Looking back on your teen years isn’t always the most fun thing, but as a young adult author (who also has a tween series), I often find myself doing that. When I do events or book clubs, the readers always end up asking me about my own experiences back in those days, and sometimes I cringe thinking about those times. I actually have a chunk of time from early high school that I blocked out, but the later years and middle school years are still with me. Sometimes, life can feel like we never left high school or middle school as I still encounter mean girls and drama. But seeing as readers ask me for advice, I thought I’d share today a few things I wish I had known back then.

• In my books, one of the big themes is embracing what makes you unique or special. We often focus on trying to fit in, but I find life opens up when we embrace what makes us different. It took me years to realize that things that made me different were the things that made me a writer such as looking at the world in a different way and sitting back and observing others.
• Not all friendships are meant to last forever. No one likes hearing that or even thinking about it, but I think we often stay in friendships because of a shared history or because we’ve had a lot of time together. I still have friends from those years, but I’ve also had friendships that have run their course and that’s okay. People change—we’re supposed to—and what was once a close bond doesn’t always last. Values change, interests, and other things change and it’s okay. Don’t beat yourself up. Wish the other person well and root for them from afar.
• It’s okay if not everyone likes you. You’re not supposed to be for everyone. Even your favorite singer/writer/actress has haters. In fact, when you feel down, go read reviews of your favorite celebrity and you’ll see no one is universally loved. Just cherish the people who do get you.

Here’s an excerpt from my pop star romance Cecily Taylor Series:

“Must be nice to have a hot pop star text you. Do you think he will contact you again?” Lila asked.

If he doesn’t, then I’ll die and probably never leave my room again. “I hope he does. I’d be seriously bummed if I—” Get dumped, get blocked online, see he’s dating someone else. “—don’t hear from him again,” I said.

“Does anyone else know he was the reason Zach got so mad at you when he walked in on Andrew trying to kiss you at the video premiere?”

“No, Zach didn’t tell anyone. I feel like it’d be weird if I told people that’s what happened. Like they wouldn’t believe me and think I was making it up to get attention,” I said.

“Yeah, I already heard a few people saying stuff.”

My stomach dropped. “Like what?”

“Huh? Oh…nothing major.” She gripped the steering wheel. “It’s impossible to find a spot on the street on a weekend.” I pressed her again, and she shrugged. “There’s a couple comments on his social media pages.”

Pulling out my phone, I went to the video’s link online and the first comment that came up was:

NoOneAndrewFan: Why did they pick HER out of all the girls in the world?

CaliGirlTwo: They couldn’t find any better than that chick?

Holidate008: She’s like if the word “plain,” was a person.

 MusicIsLife: I think the point is that she’s not supposed to be hot, you guys Holidate008: I think she’s supposed to be the opposite of that other girl in the video.

CaliGirlTwo: Obviously Andrew has a jealous girlfriend and told him to find blah girls to be in his video.

SleepAllDayz: I bet Andrew’s managers don’t want his fans to be jealous of any of the girls they cast in his videos. Mission accomplished.

Meghynn: Seriously, I’ve seen cuter girls walking down my street and I live out in the sticks.

KellyKellz: I bet the other actress said they couldn’t cast another hot girl.

Meghynn: Andrew obviously didn’t do the casting for this one.

Holidateforever: Wow! Seems like no one has anything nice to say, all you guys want to do is trash people. if you don’t like what Andrew’s doing in his video… then bye!

TeenaRoger: Guys, Andrew would hate all these negative vibes! If you don’t have anything good to say about his work then don’t follow his page, don’t listen to his music, and DON’T bother commenting.

 Holidateforever: I think she’s pretty. Jealousy isn’t cute, you guys.

“Oh crap. I didn’t even think to look at the comments before now. I guess it was so surreal to think I was actually in a music video that it didn’t even occur to me to go on and see what people were saying,” I said as my face burned with embarrassment. “Has everyone at school seen these?”

“Don’t worry about it. People suck and if it makes you feel any better, a lot of people at school aren’t even talking about it because they don’t want you to get all stuck up,” she said.

That was supposed to make me feel better?

“I was barely in the video. Why is everyone attacking me for a five second spot?” I asked trying to keep myself from crying.

“It sucks. I wish Andrew was here and he could just wrap you in a blanket and make you a cup of tea,” Lila said.

I laughed despite the fact I was trying not to throw up on myself. “Yup, like the perfect boyfriend.”

Find my books here in Kindle Unlimited: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Krysten-Lindsay-Hager/author/B00L2JC9P2

About the Author

Krysten Lindsay Hager is a bestselling author of young adult, middle grade, and contemporary romance. Krysten writes because she loves bringing people swoony moments & hope-filled happily ever afters. Her books are known for making you laugh, cry, & swoon.

Along with relationships, her novels deal with self-doubt, finding where you belong, true friendship, & soulmates.

Website: https://www.krystenlindsay.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/krystenlindsay/
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/krystenlindsay/

UPDATE: The winner is…Beverly!
*~*~*

Silver Soldiers releases in May. I have the other authors’ short stories edited and ready to plunk into the book. Now, I have to write my own story, and I don’t want to think. Or maybe I need a nudge and a hint. That’s where you come in.

I need an idea for an older ex-military or retiring-soon military dude. The only idea I’ve struck upon is a guy who yearns to go fishing and thinks living on a houseboat is his ticket to paradise. But I’d love to hear your ideas before I go down that rabbit hole. Offer a suggestion no matter how wild or silly (he doesn’t have to be of this world or this century). If you give me an idea, even one I never use, you’re entered to win a $5 Amazon gift card!

Plus, have you ever read any of the Boys Behaving Badly Anthologies? You might want to check them out here:
Delilah’s Collections

Yesterday, I spent the entire day at the VA hospital in Little Rock for my annual checkup. Apparently, I’m as healthy as a 64-year-old ought to be—other than the occasional pesky spike of my BP. That will be investigated, but I’m feeling good. My hand is improving. I’m still wearing the brace. I don’t want to accidentally knock or jam my hand before the bone is fully healed. But it’s not a huge inconvenience for anyone except my dd who hasn’t had my help with dishes in nearly a month. 🙂

All of that above is just to say that I lost a day of work and have to hustle to catch up. So, I’m only popping in to say hello. Be sure to scroll down this blog page to play games and enter to win prizes, and I’ll be back to having something interesting to say or do tomorrow!

And I’d like to say thank you for all your love and support over the years. It’s meant the world to me, having this online family. I’m not a mushy person—I spent too many years in the Army for me to be overly sentimental—but I do love you all! I see you! ~DD

UPDATE: The winner is…Kandi!
*~*~*

The 9-year-old tells me it’s a national holiday! So what if I didn’t find it when I googled.

Maybe I should start with—what are Squishmallows? They are very huggable, plush toys. My granddaughter has been collecting them “forever”—her claim. Whenever someone is stuck for a gift idea, get her a Squishmallow. When she comes for sleepovers with me, she brings at least three of her little friends and uses them for pillows. If you want an idea for how many she has collected, solve the puzzle! No, she’s not the least bit spoiled.

For a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card, what toys did you collect when you were a kid? For me, it was Barbie clothes for my doll. She had quite the wardrobe—most of them hand-sewn by my mother.

UPDATE: The winner is…flchen!
*~*~*

When I turned forty, I decided to take writing seriously.  After flitting around for almost fifteen years with half-completed manuscripts (okay, most weren’t even half-done), I determined that if I wasn’t going to do it at that point in my life, I likely never was.

Instead of picking up one of the manuscripts that sat in pieces, I decided on a new project.  I had something in mind and started to write that story.  Only a secondary character poked her head above the parapet (or out of rehab) and said ‘hey, you author! Pay attention to me! I’m not a throwaway character.  I have a story that you have to tell RIGHT NOW’.

Not knowing how to ignore a demanding character (which I admit I’m no better at now), I endeavored to write a heartbreaking romance about a broken woman and yet I somehow managed to give her a happy ending.  I wrote in restaurants.  I wrote at the library.  I wrote anywhere that would get me out of the house.  Oh, and I wrote by hand.  In pieces.  Out of order.  Eventually I put everything together and found I had a manuscript of 126,000 words (far more than most category romances, which was what I read).  I asked a couple of friends to read it and I got great feedback.  I knew, in my heart though, that the time for that manuscript hadn’t come.  I tucked it aside.

And went back to the original book, right?  Nope.  A headline caught my attention and I realized I need to write THAT story.  And I did.  By hand, taking snatches of breaks and lunch hours at work, and on weekends in the library and the restaurant.  This time, though, I wrote on a computer as well as by hand.  And I wrote the story from start to finish.  And I had a manuscript I thought was good enough.  So I sent it off to a major publisher and waited impatiently.

In the meantime, I wrote the next book (best advice I ever received). The story I kept putting off.  And I incorporated characters from my two previous books.

I had a nibble from the publisher, but still I had to be patient.  After finishing the first three books, I picked up a manuscript I started back in the late 1990s.  I spruced up the beginning and (mostly) finished it.  Then I wrote the book meant to follow.  And the next one (which is mostly finished).

Then I remembered a flash for an idea I’d had (again, back in the 1990s).  Ideas come to me, and sometimes they take years to formulate into a book.  I ruminate over the notion – coming back to it again and again.

By that point, I’d created a series bible – although I didn’t even know what that was at the time.  I wrote out a basic outline of all the stories in my head – came out to an even 50.  Well, I better get writing.

Then I wrote the next book.  All these stories were connected by the same small-town, modeled after the town where my family lived and where I always felt most at peace.

And I kept on writing.

By the time I received my rejection (another story for another day), I had seventeen full and three partial manuscripts.  Written in two-and-a-half years.  In 2014, I clocked a million words.  Basically, I worked full-time four days a week and wrote three days a week.  I didn’t have a life (the cats didn’t care I was always either working at my day job or at a restaurant).  I hadn’t connected with other writers and I still had no idea what I was doing.

The next year, I joined the Romance Writers of America and attended their New York City conference.  The city was loud, smelly, and in the middle of a heat wave.  Again, I didn’t know what I was doing.  Still, I met with a few writers I’d connected with online and I did my very best to absorb what I could.  I came back to Vancouver, Canada and joined the local chapter.  I began attending writing conferences and taking workshops.

Most importantly, I connected with a woman through a group chat who would eventually become both my editor and my dear friend.  I pitched my books.  I spoke to agents and editors. I entered contests.  I sent of queries and submissions and…nothing.  I hired that editor and she spruced up the books and the feedback I got improved, but still nothing.  Then she suggested I enter a short story anthology call.  My story got chosen.  Then I wrote another short story.  And a gay romance.  And those I submitted to a publisher.  The publisher picked up my gay story and I used the penname I had selected: Gabbi Grey.  The publisher looked at my dark erotic BDSM trilogy, written for fun, and said, ‘yeah, we’re interested’.  Well, I didn’t want my readers of gay romance to pick up an m/f BDSM book about bondage and power exchanges.  So I picked out another penname: Gabbi Black.  And I kept writing gay romances and BDSM romances and continued to work with the publisher and with my independent editor.  Eventually, I struck out to the wilderness of publishing and now I’m what’s called a hybrid author – I write for a publisher and I put out books on my own.

Still, that old small-town contemporary m/f series sat forlorn and almost forgotten in the background.

Almost.

Last year, I decided the time was right.  I spoke to a mentor who helped me pick out a new penname because these books didn’t resemble the others: Gabbi Powell (I think you can see the pattern and Powell is a family name…).  I realized what I had envisioned as book 1 wasn’t and that I needed to write a book 1. Re-immersing myself in that world was fun.  Deciding which of the hundred or so characters needed to be in the first book wasn’t so much.  Well, I like challenges.  I also wanted to weave in some of my gay characters since those books take place in the same small-town (write what you know).  Eventually, I completed the book that’s releasing today: The Luminosity of Loriana Harper.  I’m really hoping readers love the book and, eventually, the series.

Launching a new penname is daunting.  I don’t have any readers.  I have a small and dedicated fan base who will read anything I write and they’re excited for this new project.  I admit I’m bad at social media and now I’m taking on a third handle.

But I believe in these books – I always have and I always will.  The first few readers told me the stories stuck with them.  Some even cried (I love making readers cry).  But these books are also uplifting with a guaranteed happily ever after.  I hope you’ll check them out.

To celebrate, I’m giving away a $5 Amazon gift card.  Let me know – what would make you take a chance on a new author.  Any advice for me?  Drop a comment and a random winner will win the GC.

The Luminosity of Loriana Harper

About the series….

What’s better than love in the beautiful Cedar Valley in British Columbia, Canada? Find small town romances with a touch of angst, a bit of heat, and a lot of heart…
Each novel is a standalone, but they are best read in order:

The Luminosity of Loriana Harper (A small town interracial romance)
The Making of Marnie Jones (A small town enemies-to-lovers romance)
The Redemption of Remy St. Claire (A small town single-father fake-marriage romance)

Loriana Harper is the head librarian of the Mission City Public Library. She considers herself a matchmaker in this little town in British Columbia—especially for her employees. When a gorgeous technician arrives to update their computers, she can’t help musing about who might be his perfect match. Except, the more time she spends with Mitch, the more she wants him for herself.

Mitch Alexander left in disgrace from a good job in California. He’s come to this small town to make a new start where no one knows him. Although he has no plans to get involved with anyone, he’s drawn to the nosy, vivacious librarian who makes him smile. The local matchmaker might go overboard, but she has good intentions. Except he’s not in the market for any match, unless it’s with her.

When Mitch’s past catches up with him, and the police come calling, he has to decide if he’ll stay with Loriana or leave to save her from the taint of being associated with him. Loriana’s not ready to let her new man go without a fight—but maybe this is a match that wasn’t meant to be.

The Luminosity of Loriana Harper is an older-woman age-gap interracial romance with a touch of angst and a large cat named Plato. The book is the first in the Love in Cedar Valley series set in a small town in British Columbia, Canada.

UBL: https://books2read.com/Loriana
Amazon US:  https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BVL3X4JZ
Amazon:  https://amzn.to/40SS9ry
Add it to GoodReads:  https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/122872288-the-luminosity-of-loriana-harper
Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/books/the-luminosity-of-loriana-harper-a-small-town-interracial-romance-love-in-cedar-valley-book-1-by-gabbi-powell

 FREE READ

The Absolution of Abigail Reardon (free prequel)
BF:  https://dl.bookfunnel.com/taqgb361fz

About the Author

Gabbi Powell has been a lover of romance since she first put pen to paper in the eighth grade to write her first romance.  She writes her novels while living in Beautiful British Columbia with her trusty ChinPoo dog a as companion.  She also writes gay romances as Gabbi Grey and contemporary dark erotic BDSM novels as Gabbi Black.

Links:
Website:   https://gabbipowell.com/
Newsletter sign-up: https://sendfox.com/gabbipowell
Bookbub:  https://www.bookbub.com/profile/3142441314
Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/authorgabbipowell/
Facebook (personal): https://www.facebook.com/gabbi.powell.9/
Twitter:  https://twitter.com/powell_gabbi
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Gabbi-Powell/e/B08T8NTQNY
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/21065056.Gabbi_Powell

UPDATE: The winner is…Liz!
*~*~*

It’s Sunday. The day I review my plans for the week, and I always start by first drawing a card from my favorite Tarot deck.

This morning’s card is the Four of Swords. Not pentacles for once. Something changed, hmm? Well, I’ll start by examining the card and trying to figure out some personal message the card has for me. I don’t recognize this mythological character, so that’s not helpful.  He is sitting on a flat desert plain. Sitting cross-legged, like he’s meditating. His swords are lying on the ground. The meaning I pull from the image is that he may be tired of the battle and in need of some introspection. The sky is blue and the overall ambiance restful but lonely. So, I’m thinking this card is telling me I need to take time this week, away from my usual frenetic pace of work and family, to contemplate where I am and what I want. Let’s see what my little book says…

This is Orestes. I don’t know who he is, so I’m going to Google him. Orestes is the son of Clytemnestra and Agamemnon (of Trojan War fame). There’s a long story about his father returning home after the war with Cassandra, the seer, as his concubine. His mother conspires with her lover to murder Agamemnon, and Orestes, along with his sister, Electra, flee. He ends up living in exile (this desert plain) until he returns to avenge his father’s murder by killing his mom and her lover. He goes mad after that and is tried by the gods for the crime of killing his mother, but is acquitted. That’s who Orestes was. A son avenging his father and who goes mad. But this card depicts him when he was in exile, awaiting his chance to exact revenge. Interesting.

Back to the book (The Mythic Tarot), it says simply, that this is a time for “quiet recuperation and introversion” while I “build up strength in preparation for further efforts.” So, am I supposed to stay off the Internet? Keep my door closed to family while I contemplate my life? The recuperation of my hand continues. That fits. Keeping my head down, focusing on what I need to do while ignoring the “noise” around me? I can make that fit. The meditation and contemplation? Well, I do kind of go inside myself when I’m writing, so I can make that work, too.

For a chance to win your choice of one of my downloadable stories, tell me whether you ever take time away from “the noise” and what that looks like for you.

ATTN: The winner is…Mary Ann Dean!
*~*~*

I slept in today. It wasn’t as lovely as it sounds. I woke up congested and with the beginnings of a sinus headache. So, I quickly rose, drank some water, took a Claritin, and now, I’m ready to work! I wish it was a flea market day, but everyday can’t be that much fun. 🙁

For a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card, solve the puzzle, then tell me to whom the little mermaid is giving a heart and why. Have fun!

Also, take a peek at what I’ve been working on.

From #the100dayproject…
I made a few of these, but folks have liked them so much, I might have to pause trying out new things to make a batch of these bookmarks for giveaways. What do you think?