How My Teen Years Inspired My Own Teen Series by Krysten Lindsay Hager

I grew up reading different teen series books about close-knit friends like in the Babysitters Club series, Sweet Valley High, etc. and I always wanted to be in that sort of group and have those friends who always had your back. So when I was in middle school, I created a story with a crew like that. Fast forward to college and a professor mentioned a quote about writing the book you want to read, and I thought back to that middle school idea. However, this time I decided to give the main character a realistic approach and have her feel like everyone around her has this, but soon she realizes no one has the perfect friends or the perfect life—no matter what books, magazines, and social media sites try to tell you with their happy, perky pictures.

My main character Landry Albright is a very loyal friend, maybe even too loyal at times. She doesn’t have the highest self-esteem, and she often backs down from arguing or standing up for herself for the sake of keeping the peace. She tries to keep other people from getting their feelings (or egos) hurt, and sometimes she hides her “light” a little bit because of that. She’s a definite “over-thinker” something she *may* have inherited from me. In the beginning, she only hangs around with her two best friends; and after they shut her out, she is forced to branch out and make new friends. She has to come out of her shell to try and meet people, and she often finds herself hiding her accomplishments to keep her friends from getting jealous. Landry assumes everyone else has it better than she does with their perfect lives and friendships. She begins to learn that isn’t the case and that everyone has their own insecurities and worries. There’s a part of the story where she tells Devon how she’s always wanted dark, curly hair like hers and felt that was the ideal, and Devon responds she always wanted hair like Landry’s. We always think the grass is greener on the other side, don’t we? As time goes on, she begins to learn what true friendship is and be a better friend herself.

The Landry’s True Colors Series deals with the friend drama, jealousy, insecurities that we’ve all dealt with as tweens/teens (and as adults, too!), but in a funny way through Landry’s eyes. We go through her dealing with frenemies, worrying about fitting in, and those modeling auditions that make her stress out (and hopefully make the reader laugh and cringe with her!). I hope people can enjoy the humor and feel a little less alone, realizing that everyone goes through periods of insecurity. I also hope the message that we each have something unique that makes us special comes through. I try to show that instead of trying to fit in, we should appreciate our differences.

The characters are twelve-year-old Clare, her nine-year-old brother Dante, and her twelve-year-old friend, Lily. Today, I have the honor of introducing you to Clare. I was able to do an interview with her!

Me: Clare, I heard you started this whole Seed Savers adventure. Tell me a little about that.

Clare: Sure. When I was twelve I first heard the word “seed” at church, and–

Me:  Wait–you hadn’t heard the word “seed” before?

Clare: That’s right. I’m from a future where kids don’t know what seeds are. It’s forgotten about, like the words “television set.” So I asked an older woman about seeds and she started teaching me.

Me: That would be Ana?

Clare: Yes. Ana became my teacher. And then, of course, I brought my friend Lily in on it, and Dante, my brother.

Me: So now that you know about seeds and real food, do you think you can go back to the Vitees and Carbos and that kind of food?

Clare: Definitely not!

Me: How’s that going to work out?

Clare: I’m not sure. Right now it’s frustrating because I’m in hiding and so we can’t garden. If I were out, and nobody else’s safety depended on it, I would try to grow a garden anyway. I mean, Gruff had a garden on his balcony in New Jersey and he got away with it.

Me: This is true.

Clare: I might even go back to Canada. But I really want to be part of the change. I want everyone to have freedom of choice about their food.

Me: Seems reasonable. Some people are wondering if you and Lily are growing apart…

Clare: I wouldn’t worry about it.

Me: What about Jason? Is this a romance?

Clare: (rolls eyes) Does everything always have to be a romance? Can’t  a girl and a guy ever just be friends? I thought you said this interview was about Seed Savers?

Me: I’m sorry. I think readers just naturally gravitate towards that. Okay, let’s wrap it up on a final note about Seed Savers. Do you think your Movement is going to have a victory any time soon?

Clare: (smiles) Of course. With young people in the Movement, how could we be anything but victorious?

So, if you now are intrigued, go check out S. Smith and her books, Seed Savers. They’re a great read for kids and kids in adult bodies.

So it is with joy that I introduce to you an author who was one of the first to congratulate me on the release of Dragon’s Future. LRW Lee has just released book five in the Andy Smithson series, Vision of the Griffin’s Heart.

About the book
Four years ago, Andy Smithson discovered he is the Chosen one to break a 500-yr-old curse plaguing the land of Oomaldee when he unexpectedly and mysteriously found himself there. To do so, he must collect ingredients for a magical potion. Thus far he has gathered the scale of a red dragon, venom from a giant serpent, a unicorn’s horn, and the tail feather of a phoenix. Now he must ask a griffin for one of its talons. There’s just one problem…humans have poached griffin treasure, causing these mythical creatures to attack on sight.

Complicating matters, the evil Abaddon, sovereign of Oomaldee’s northern neighbor, is turning more and more citizens into zolt in his ongoing campaign of terror as he sets in motion the final steps of his plan to conquer the land. Things really start to heat up in book five!

If you loved Harry Potter, you’ll love the Andy Smithson series chalk full of mythical creatures, newly invented animals like zolt, herewolves, and therewolves, a complex plot with evolving characters, and positive themes including responsibility, diligence, dignity, friendship and more.

What to look for

Click photo to go to Amazon.

About the author

L. R. W. Lee credits her love of fantasy with her introduction to C. S. Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia. Later on, she enjoyed the complex world of Middle Earth brought to life by J. R. R. Tolkien in Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit. The multiple dimensions of the worlds mixed with a layer of meaning, captivated her and made her desire to invent Young Adult Fantasy and Epic Fantasy worlds others could get lost in, but also take meaning away from. More recently, L. R. W. Lee has found inspiration from J. K. Rowling and her Harry Potter series as well as Brandon Mull and his best selling Fablehaven, Beyonders and Five Kingdoms series.

L. R. W. Lee writes to teach her readers principles that can transform their lives – overcoming frustration, impatience, fear and more. She also shows why responsibility, diligence and dignity are the keys to true success in life. She lives in scenic Austin, TX with her husband. Their daughter is a Computer Engineer for Microsoft and their son serves in the Air Force.
Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads | Amazon | Email

More about the series

THE DEPTH OF THE ANDY SMITHSON SERIES
If you’re an adult looking for a clean series you can sink your teeth into, Andy Smithson is definitely it! In it I develop four layers simultaneously: 1) Andy Smithson in Lakehills, TX 2) Andy in Oomaldee 3) the Afterlife 4) a meaning layer. A few examples to demonstrate the depth…
Symbolism is used extensively (a couple examples):
The fog of the curse symbolizes blindness and oppression.
The magic key unlocks doors, brings stone statues to life, as well as revives. Put another way, it symbolizes bringing forth, opening up, and revealing (aka taking responsibility).
Methuselah is not only a weapon and helper, but also represents justice as it divides good and evil. Consistent with life, justice requires diligence to uphold.

Names are also important in this series (a few examples):
Andy means brave or courageous.
Alden means helper.
Hannah means favor or grace.
Imogenia means blameless.

Alchemy used throughout the series (a few examples):
Alchemy played a significant role in the development of modern science. Alchemists sought to transform base metals into the gold or silver and/or develop an elixir of life which would confer youth and longevity and even immortality.
In the series, the first instance of alchemy begins with the gold weavers, Max, Oscar, and Henry, spinning straw into gold to manufacture the wealth of the kingdom.
The four elementals: air, earth, fire, and water are then seen on Methuselah’s hilt.

The titles of the books manifest yet another layer of meaning and reveal Imogenia’s evolution.
Beginning with Blast of the Dragon’s Fury, Imogenia is furious at what has happened to her and she fuels her emotional hurt.
In Venom of the Serpent’s Cunning, Imogenia turns venomous (or spiteful) and cunning in seeking ways to continually punish her brother.
Disgrace of the Unicorn’s Honor has Imogenia act in a manner disgraceful to the honor of royalty.
In Resurrection of the Phoenix’s Grace we see Imogenia’s grace reborn as she begins to reflect.
In Vision of the Griffin’s Heart, Imogenia realizes she is gripped by hatred and distrust she has harbored for so long. Unlike griffins who choose to trust others, Imogenia cannot yet make that leap when it comes to her brother.

I’d love to hear what you think! I am even more intrigued and will make sure that the Andy Smithson books are on my reading list this year.

I will also give away a large swag (that’s book related merchandise) package:

Besides all of this, I get to keep up with Facebook congratulations, Twitter tweets, and other miscellaneous social media contacts of well wishes and trying to get the word out to the world that Dragon’s Future is a real book!

The problem is that besides being an author I am a wife, mom of five (three of whom are still at home), and a teacher. That means that I also have housework that needs to be done, organizing kids so they don’t run a muck, and picking up a van from the school for a leadership conference that starts tomorrow. I think I have my work cut out for me and I had better go make breakfast, wake up the kids, and get started! Thanks everyone for the support you’ve shown me so far and “may your dragon fly true!”

Birth is something that binds people together. Women especially relate to birthing stories, but even farmers tell the story of the birth of their cow, horse, sheep, pig or other animal. The beginning of life awes even the most sedate person. It is no different with a book.

In late February, I sent my manuscript, Dragon’s Future, to Booktrope to be reviewed for publishing. It was a nerve-wracking experience. I didn’t even tell my husband or any of my family members that I had done it until I heard back from Booktrope! Then when I heard, I had the two to three weeks of deciding if I wanted to follow through with this decision. I couldn’t believe it had been accepted. The mayhem of social media, blogging, editing, proofing, and cover designing has filled up the last five and a half months, but now it is finally time! The moment is upon us. The due date is only six days away. Unlike my natural births that I had, this one will happen on the day scheduled, at least for the eBook. The print copy may be more like my natural births of not sure exactly when after the due date I will get to hold the baby in my hands. I can’t wait! I am so ready and excited to see it and to know that my baby is here. However, just like my children, I will then hand my baby into the world to make its own way. I look forward to hearing your feedback–good and bad, but hopefully mostly good.

As an expectant mother, please forgive any emotional outbursts that I have in the next week or so. Expect my Twitter account to be filled with comments about the book or the Facebook party (come join, there currently is a contest for whoever invites the most people). My Facebook page may be filled with dragon related links or photos and words about the book. Believe me, the excitement will wear off, just like the newness of a baby wears off with sleepless nights. Until then, allow me to exult and rejoice in the life of a new birth.

1. Vocabulary:  The author doesn’t talk down to the audience.  The reader may learn new vocabulary from reading the book.  Rockjaw threw the rat over one shoulder, chatting to lieutenant Morio as he did.

‘Wot does the Major mean by arboreal verdance, sah?’

‘Hmm, arboreal verdance, lemme see, I rather think it means treetops, leafy green ones.’

‘Oh! Then why didn’t ‘e say treetops?’

‘Why should he when he knows how t’say words like arboreal verdance?’ Redwall series.

2. Characters:  They are memorable and work well together.  These are the kind that you want to really get to know and meet in real life.  You want to walk into the book to meet them.  The hero is real—he makes mistakes and learns from them.  “My values are not based on violence. My values are based on courage, which you see time and time again in my books. A warrior isn’t somebody like Bruce Willis or Arnold Schwarzenegger. A warrior can be any age. A warrior is a person people look up to.” ~ Brian Jacques from http://redwallabbey.com/forum/index.php?topic=308.0 

3. Protective Character:  There is always some wiser and maybe older character to whom the main character can turn to for help.  There’s a Gandalf for Frodo, an Uncle Press for Bobby Pendragon, a Draco for Jack, a Mr. Drew for Nancy, or a Firedrake for Ben.

4. Good vs Bad:  There is a definite line between good and bad.  The two don’t get confused.

5. Plot:  The story moves along with lots of action and imagination.

I hope this helps in understanding what makes a good kid’s book. These are things that not only appeal to children, but what they need as they are shaping their world.