In Over Her Head: Lights, Camera,
Anxiety
by
Krysten Lindsay Hager
GENRE: YA
BLURB:
Cecily feels like she has it all: great best friends, the
beginnings of a career as a model/actress, and she’s dating her favorite singer,
Andrew Holiday. Then Cecily’s best friend Lila begins to ditch her every time
Lila’s boyfriend calls. Cecily feels lost, but she and Andrew begin connecting
more and she’s never been in a relationship where she felt so understood.
Andrew even begins to confide in her about his anxiety. Soon Cecily experiences
her own anxiety on a magazine photo shoot, but she manages to impress the
magazine staff. Just when it seems like all her dreams are coming true,
everything comes crashing down when a photo of Andrew with another girl appears
online. He swears nothing happened, but Cecily is crushed. She feels like she’s
lost two of the people closest to her.
Was her perfect relationship real or was she in over her head?
Was her perfect relationship real or was she in over her head?
Excerpt:
“They
were talking about how they’re using unknown models right now and I mentioned
how awesome you were in the video and they agreed. We started talking and they
wondered if you’d want to come to New York and do a shoot for the magazine.
What do you think?” he asked.
I
almost fell off my bed. Me? Model? I wasn’t pretty enough for that and everyone
would write in to let them know that just like they all felt the need to voice
that opinion in the online video comments.
“Wow,
it’s…wow.”
“I
know, right? And I’m here for a few weeks recording so we could see each other.
My manager said he’d talk to your parents and work out the details. You’d be
working just to get exposure, so the contract would be about rights and not
money—is that cool? It’s a great way to get your name out there and stuff for
your book.”
“My
book?”
“Your
portfolio. You know, the photos people look at to decide whether or not they
want to hire you for modeling jobs.”
Was
I going to be modeling enough that I needed a book? Did this magazine actually
want me? It sounded too good to be true—going to New York to model and be in a
magazine while visiting my pop star boyfriend. Was this my life?
“I
don’t know if my parents will go for it,” I said.
“Let
my manager talk to them and see what magic he can work. He wants to help this
magazine out, too. You want to do it though, right?”
Part
of me did—the part of me that wanted a big life and to be famous and adored.
The reality side of me was an anxious mess just thinking about flying out there
though.
“Yeah,
for sure,” I said hoping I sounded convincing.
“Great,
give me your parents’ number and I’ll have my manager give them a call.”
I felt like I was having an out of body
experience as I recited my mom’s cell phone number to him.
My
entire life could change in a phone call.
Interview with Krysten Lindsay Hager
As a writer, what would you choose as
your mascot/avatar/spirit animal?
Well, koalas spend all their time either
sleeping or eating, so that sort of fits me. I have joked that Roger the alien
from American Dad could be mine as well.
How many hours a day do you put into
your writing?
I don’t have a set amount of time or a strict
schedule. Some days I may be doing more admin type stuff. I’m usually thinking
about a story I’m working on throughout the day though. I never really turn it
off.
Do you read your book reviews? If yes, do
they affect what you write in the future?
Sometimes. I did in the beginning and
sometimes I would find myself taking stuff into consideration, but then I heard
someone in the industry bring up that very topic and say that there are
reviewers who adults and if you’re writing for preteens and teens you don’t get
caught up in that. That made an impact on me.
Do you leave hidden messages in your
books that only a few people will find?
Yes! Little things that happened when I was
a teen, certain names, and there are things I’ve talked about in my real life
that pop up in there. People I went to school with love reading the books and
finding little things they remember.
Can you tell us a little bit
about the characters in In Over Her Head” Lights, Camera, Anxiety?
Cecily is a high school student who
is an overthinker who loves music and she starts dating her favorite
singer/songwriter after she gets to be in his music video.
Andrew is a pop star who has
started dating Cecily and is just getting to the point he feels he can share
things with her about his career worries and anxieties. He is a sensitive type
who is at the point where he’s not feeling fulfilled by his fame anymore.
Lila is one of Cecily’s best
friends and she’s started to talking to her ex again, which is causing friction
between herself and Cecily who wants better for her.
Isla King is a pop star who writes
about her relationships and breakups and is dating Andrew’s brother. She winds
up getting in the middle of Andrew of Cecily’s first argument.
Can you tell us a little bit
about your next books or what you have planned for the future?
The next Cecily Taylor book will
have her back in New York doing some acting and things start to take off for
her career, which will cause friction for her and Andrew’s relationship.
Do you allow yourself a certain
number of hours to write or do you write as long as the words come?
I don’t have a certain number of
hours or anything. I’m happy as long as the words come.
Do you have a certain number of
words or pages you write per day?
There were times I strived for a
certain word count, but I don’t push it now.
What inspires you to write?
When I get an idea that holds me
and I’m not thinking about anything else then I know this is my next book idea.
I get some ideas here and there and start them, but sometimes another idea
bumps it to the back of the line. However, I’ve gone back and used those old
ideas so I save everything.
Would you rather
Read fiction or non-fiction?
I usually have one of each going at any given time. The
worst is when I get too many out of the library and they email me about the
pending due dates and I have to make a choice.
Read series or stand-alone?
I like both, but it’s great when there’s a series or at
least a sequel with characters I have grown to love.
Read Science fiction or horror?
Probably horror.
Read Stephen King or Dean Koontz
I read Dean more in high school than Stephen.
Read the book or watch the movie?
Both! I’m one of the weird ones who will watch the movie
first.
Read an ebook or paperback?
Ebook for fiction and paperback for non-fiction
Be trapped alone for one month in a library with no
computer or a room with a computer and Wi-Fi only?
Tough one, but if I could read online if had a computer, so
I’ll go with that.
Do a cross-country book store tour or blog tour online?
Online. I’m not super big on traveling.
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 childen/teens. Competing
with the Star is a Readers' Favorite Book Award Finalist. Landry in Like
is a Literary Classics Gold Medal recipient.
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.
Author
links:
Buy Links:
In Over Her Head: Lights, Camera,
Anxiety Paperback will be releasing soon
Free on Kindle Unlimited
Giveaway:
$10 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC
Follow the tour and comment; the more you comment, the better your chances of winning.
6 comments:
Thanks so much for posting today!
Thanks for hosting!
I appreciate getting to hear about your book. Thank you for sharing!
Sounds like a great read.
Thanks so much for sharing
Sounds like an interesting read
Post a Comment