Middle school. Are there two words in the English language that can bring out cringing more than those two? Well, maybe, “gym class”—especially gym class while in middle school. Seriously, how did I have the guts to wear shorts in middle school? There hasn’t been another time in my life when I felt more judged, more criticized, and more uneasy about myself than those middle school years.

It didn’t help that I was one of the tallest girls in my class and one of the girls who much preferred watching soap operas, reading, and daydreaming while writing little story ideas down in my notebooks. Being a creative kid has come a long way in the last few years, but let me tell you in my small town it was seen as weird. Playing sports was normal, writing and telling people you wanted to be an author when you grew up sounded weird, and I was constantly told it would be impossible. And I felt pushed to conform. To be more like the other kids. Even the music I liked was different. I was still listening to George Michael long after he had stopped putting new music out for a while. So, while the others were listening to what was new and cool, I was listening to my pop star boyfriend and writing down story ideas.

However, my preteen angst has a happy ending as those story ideas ended up into a series about a girl dating her favorite pop star and all the anxious moments that go along with it (The Cecily Taylor Series). But even more importantly is that the angsty, cringey, middle school moments that brought me to my knees also gave me story ideas. I took the characters I created in the sixth grade (Landry) and her cooler friends (Devon, Peyton, Ashanti, and India) and merged them with the real-life mean girl issues and growing pains I dealt with back then to create my first book, True Colors, which became the first book in the Landry’s True Colors Series.

All the embarrassing and difficult moments of middle school with doubting yourself, bullying, mean girls, understanding what frenemies are and how to deal with it, and crushes just all came together to create books that I hope will help readers know they are not alone in going through the same things. I also get a lot of messages from parents, aunts, and grandparents saying the topics bring up healthy discussions that get the readers to speak up about those difficult topics. I know I stayed quiet and retreated into books to help me deal with things.

Funny enough, my dad was a middle school assistant principal who I now realize was sharing his stories with me to help me through things without making it obvious. I should have known the way he brought up school dances and his own vivid memories of having shyness attacks at his own school dances.

I’m currently updating and relaunching the Landry’s True Colors Series and I can’t wait for the next group of readers to discover it. I have reading guides for each chapter and am looking forward to helping more readers feel less alone out there. To date, the Landry’s True Colors Series has won three Readers Favorite awards for best preteen books and the Dayton Book Expo Bestseller Award for children/teens. Landry in Like is also a Literary Classics Gold Medal recipient.

I hope you enjoy reading about Landry as she navigates through middle school. I’m including a photo of me back then with Sun In which gave my normally dark brown hair a lovely burnt umber look. Enjoy!

Find the Series here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09W9S664B

About the Author

Krysten Lindsay Hager writes about friendship, self-esteem, fitting in, frenemies, crushes, fame, first loves, and values. Her work includes YA contemporary, middle grade fiction, and adult and young adult rom-coms. She received her BA in English and master’s degree in liberal studies from the University of Michigan-Flint.

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.

Website: https://www.krystenlindsay.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KrystenLindsayHagerAuthor
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/krystenlindsay/
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/krystenlindsay/
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Krysten-Lindsay-Hager/author/B00L2JC9P2

When I first get an idea for a story, it usually starts with a single scene. For example, when I came up with the idea for The Fourth State of Matter, I had a scene in my head of a spaceship crashing while two characters are having sex in the control chair, seemingly unconcerned by the chaos happening around them. At this point, the characters didn’t have names or descriptions. I didn’t even know if they were human or alien. In my mind, they were just “male 1” and “male 2”. So, I started by freewriting this scene, giving it as much life as I could without any background information or details. The characters managed to land on a populated asteroid before I had to stop. Then, I stepped back and carefully read over what I had written.

Sometimes, this is where a story’s life ends. If I decide there isn’t enough potential, or if reading over what I’ve written doesn’t spark any more creativity, then I’ll set it aside and move on to a new idea. With The Fourth State of Matter, however, reading over that initial freewriting scene gave me a lot of ideas for how to flesh-out the world and the characters. A whole novel slowly unfolded in my mind just from this opening scene, so I started outlining the story from scratch.

My first step for planning out a full novel is to draw the characters. I’ve found that I can’t write about a character until I’m able to draw them. Not only does this give me an image to work with, but it can have a profound impact on the story itself.

With The Fourth State of Matter, my original plan for the trio was for them to only be a duo. I wanted to write a story about a human character that gets into a relationship with two aliens. However, this changed when I was trying to draw the aliens. Brog’s design came easily, and I could immediately see a backstory for the character on the page. I had an idea to create alien characters that were partially inspired by fantasy creatures. This would give them a sense of mystery and make them seem “larger than life”. Brog is my version of a reimagined mermaid, only instead of a delicate fish-girl, he’s a powerful shark-man.

Then I created a second alien that was a counterpoint to Brog. So, I drew Xavis, whose design is partially inspired by a phoenix. I liked the contrast between an aquatic species and a winged, bird-like species. Yet, it didn’t quite look right. Something felt off. So, I set Xavis aside and tried something new. This time I used a dragon as inspiration and came up with Desmodian. This also provided a good contrast alongside Brog, with a sort of “land and sea” vibe, yet it still didn’t look right.

It was only when I had all three characters on the page, trying to decide which to use, that I realized they looked best altogether. So, the duo became a trio, and the story was altered to fit this change.

Of course, characters are defined by more than just the way they look. It’s also about their personalities. Since the trio already hand a “land, sea, and air” theme going on, I took the symbolism a step further and based their personalities on the first three states of matter. Desmodian is the solid foundation that the group is built on. Silently stubborn and unmovable, he doesn’t react much with the world around him. He puts himself where he wants to be, both literally and metaphorically, and stays there no matter what. Brog embodies a liquid state in the sense that he is more adaptable than Desmodian but still maintains his own boundaries. He’s very reactive to even small disturbances, like a ripple effect, and while he is capable of standing still, he can also become an unstoppable tidal wave when he gets emotional. Lastly, Xavis’s personality resembles a gaseous state because he is the most wild and untamed. He sometimes seems to “have his head in the clouds” like he isn’t entirely grounded. This allows him to be the most creative and versatile member of the trio, but also makes him reliant on the others to keep him on track.

Once I established the characteristics of the trio, and their connection to the first three states of matter, it was a natural conclusion to base Pet on plasma, the fourth state of matter. This is what gave rise to the overall message and theme of the story. Pet’s journey into discovering himself as a person is the primary focus of the story, so I don’t want to spoil anything by explaining too much about how Pet’s character is inspired by plasma. Just know that it is a step-be-step journey that he’s still undergoing. After two books, he’s already come a long way in his personal discovery, but there’s still a much longer journey ahead of him.

It’s just me, wishing you the best for the new year!
May you be healthy and prosper and find those happy moments, large and small, that make life so worthwhile!

UPDATE: The winner is…Brenda Rumsey!
*~*~*

I love celebrating a new year in big and small ways. Of course, there has to be a party, even if I can’t manage to stay up to watch the ball drop. We have food and sparking grape juice/wine/champagne. I prepare my new year’s work plan in the days leading up to the big day. I’m always optimistic about my plans. I may not accomplish everything I list, but I do fare better if I have a vision for the year. I know some of you treat the passing of the year as just another day. I get that. It really is. But I like celebrating…well, everything. Any excuse for a happy event. New Years? I’m there. The beginning of another season of Walking Dead? I’m there. The summer solstice? I’m there! Yeah. It’s why I list so many obscure holidays on this blog. 🙂

So, what do you have to do to win a $5 Amazon gift card? Easy. Tell me whether you’re planning to do anything to celebrate the passing of another year? Are you making up a resolutions list? Retiring your 2022 calendar? Big or small. List it in the comments and you’re entered to win! Enjoy the puzzle!

UPDATE: The winner is…Debra Guyette!
*~*~*

Hello, everyone! I want to start by thanking Delilah for letting me come play here with you all again. I always have a good time when I visit.

So, about that title…my countdown to the new year isn’t in hours or minutes yet, but I am counting down the days. I love looking forward to a new year, don’t you? It’s always so full of possibility and opportunity, and all kinds of good things we can’t even imagine yet. It’s almost like getting ready to start reading a new book by a favorite author or seeing a movie you’ve anticipated for months.

I don’t make ‘resolutions’ for the year. I quit that a long time ago, but I do work out goals for myself every year, personal things I want to get done, and writing goals (still working on the new goals as I write this). ‘Resolutions’ seem so…inflexible, I guess, like passing a new law or something. Too daunting that way.

If I call them goals instead, they become something I want to do, not have to do, and I can break each one down, and figure out the steps and time needed to accomplish them. For example, most authors have a general idea of how long it will take them to write a book, so they can break that time frame down—if it usually takes someone three months to write a 90,000-word story, they can figure out how many words they need to write each week, each day to make their three-month goal on time, and if there is an off-day, they can adjust to make up for the words they didn’t get done that day. That sort of goal-setting feels to me more achievable than simply writing a list of resolutions for the year—ie, for the next year, I have to lose X pounds, organize my life, look for a new career, etc.

Besides getting my goals finalized this week, we have a family dinner to start the new year, so while the basics of the meal are always the same, I do need to figure out dessert. Something else I will do to wave the old year goodbye is write down a few wishes for the new year, and then near midnight on New Year’s Eve, I’ll burn that list and send the wishes to the universe. If our weather forecast for this weekend is right, I may have to improvise to avoid the rain, but I have time to figure that out.

I would love to hear how you bring in the new year…do you set goals or make resolutions? What other traditions do you enjoy? Everyone who comments between now and the start of the new year will be entered into a drawing for an eBook copy of one of my three books, winner’s choice.

Happy New Year to you all, and may all your New Year wishes come true!

About Elizabeth

Lifelong book addict Elizabeth Andrews fell in love with romance novels at an early age and now writes her own, full of sexy heroes and strong heroines. Her stories range from paranormal to contemporary, to who knows what her imagination might come up with along the way, but happy endings are a guarantee!

She is a married mother of two who’s got a room overflowing with her book collection and a garden full of herbs and veggies that needs occasional attention between writing and reading binges.

You can find out more at ElizabethAndrewsWrites.com

Christmas was LOVELY! I adored watching the kids open their gifts! I got lots of my favorite things from my family. They know me so well. Among my treasures, a couple of coffee mugs that’ll make me smile over my morning cups of coffee, a Zombie She-Hulk figurine for my curio shelf, lots of fuzzy socks, candles, and PAINTS! I still have to put everything away…but everything in its own time. We spent a lazy Christmas day, foraging through our Christmas meal, watching Spirited on TV (not as good as we’d hoped, but Will Ferrell and Octavia Spencer were adorable together). We still have a week to enjoy the kids being at home. They’re hitting the sales today, while I get some peace and quiet. Maybe I’ll attack my newly acquired riches and put them away. Or maybe not. I do have edits to work on and a story to begin to plan… We’ll see how ambitious I am AFTER coffee. I really should attack Loki’s fish tank today.

Anyways, I’d love to hear how your Christmas went! Drop a comment. I do read every one of them. And remember to get your FREE READ before the offer ends!

A quick note authors: My copy of The Novel Workbook for Messy Writers by Gabrielle Prendergast arrived! Lots of worksheets, which I love! I wanted the hard copy to work on my next project, but authors, it’s FREE right now on Kindle Unlimited! Get your copy!

Last Day of Giveaway! **CLOSED**

If there’s a short story from my Short Story page that you’d like to read, just email me the title, and I’ll send you a download. My gift to you. Send those emails to me at delilah@delilahdevlin.com now! This offer ends tomorrow!