Before the Footprints Fade (spin-off of Forever and One Day is finally available)
...a must-read for fans of emotive and realistic fiction which deals with overcoming personal demons in order to find happiness.
- Readers' Favorite
I’m excited to announce that the long-awaited spin-off for Forever and One Day will be available March 31st. You can grab it for $0.99 on pre-order now.
This book was difficult to write. Readers had asked for more of the characters from Forever and One Day and I wanted to continue their story. But I didn’t want to fabricate drama just to be able to create a compelling narrative. So, I decided to write a spin-off rather than a sequel. I don’t want to give anything away. But I can say that readers of Forever and One Day will be thrilled to see the continuation of the beloved characters’ story in the last third of Before the Footprints Fade. It also does read as a stand-alone.
If you follow my writing, you know that I spend a lot of time on the psychology and inner world of my characters. As a psychologist, I have seen and heard so many stories. In real life, we often make assumptions, judge actions without understanding. Our view of things is, in some ways, limited by what we already think.
We must dismantle the frame in order to see the full picture.
For psychotherapy to be effective, we learn to suspend our own assumptions, to be completely open, so the patient’s narrative can be heard without prejudice. I spend a lot of time on my characters’ motivations, because I want to show how they became who they are and why they do what they do.
Like Forever and One Day, Before the Footprints Fade, is first a love story, but it also has deeper themes, delving into how we love, how our memories change with life experience, nostalgia, and how the path not taken creates a ripple effect on the lives of those close to us.
I began the character development, as I usually do, with questions. For Amanda, I wanted to explore what it was like to be afraid of the very thing you most desired.
Did you ever want something as much as you didn’t want it?
I wanted to reveal the inner conflict and turmoil of pushing people away when we need them, when we want them. I wanted to show how our personal narratives cloud our perception, and often result in being unable to see someone else’s intentions, clearly.
For Harry, I wanted to explore the way expectations and unlived potentials of our loved ones can become part of our own struggles and journeys. It’s something that’s often not obvious, but has a profound impact. We see it all time when working with people in psychotherapy.
How are we influenced by the roads not taken?
In each of us and all of the people we know there are an infinite number of unlived lives, each choice opens some doors and closes others. I wanted to show how this translates intergenerationally. Because sometimes when people come for help, the layers of which their distress and emotions emerge begins with the unprocessed feelings of the generation before.
I try my best to embed philosophical and psychological explorations into a story that still reads like genre fiction, because I do not believe psychology or philosophy needs to be written in esoteric, jargon-ridden language. If we are studying human nature then we should all be privy to information that helps us understand ourselves, understand others, and understand life in a way that’s helpful. I hope that I have achieved the goal of writing a compelling story while also offering a window to think more deeply about life for those who want the opportunity.
I don’t want to give any of the story away. I promise, it’s filled with drama and emotion. At the end of the book, in a note to my readers, I do go into the inspiration behind the characters a little bit more. If you have questions, please always feel free to write to me. I love hearing from my readers. And thank you for your interest in my work.
- Readers' Favorite
I’m excited to announce that the long-awaited spin-off for Forever and One Day will be available March 31st. You can grab it for $0.99 on pre-order now.
This book was difficult to write. Readers had asked for more of the characters from Forever and One Day and I wanted to continue their story. But I didn’t want to fabricate drama just to be able to create a compelling narrative. So, I decided to write a spin-off rather than a sequel. I don’t want to give anything away. But I can say that readers of Forever and One Day will be thrilled to see the continuation of the beloved characters’ story in the last third of Before the Footprints Fade. It also does read as a stand-alone.
If you follow my writing, you know that I spend a lot of time on the psychology and inner world of my characters. As a psychologist, I have seen and heard so many stories. In real life, we often make assumptions, judge actions without understanding. Our view of things is, in some ways, limited by what we already think.
We must dismantle the frame in order to see the full picture.
For psychotherapy to be effective, we learn to suspend our own assumptions, to be completely open, so the patient’s narrative can be heard without prejudice. I spend a lot of time on my characters’ motivations, because I want to show how they became who they are and why they do what they do.
Like Forever and One Day, Before the Footprints Fade, is first a love story, but it also has deeper themes, delving into how we love, how our memories change with life experience, nostalgia, and how the path not taken creates a ripple effect on the lives of those close to us.
I began the character development, as I usually do, with questions. For Amanda, I wanted to explore what it was like to be afraid of the very thing you most desired.
Did you ever want something as much as you didn’t want it?
I wanted to reveal the inner conflict and turmoil of pushing people away when we need them, when we want them. I wanted to show how our personal narratives cloud our perception, and often result in being unable to see someone else’s intentions, clearly.
For Harry, I wanted to explore the way expectations and unlived potentials of our loved ones can become part of our own struggles and journeys. It’s something that’s often not obvious, but has a profound impact. We see it all time when working with people in psychotherapy.
How are we influenced by the roads not taken?
In each of us and all of the people we know there are an infinite number of unlived lives, each choice opens some doors and closes others. I wanted to show how this translates intergenerationally. Because sometimes when people come for help, the layers of which their distress and emotions emerge begins with the unprocessed feelings of the generation before.
I try my best to embed philosophical and psychological explorations into a story that still reads like genre fiction, because I do not believe psychology or philosophy needs to be written in esoteric, jargon-ridden language. If we are studying human nature then we should all be privy to information that helps us understand ourselves, understand others, and understand life in a way that’s helpful. I hope that I have achieved the goal of writing a compelling story while also offering a window to think more deeply about life for those who want the opportunity.
I don’t want to give any of the story away. I promise, it’s filled with drama and emotion. At the end of the book, in a note to my readers, I do go into the inspiration behind the characters a little bit more. If you have questions, please always feel free to write to me. I love hearing from my readers. And thank you for your interest in my work.
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