How can one day go so very wrong? One minute Meara Quinn is making plans for how she will spend the summer before her senior year and the next she’s finding out that her mother’s cancer has returned and they are moving away from the only home she’s ever known.
Now every day is a struggle as Meara is trying to cope with her mother’s illness, being forced to move to another country to live with grandparents—whom she thought disowned her mother—and having weird visions of a father who was absent her entire life. Top it all off with one whopping secret that everyone seems bent on keeping from her, and Meara has the perfect ingredients for a major melt down.
The only things keeping her from coming unglued are some new friends and Evan—the son of her mother’s childhood friend—who seems to know Meara almost better than she knows herself.
Together with Evan and her friends, Meara embarks on a new journey to unlock the secrets that will not only tell Meara who she is, but what she is.
Targeted Age Group:: 13+
What Inspired You to Write Your Book?
I’ve been an avid reader and writer my whole life. When I was younger, I made greeting cards for my friends and family, and I wrote poetry, short stories and even tried a screen play in high school. (It was awful!) When I started college, I stopped writing creatively and began focusing on business writing, which is what I did for the next two decades. Then one day, I realized how much I missed writing creatively, and I began this book. It took me almost five years to write it, workshop it, and revise it, but I think it was worth the time and effort.
How Did You Come up With Your Characters?
My characters are part my imagination and part the personalities of those around me. I think most writers take inspiration from their real life, and I do the same. No character is exactly like any one person that I know, but they all have bits and pieces of the personalities of my friends and loved ones.
Book Sample
I felt a stab of guilt for how much Evan consumed my thoughts. My mom needed me. She was struggling with her health. I made a promise to myself to be there for her going forward.
I more or less confessed as much to her on our drive to Halifax the next day. Mom patted my knee. “Meara, you’re a teenager, and Evan is your first real boyfriend. I’m happy for you.”
“But, Mom…”
“No buts. Why do you think I brought you here? If something happens to me…”
“Mom!”
“Let me finish.” She gave me one of her mom looks. “If something happens, you will be surrounded by people who love you.” She looked at me over the top of her sunglasses. “You are happy, right?”
I nodded and smiled at her. “I am.”
When we got to the clinic, a quick glance around the waiting room told me Ula wasn’t here. I wished she were. Hearing my mom’s contingency plan made me feel weepy. I wanted a friend to talk to, someone who was going through almost the same thing. Flopping down next to Mom, I picked up the latest copy of People magazine. I quickly buried my nose in it, not wanting my mom to see my tears. Too late.
“Meara, are you okay?”
I looked up at her. “You’re asking me? Shouldn’t I ask you that?”
Her hair was falling out. I noticed a few days ago. She kept it pulled back under a wide headband, but it was thin and wispy, not thick and wavy like usual. That was part of the reason for the haircuts. Mom was getting hers cut short.
“I’m fine,” Mom said. “I’m going to beat this. I did it once, and I can do it again.”
She smiled at me. I knew she was trying to be brave. I returned the gesture, wanting to be brave, too. Deep inside, though, I worried. She was getting so thin. This morning when I hugged her, I could feel all the bones in her back.
The nurse called her, and she stood. I jumped up and hugged her, afraid to let go. “I love you, Mom.”
She kissed my cheek. “Love you, too, kiddo. I’ll be back soon.”
As I watched her follow the nurse, my only thought was that I wanted things to be as they always had been between us. Everything was changing. Our relationship, our family, was something different, something new. There were my grandparents, Lydia, Katie, and most importantly, Evan. They had changed my life, in more ways than one. Thinking about all of them, I appreciated all that my mom had done for me, moving us here. I was determined that the rest of the afternoon would be just about Mom and me. With all that she was going through, I was determined to make it a happy memory.
About the Author:
Kelly Risser knew at a young age what she wanted to be when she grew up. Unfortunately, Fairytale Princess was not a lucrative career. Leaving the castle and wand behind, she entered the world of creative business writing where she worked in advertising, marketing, and training at various companies. Currently, she works full time as an eLearning Instructional Designer, fitting her creative writing into the evenings and weekends.
She’s often found lamenting, “It’s hard to write when there are so many good books to read!” So, when she’s not immersed in the middle of someone else’s fantasy world, she’s busy creating one of her own. This world is introduced in her first novel, Never Forgotten, and visited further in her second novel, Current Impressions.
Kelly lives in Wisconsin with her husband and two children. They share their home with Clyde the Whoodle and a school of fish.
Links to Purchase Print Books
Link to Buy Never Forgotten Print Edition at Amazon
Links to Purchase eBooks
Link To Buy Never Forgotten On Amazon
Link to Never Forgotten on Barnes and Noble
Link to Never Forgotten for sale on iBooks
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Book Sample:
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