Who knew all those embarrassing, cringe-y moments in middle school and high school could turn into a career? And who would have thought that daydreaming in math class would pay off down the road?
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 is the author of True Colors, Best Friends...Forever?, Next Door to a Star, Landry in Like, and Competing with the Star (The Star Series: Book 2), Dating the It Guy, Can Dreams Come True, and In Over Her Head: Lights, Camera, Anxiety.
Her debut novel, 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. Best Friends...Forever? is a 2019 Readers' Favorite Silver Medal Winner in the Children - Preteen genre. Landry in Like is a Literary Classics Gold Medal recipient and a 2020 Readers' Favorite Bronze Medal Winner. 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.
"I write the books I wanted to read growing up. I write for the girl in her room who has had a difficult time with friends and frenemies and not knowing who to trust and may not comfortable with who she is yet. "
I write novels about friendships, dealing with self-doubt, finding where you belong as well as finding your soulmate. My sister says my books are an airing of my grievances, but I like to think I’m just working through issues via my characters to help my readers work through theirs. Either way, the bumps along the road gave me a lot of material. I’ve been writing since I was a kid, but my mom made me show her I was serious about it my senior year when she signed me up for writing conferences to see if I’d sink or swim. Who knew I’d finally feel like I felt in somewhere…well, fit in-ish. I love reading, TV, watching strangers’ IG stories, and lipstick.