Just
for fun
(a
Favorite song: Just a Fool—Christina Aguilera
(b
Favorite book: The Great Gatsby
(c
Favorite movie: Roman Holiday
(d
Favorite tv show: American Dad and Murphy Brown
(e
Favorite Food: dark chocolate
(f
Favorite drink: Tea or Pepsi
(g
Favorite website: Twitter. I don’t tweet as much as I like reading other
people’s tweets though.
Thanks
so much for visiting with us today!
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
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, Dating the It Guy, and Can
Dreams Come True? True Colors, won the Readers Favorite award for best preteen
book and the Dayton Book Expo Bestseller Award for children/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 the talk show Living Dayton.
Buy Links:
Giveaway:
$10 Amazon/BN GC
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4 comments:
Thanks so much for hosting!
Thanks for sharing!
Thank you so much for taking time to bring to our attention another great read. I enjoy these tours and finding out about many terrific books.
Sounds great.
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