Today I am happy to share with you an excerpt from Forever Me by Thomas Amo and a chance where you can learn about Forever Me and other information from the author, Thomas Amo, himself.
High school is hard enough just being yourself, let alone trying to be someone you're not.
Hannah Richards isn't your typical 16 year-old at Wichita Falls High. Fashion, trends, cosmetics and style are unimportant to her. An avid reader, guitar player, and classic movie and television buff, Hannah marches to the beat of her own drum. Visible only to her father, the town sheriff, and her two best friends, Lauren and Haylee, Hannah lives a simple, un-pampered life, as an "Eastie."
After coming to the aide of Taylor Monroe, a popular member of the "Stilettos" at school, and a series of misunderstandings with her friends, Hannah is forced to re-invent herself. She quickly gets caught up in a life much different than the one she knows, where status, glamour, makeup, appearance and acceptance become her masters. And what of the dark secret that haunts the streets of Wichita Falls?
Can Hannah survive the lies, deceit, jealousy, and rage that are now waiting for her around every corner? Will she succumb to the pressures of popularity? Or will she be crushed under the heels of the "Stilettos"?
Forever Me Excerpt
The alarm buzzed and Hannah rolled over on
her back in bed and stretched. She tried to get her eyes to focus on her cell
phone to see what time it was. The digital numbers told her it was 4:15 a.m.
She stopped the noise and reached an arm behind her to shake Taylor awake, but
the bed was empty. Surprised, she rolled over and found she had the bed all to
herself. She hoped she hadn’t
forced Taylor out. She had been known to be a bed hog, especially with the
covers. She propped herself up on her elbows when the bedroom light flipped on.
Like a vampire recoiling from the sunlight, Hannah’s hand quickly went to
shield her eyes.
“Morning sunshine,” called Taylor in a
chipper voice.
Hannah slowly lowered her hand and saw Taylor
standing in the doorway, still wearing her father’s t-shirt but with a gator
clip in her hair to hold it up.
“I thought I set my alarm for six.”
“You did, but I changed it. Hot Girl Rule
Number 1: Rise early and get your face on. Only homely girls sleep in.”
Hannah let her head fall back on the pillow.
“Ohhhh, let me be homely, just for an another hour.”
“Oh no you don’t,” called Taylor as she
reached under the blanket, grabbed Hannah by the wrist and tugged her up into a
sitting position. “Let’s get those feet on the floor, I already picked out your
outfit, got the flatiron hot and made coffee.”
“I swear, if I didn’t love men, I’d probably
marry you, just for the fact you made me coffee,” Hannah said rubbing her face
trying to wake up.
“Yeah, don’t get ahead of yourself there,
doll. You’re pretty cute, but not my type. By the way I made the coffee for me.
I’m just sharing it with you. Now let’s get going, the sun will be showing up
in an hour,” Taylor teased.
“Okay, Sarge,” Hannah said with a half salute. Her feet
touched the floor and she recoiled. She started to climb back under the covers
but then saw the look on Taylor’s face. “Okay, okay.” Hannah stood up and winced
once more from the cold floor on her feet. She stumbled from her bedroom to the
bathroom across the hall. Taylor had everything laid out like a display in a
showroom. She was truly organized when it came to preparing for the day. Hannah
examined her face in the mirror. She was prepared for the worst. She was afraid
she was going to wear the after effects of Lauren’s punches for the next week,
but surprisingly, there was only a small amount of bruising on the corner of
her chin and up next to her right eye. Even the swelling in her lip had pretty
much disappeared.
Taylor returned to the bathroom with a cup of
coffee for Hannah. Hannah turned and took the cup with a grateful expression.
She took a sip and instantly felt the perfectly made drink intoxicate all of
her senses. She sat the cup on the vanity and wrapped her arms around Taylor
and hugged her. “I love you,” she whispered.
Taylor stood being a prisoner of Hannah’s
clinch. Her eyes darted from side to side. Her expression of feeling awkward
reflected in the mirror. “Um—love you too, but it’s just coffee, Hannah.”
Hannah shook her head. “No, that is a cup
filled with love,” she said with sleep-crusted eyes.
“Okay—are you like this every morning?”
“I just need a moment,” Hannah teased as she
hugged her once more. Taylor gave the patented pity hand pat on Hannah’s back
that meant, Okay, I love you too but I’m beyond comfortable now.
“How did you sleep?” Hannah asked as she took
a healthy drink of coffee.
Taylor took Hannah’s hair into her hands and
ran the flatiron across it. “Pretty good, but you are a cover hog.”
“I know, but in my defense you’re the first
person I’ve ever slept with.”
“Yeah—let’s not share that information,” Taylor said teasing.
Thomas Amo's Bio
Thomas Amo is the
author over 20 comedies and farces for the live theatre. This former full time
theatrical producer has spent the last thirty years writing in many different
genres, from pilot scripts for television to screenplays on independent films.
Outside acting, directing and producing, his first love has always been
writing. Forever ME, marks his debut into YA fiction
Interview
1. I may have mentioned a few times about my love for theater. I'm a proud drama geek. During my childhood I adored going to Wolf Trap and other theaters.
Thomas Amo is a theater producer so I asked Amo, "What was it like to be a theater producer?"
Amo- The smartest thing I've ever done in my life! I started in theatre at 14 and was lucky to join a Vaudeville/Melodrama company at 17. I stayed with them for 8 years.
Back then we did 2 shows a year..for 6 month runs. You had plenty of time to learn your role and hone your craft. I learned from many true artists. The following years
I got addicted to doing British farce/comedy. I love those knock about farces where there's tons of falling, smacking into doors, misidentify and misunderstandings. They are always audience pleasers. So when I opened my own theatre in 1997, I had already been on stage for 20 years. (didn't seem like it). I always loved acting, it's fun to play and get laughs. Directing was tougher, because I would be in the show and directing. Producing just meant it was all my money and my responsibility. But it was a gamble I took on myself that paid off for the next ten years of my life. Hard times fell on our city and and the economy hurt us bad and theatre is the first thing people cut out of their lives. Much cheaper to stay home and watch Netflix. I loved my thertre life and often miss the stage.
2. I understand Forever ME is inspired
by true events. Tell us how that came about?
Amo- I was just about to leave the house one morning when I caught a segment on
morning television about a group of teen girls at a Texas high school who had
organized a group called, “Redefining Beautiful.” They were trying to encourage
fellow female students to go one day a week without makeup. They were stressing
that you don’t need makeup to be beautiful. I was so amazed by their bravery
and confidence to go against type, especially in high school and at an age
where girls feel the most awkward with themselves. A close friend of mine who
is a film producer had been asking me if I had anything I was working on I
could share with him. By time the segment was over, I had the basic plot in my
head and before I left the house, I already knew the ending of the story. I
phoned my producer friend and told him I had something, we met that afternoon
and I pitched the idea to him as a film. He loved the concept and told me he
was interested. Could I write the screenplay? I went to work right away. But
about 50 pages in, I found these characters were so lifelike, I felt it needed
to be a book, it could always be a film later. I called my friend back, said, I
have to write this as a novel. With his blessing and two years later. Forever ME was published.
3. How are teen girls responding to a book written by male?
Amo- I was concerned about that. Would they
relate to it? Would it seem real to them? Or would it come across as a guy
giving his version of what he think teen girls are like today? Well, to my
pleasant surprise, teen girls are sending me emails, tweets, and telling me, they
completely relate to the situations, they’ve said, “OMG, that is so me!” “I’m
just like Hannah!” Or they know girls like Shelby and the Stilettos. Or jerk
guys who treat them like property. I got plenty of praise from some parents
even grandparents on Forever ME, but
the real vindication comes from the teens who love it. I couldn’t ask for
better than that! (Plus I have a 19 year old daughter, so I wasn’t totally in
the dark.) But I did do my research.
4. I saw that several past reviews compare Forever
ME gets to the film, “Mean Girls.”
Did that have any influence on your writing?
Amo- Not at all, I have not seen the film. So I’m always surprised when someone
compares it to that film. I imagine since the subject matters are similar I can
see how someone could draw that conclusion. It was important to me in the
beginning that my main character, Hannah was not the new girl at a school.
That’s always tough on a teen to be the new kid. I wanted her to have her own
friends, a well-adjusted home life and content with her life as it was. It was
only when she crossed the invisible line of mixing with the social elite did it
present a problem in her life. Wichita Falls is a place where a girl from her
side of town is often reminded it’s best if she stays there.
Discover more about Thomas Amo at his website here!
