Work in Progress: Forever and Always by Kate (A.K.A. The Perilous Pen)

Today, I’m pleased to introduce the final (for now) young writer to be featured in my Works in Progress series. However, if you’re interested in being featured in the future, don’t hesitate to get in contact with me. My email is on the “About Me and My Books” page.

Here’s what she has to say about herself and her story…

I’m Kate, a teen writer from Iowa. My dream is to become a New York Times Bestselling author one day! I hope to be published soon, so I’m very excited about this! When I’m not writing, I love acting and sports. 

Forever and Always is a novel about a girl who struggles against survivor’s guilt and forgiving the man who ruined her life. She fights to trust God again, and ultimately find her worth. It’s a story of loss, hope, forgiveness, family, and purpose. It’s been in the making since 2017, and I hope that one day, it will make the NYT Bestsellers List.

And here’s an excerpt from Forever and Always:

“Today was…” I search for the right word.
“Epic? Super fun? Totally awesome?” Kennedy offers.

“Strenuous,” I decide. “And also tiresome.”

She nods. “I know what you mean. But it was a lot of fun, wasn’t it? The games, the food, the conversations, the gifts.” She grins slyly. “And the kisses. Speaking of which, how was yours?”

“Stop it,” I say, whacking her with a pillow.

She just laughs. “The look on Jackson’s face was priceless; did you see how shocked he was?”

“I was a little wrapped up at the time,” I reply, raising my eyebrows. “Remember?”

“Oh, that’s right. You were too busy making out to notice.”

“Cut it out, dork!” I hit her with the pillow again, and she holds up her hands in mock defense.

“You know what they say,” she giggles, “if you’re making out, you’re missing out.” Kennedy laughs harder as I attack her with my pillow, until finally, she gasps, “Okay, okay, I’ll stop.”

“Good,” I say, sitting down again.

She sits up. “So, what was your favorite gift?”

 I think for a second. “It’s probably a tie between the necklace Christian gave me, and the gift box you gave me. What about you?”

“Hmm…probably my new Belmont sweatshirt,” she says mischievously.

“Right, of course,” I say, rolling my eyes.

“I’m kidding; your inspiration box was my favorite,” Kennedy says, leaning over and hugging me. “Love you Bear.”

I laugh. “Bear” is what Kennedy used to call me when we were little. My nickname for her was Tiger (don’t ask me why). “Love you too, Tiger.”

“You remembered,” she says, clearly surprised.

“Duh, yeah I remembered,” I say. “Hey, didn’t Knox have a nickname, too?”

“Lion,” she replies. “Remember why we called each other that?”

I blink. “There was a reason?”

“Of course!” Kennedy smacks my arm. “Did you seriously forget?”

“Well, I kind of forgot the nickname until now,” I admit.

“Savannah,” she scolds me. “How could you forget something like that? We got the name from The Wizard of Oz; you know, the part where they go, “Lions and Tigers and Bears, oh my!”?”

“Wait, actually?”

“Actually.” She raises her eyebrows. “You forgot, huh?”

“Well, it’s not the kind of thing I’d recall,” I say defensively. “Besides, my memory isn’t as good as yours.”

She snorts. “You’re talking to a girl with a brain tumor; memory loss is legit one of the symptoms.”

“Oh.” Well, I feel like an idiot. “Sorry,” I apologize awkwardly.

Kennedy shrugs. “Not your fault. Now change the subject; it’s my birthday, and I’m not going to waste it by feeling sorry for myself, got it?”

“Got it.” I can’t help smiling at her. “Umm….new topic…”

“We could watch the cheese video,” Kennedy says

“Nothing. I could look it up, though.”

“You could!” Kennedy says enthusiastically. I give her another blank stare, and she gasps. “Oh no. Don’t tell me you don’t know what that’s from?”

“Is it bad if I say yes?”

This time, it’s Kennedy who hits me with the pillow. “Studio C, nitwit; you know, Prom Date Replacement?”

“I don’t remember,” I say, giggling as I try to fend off her blows.

“That’s it,” she says, tossing down the pillow, “we’re going to stay up all night and watch Studio C until you know all the quotes by heart.” She jumps off the bed, racing over to my desk and flipping open my laptop. “Your password is still BabyHamilton2, right?”

“Yup.” It’s kind of an easy password to guess, but I like it anyway. Plus, my laptop rarely leaves my room, and thanks to the security cameras around our house, no unwanted guests ever get in, either, so I don’t think I really have to worry about someone guessing my password.

Besides, the only people who would know that I go by Baby Hamilton are most likely the ones who call me that. So the odds of someone breaking into my computer are small.

Kennedy logs in and goes straight to Youtube. “This is going to be an all-nighter,” she tells me.

“Ooh, I’ll get the snacks,” I say, hopping off my bed.

“Don’t bother– I already brought them up,” she says, grinning. “They’re in my closet, hiding from the boys.”

“How did you bring them up without anyone noticing?” I ask, amazed.

“Talent, my dear,” she replies in a British accent. “Simple talent.”

“Suuuure,” I say, nodding. “Now how about using that talent to help me sneak some blackberry ice cream up here?”