3-Year Anniversary of My First Novel + A Snippet

Hello, friends, and happy Valentine’s day!

Today is a special anniversary for me- three years ago today, I started Never Forget, my first “big” writing project!

To celebrate this little anniversary, I thought I’d give you guys some updates on the book and a snippet. As mentioned in a previous post, I haven’t been working on Never Forget much recently, but I hope to work on it more in the near future. I may write the next draft for NaNoWriMo 2019.

Amber Rose Harris, the main character, is the most well-developed and most-loved character I’ve ever created. Amber is an autistic savant (this means that she has really strong abilities in some areas, in her case with numbers) with synesthesia (causes senses to be perceived as a different sense, like light as sound and words as colors) and several other mental conditions. Amber was in a car crash as a child that killed her mother and sister and resulted in the traumatic brain injury that caused her conditions. She has an incredible memory and is a genius with numbers.

The story focuses on Amber trying to overcome her fear and hatred of her father, whose drunk driving caused the car crash and killed her mother and sister. After years of not seeing her father, he shows up at her adopted parents’ home with news: Amber’s sister Evianna is still alive.

I need to do a lot of planning and plotting before I can do much more with this book, so that’s what I’ll be working on in the future.

But for today, here’s a scene I wrote recently that may become the first scene of the book. Hope you enjoy! Let me know what you think!

Possible First Scene – Never Forget

It was raining. A twenty-six day.

Amber watched the raindrops blow against the glass for a moment before pulling the curtains closed.

She would not be going to school today. She never left the house on twenty-six days.

She straightened the curtains before turning away. No, she would not let her mind take control this time. She refused.

A scene flashed before her eyes, quick as a heartbeat, of a car window scattered with raindrops. Amber flinched and bit her lip. No, no, no.

Blinding lights. A stretcher, a crushed car, and rain. The number twenty-six.

Amber clenched and unclenched her fists and set to straightening up her room to distract herself. Smooth the sheets, straighten the books on the bookshelf that she never read, wipe off the desktop. She tried not to face the window.

She sighed. It was going to be a long day.

Image credit: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/784259722581940167/

‘Never Forget’ Snippet #2 – Intro

By Robin Meeks

On October 7, 2017

In Never Forget, Writing Snippets

Hello, everyone! It’s been over a month since I’ve posted anything… whoops. So, I decided to give you guys another snippet of my book- this time it is the very beginning. So here you go!

I run a hand down the photograph- worn and fingerprinted from constant touching. My hand lingers on my parents’ faces. They stand on a beautiful beach, a gentle breeze rippling their hair. My mother’s waist-long, almost black hair and coffee-with-milk colored skin tone show her Hispanic roots, while my dad’s chocolate-colored hair, blue eyes, and sand-colored skin offer a stark contrast. My mother holds my baby sister- Evianna Noelle. Her entrancing hazel eyes seem to sparkle in the evening sun. 2-year-old me stands in front of my dad, clutching onto his strong hand. I close my eyes and try to dig up a memory from that night on September 19th: I feel the sand between my toes, I hear the water lapping onto the shore, I see an image of my parents’ faces. I sigh and open my eyes, focusing on the photo again. They look so- peaceful. You would never have guessed that all three of them would be killed mere weeks later.

I fall back onto my bed, still holding the photo. A memory from the tragic crash returns to me- a blurry image of the roof of an ambulance, a wailing siren, a phantom feeling of pain, a vague sense of fear…

“Amber, you need to get going! What are you doing?” I hear a voice call from downstairs. I snap out of my memories, shoot up from the bed, and hastily grab my backpack.

‘Never Forget’ Snippet #1 – Sandwich

By Robin Meeks

On July 25, 2017

In Never Forget, Writing Snippets

This is a snippet from the book I am planning on publishing one day, titled “Never Forget”.

“Hello-o, Amber,” Kara says, waving her hand back and forth in my face. I gaze at her blankly for a moment before realizing what she said. “One of these days I’m going to give you a Sharpie mustache or something and you’d never even notice.”

“Ha, ha,” I reply. I look down at the picnic table, ready to grab my pepperoni and mozzarella sandwich, but all I see is an empty Ziploc bag. “Hey, where’d it-” Kara snorts and covers her mouth with her hand, hiding something behind her back. “Oh, you sneaky little monster,” I say, desperately trying to reach my sandwich.

“That was way too easy,” she says between giggles, handing me my sandwich. I slap her hand playfully.

Category: Never Forget