It’s wonderful to head into the weekend thinking about new books, so it’s fitting that today I’m hosting author Krysten Hager as she introduces her brand-new novel, Best Friends… Forever? (Landry’s True Colors Series), and shares tidbits about her background and writing style.

What books have most influenced your life?

I was a big reader in grade school and middle school. There are so many YA and MG books that influenced me such as The Great Mom Swap, Good-bye Glamour Girl, Invisible Lissa, and My Mother was Never a Kid. In college, I was introduced to so many great writers and books. One that stands out was May Sarton’s Journal of Solitude, which is about May’s life as a writer. Reading that and then finding biographies of the authors Paul a Danzinger and Lois Lowry made me realize writing was my calling.

Tell me about your writing style?

I would say is that I write with humor, honesty, and vulnerability. I feel there’s no point in creating a story that doesn’t have truth and honesty behind it and makes someone feel something.

If you had to choose, which writer would you consider a mentor?

I’d say F. Scott Fitzgerald or May Sarton. With Fitzgerald, I feel like I understand what was behind his essays and feel like I could have really gotten along with him. I only wish he had left more work behind—such an amazing mind. May Sarton’s journals feel like those great conversations you have with someone you respect and admire who you’re getting great advice from over tea.

What are you reading now?

I just finished The Paris Wife about Ernest Hemingway’s wife, which I really enjoyed. I’m about to start my book club’s next book, The Goldfinch. And someone gave me a book on clutter…which is here somewhere…oh mystery solved on why they gave it to me!

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Landry Albright hopes the new year will start off in an amazing way—instead she has to deal with more frenemy issues, boy drama, and having most of her best friends make the cheerleading squad without her. Suddenly, it seems like all anyone can talk about is starting high school next year—something she finds terrifying.

Landry gets her first boyfriend, but then gets dumped just as things come to a head with her friends. She feels lost and left out, but finds good advice about dealing with frenemies from what she considers an unlikely source. Landry faces having to speak up for what’s right, tell the truth (even when it hurts), and how to get past the fear of failure as she gets another shot at competing in the American Ingénue modeling competition.

Excerpt

I got ready for bed and then stopped to check my social media page one more time and that’s when I saw it — another picture of Peyton, India, and Devon hanging out. They were sitting on the couch with their heads scrunched close together and laughing. It was a cute picture, but then I saw the caption: So glad we could all be together for the holidays. Love these guys soooo much! Best friends forever. #Alltogether #Threemusketeers #BestFriendsForever #ThreeBestFriends #ThreesCompany.

My heart sank. It was India’s caption and anyone who read it would think what a close‑knit group of friends and not realize anyone was missing from that photo. Sure, I was in another state, so naturally I couldn’t be there for it, but the way India wrote that made me feel so left out. I mean, what did she mean by the “ʺThree’s Company”ʺ hashtag? And sometimes people tagged friends who weren’t there in pictures and added, “ʺWish you were here,”ʺ but there was no mention of a fourth member of the group.

“Ready for bed, hon?” Mom asked coming into my room.

“Yeah, just signing off.”

“Okay, sleep well.”

I got into bed and hoped I was reading into things, but the knot in my stomach wouldn’t go away.

Book Trailer

What people are saying about True Colors (Landry’s True Colors Series Book One)

From Teenage Book Recommendations in the UK: “This is a fantastically relatable and real book which I feel captures all of the insecurities and troubles which haunt the modern teenage girl. It is about a young model who has to go through tough times when she is torn between a life as a model and managing her friendships. You learn which friends she can most trust and which will create the drama typical of teenage life. Follow the life of Landry and try to see if you can find out which are her true friends before their true colours are revealed. This book is all about relationships, hopes and truth. I loved this book!”

From Books & Authors Spot: “This book is such an inspiration for those who just care about their looks and are tensed about them. This thing is looks aren’t everything. This book is related to every teen’s problem. Hager has written a very inspiring novel.”

More about the author

Krysten Lindsay Hager is the author of the Landry’s True Colors Series, a clean reads young adult series. Krysten writes about  friendship, self-esteem, fitting in, middle school and high school, frenemies, modeling, crushes, values, and self-image in both True Colors and Best Friends…Forever?

Krysten is an Amazon international bestselling author and book addict who has never met a bookstore she didn’t like. She’s worked as a journalist and writes middle grade, YA, humor essays, and adult fiction. She is originally from Michigan and has lived in Portugal, South Dakota, and currently resides in Southern Ohio where you can find her reading and writing when she’s not catching up on her favorite shows. She received her master’s degree from the University of Michigan-Flint.

Find her online: Website ~Instagram ~  Facebook ~ Twitter