Guest post: Memorable Birthdays by Krysten Lindsay Hager + Giveaway

Memorable Birthdays by Krysten Lindsay Hager

I’m very honored to be part of the celebration of Librarian Lavender’s birthday. Growing up I had a lot of fun birthday parties as a kid and teenager, but one birthday memory stands out in particular. One year I had gotten third degree burns in the spring (and unpleasant accident involving boiling water, chicken soup that never got eaten, and me having to wear a pair of teeny tiny jean shorts to the ER in March). By the summer the pain had gotten worse and I couldn’t figure out why I was hurting so much. I woke up on my birthday that year and realized I needed to go to the doctor so I called to make an appointment. The nurse told me the doctor was leaving for a vacation the next day and they had no openings. However, they were familiar with my situation, so he made an exception and let me come in since he was going to be gone for a few weeks. Seeing as they were fitting me in last minute that meant I would be the last appointment of the day. I knew I could be at the dr’s office until the evening, so I called my friends and told them we would have to cancel our plans to celebrate.

 My dad went with me to the dr. and I found out that I was dealing with nerve regeneration and not only was it going to get worse—it was going to last for months. It was pretty startling news to hear and not how I wanted to celebrate my birthday. To make matters worse, since they had fit me in, that meant I had to wait for the last appointment of the day and by the time I left the office, it was well after 6:30 pm. It was too late to call anyone to see if they were free for a last minute dinner or movie and I wasn’t going to be good company anyway. Instead, my dad suggested I pick a movie at the theater that I wanted to go see and we could go together. He said, “Any movie you want. Your choice.” He was really taking a chance there because I do like girly movies. However, one of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies was playing and I had wanted to see it and I knew it would appeal to my dad, too, so I suggested that one. We drove to the theater and after the movie, Dad said we should go for ice cream to celebrate. We went to my favorite ice cream place and got dessert and then, on the way home, he said he needed to stop and pick something out. I waited as he picked out…my birthday cake! We went home and had cake with the rest of my family and it turned out to be a really nice birthday after all.

This year was my first birthday without my dad. To be honest, I thought I would have years and years of birthdays with my father and this year…well, I didn’t feel like celebrating much. However, remembering that one birthday that started out not-so-great and ended with my dad trying to make it up to me so I could enjoy my special day, makes me realize how lucky I was to have such a great Dad.

In honor of Suze’s birthday (and my birthday last month) I want to do a giveaway of my new book, Next Door to a Star.

Amazon USA  - Amazon UK

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Background info

Krysten Lindsay Hager is an obsessive reader and has never met a bookstore she didn’t like. She’s worked as a journalist and humor essayist, and writes for teens, tweens, and adults. She is the author of the Landry’s True Colors Series, and Next Door to a Star and her work has been featured in USA Today and named as Amazon’s #1 Hot New Releases in Teen & Young Adult Values and Virtues Fiction and Amazon’s #1 Hot New Releases in Children’s Books on Values. She’s originally from Michigan and has lived in South Dakota, Portugal, and southwestern Ohio. She received her master’s degree from the University of Michigan-Flint.

WEBSITE: http://www.krystenlindsay.com/
INSTAGRAM: https://instagram.com/krystenlindsay/
GOODREADS: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8298036.Krysten_Lindsay_Hager
TWITTER: https://twitter.com/KrystenLindsay
FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/KrystenLindsayHagerAuthor
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Krysten-Lindsay-Hager/e/B00L2JC9P2/ref=dp_byline_cont_ebooks_1