As some of you may know, and for those of you who don't, my original plan was to make Promise Me Forever a full-length novel. I had a plot for them all lined up and ready to go, but as I got further into the story, something didn't feel right. I didn't feel like I was being true to my characters or my story. Instead, I was creating drama and problems for a couple that had already been through enough as it is and it didn't sit well with me.
It became clear about halfway through the first draft that I didn't really like where the story was going. I wanted to give Charlie and Jhett their happily ever after, not rip them apart just so I could fulfill the second book I promised you guys. So I made the decision to do what I wanted all along - write their love story with a complete and happy ending. And I honestly couldn't be happier.
Am I sad to see their story come to an end? Of course. I will always have a very special place in my heart for Jhrarlie. I have been tossing around some spin-off novel ideas, but that's just ideas. I'm not setting anything in stone for those. Just know that one day in the future, you may see some more of your favorite characters.
Here's where it gets exciting! Because I cut about 30K words from my original manuscript, I have a bunch of 'lost scenes' that I really honestly and truly loved (and so did my Alpha Reader and my Editor) that didn't make the cut into the final version of this novella. There are a few reasons they didn't make it in - Either they didn't fit in with the storyline or they were so long it made the flow of the book choppy. But these scenes really do 'fill in the blanks' on the Jhett and Charlie timeline.
So, what I've done is put them up on my blog for you to read and enjoy. They have been through one professional edit and then a few of my fabulous eagle eyes scanned them too, so they may not be perfect. But they're still pretty awesome if you ask me.
THE AFTERMATH OF SURFING
After Ginger takes Charlie by surprise with her tough love surfing session, Charlie returns back home and is greeted by Jhett at the door who knows just how to relax her aching muscles.
CHARLIE'S SENIOR SHOWCASE
Charlie is invited by her college advisor to take part in a new art gallery opening in town as part of her Senior Showcase for her graduation requirements.
GOODBYE, MOTHER
Charlie gets the call that something is wrong with her mom. Jhett and Charlie fly home to Tennessee to say their hellos and goodbyes.
CHILDHOOD MEMORIES
Being home is bittersweet for Charlie, but with Jhett there, she can share parts of herself with him that has always left him curious.
THREE COOKS IN THE KITCHEN
Turns out Jhett isn't the only cook in the family. Charlie's Dad gives him a run for his money.
You can head on over to my blog and read them now.
Music is one of those things that make my writing so much more personal and enjoyable to me. Each book and character has their own playlist, which you can check out on my Spotify. These songs are in order of the book, from start to finish, so if you’re feeling adventurous, you can try and pick the songs you think go with what scene.
PROMISE ME FOREVER
Some Kind of Beautiful (feat. Lindsey Stirling) - Tyler Ward
A Thousand Years - The Piano Guys
Stubborn Love The Lumineers
Need You Now (How Many Times) - Plumb
Fix You (feat. Tyler Ward) - Boyce Avenue
Kiss Me - Ed Sheeran
Say Something (feat. Christina Aguilera) - A Great Big World
Dance With Me Tonight - Olly Murs
Stand By Me - Ben E. King
Crazy Little Thing Called Love - Michael Bublé
Hold You In My Arms - Ray LaMontagne
Ho Hey - The Lumineers
Avondale (Acoustic) - Yellowcard
I Loved Her First - Heartland
My Little Girl – Tim McGraw
THEME: Come To Me - The Goo Goo Dolls
Paint Me In Your Sunshine - Marie Digby
Life Is Rosy - Jess Penner
Can't Help Falling In Love - Michael Bublé
House Of Gold - Twenty One Pilots
Daughter - Loudon Wainwright III
Gone, Gone, Gone - Phillip Phillips
Here we go again. This is the part where I get all mushy and sappy and long winded. It’s why I save it for the very, very end, because I tend to just go on forever. That’s the beauty of how I write books, though. It’s a labor of love and there are many people involved in the process.
First, I have to say thank you to my amazing readers. You have all waited patiently for this book to make its way into the world and when it finally did, it may not have been what you were expecting. But when I announced the change from novel to novella, many of you contacted me and said how thankful you were that I stayed true to my characters and to you guys. That touched me so much. You are all a part of my family, just like Jhett and Charlie are, and I could never do wrong by you guys. Thank you for the continued support and I can’t wait to see your reactions and hear your thoughts in the future!
As always, my wonderful mom – You are something else. Your eagerness in everything I write can’t be matched by anyone else. You keep my drive to follow my dreams going. I am so thankful to have a loving, caring, and supportive mom like you. Thank you for everything.
And to my husband, who puts up with my crazy self while I am knee deep in words and edits. Thank you for understanding and letting me chase my dreams.
To my Fierce 5 girls – Michele, Mindy, Starla, and Christy…You are my sisters from another mister. Words can’t describe how awesome it feels to have my best friends be so completely different from one another and yet, exactly the same. I’ve found something in you guys that I will take with me wherever I go – acceptance. I love that I can always have someone to count on at any hour of the day or night and also four ladies who know how insane I am, and yet still love me for me. Thank you for ALL of your help with this book and you stay classy, FF.
My fabulous Alpha, Melissa Panio-Petersen. What can be said about you? I’m pretty sure I somehow managed to force you into a corner and read all the words I’ve ever written, but you take it all in stride and I couldn’t be more thankful. I love that you get equally as excited over new ideas, storylines and my characters as I do. I know I’m SUPER lucky to have found you and if I haven’t said it enough I LOVE YOU. THANK YOU!
All of my super awesome beta’s – Kayla Hargaden, Karen McIntosh, Lauren Davis Peters, Tess Watson, Kathleen Davis- Muynila, and Megan Hornyak. You guys rocked it. I loved each and every one of your suggestions and comments and Promise Me Forever is a better book because of it. You all go above and beyond beta readers to me. You are always so supportive and full of laughs, and awesomeness when I need help with ideas. I cherish all of you. And you’re never allowed to leave because I got the most awesome group of beta’s EVER.
A big thank you to Megan Bracken-Bagley for taking the time to groom the final version with her eagle eyes. Your help is greatly appreciated! I hope you know that!
My darling editor, Stacy…Thank you for putting up with me even when you probably wanted to strangle me. I promise one of these books I won’t be such a stress cadet with crazy time lines. Okay, that’s probably a lie. But I am grateful you always are right there next to me with your super hero cape to save me.
And last but certainly not least. For all the wonderful bloggers who continue to show their support by posting, retweeting, and reviewing all my junk. YOU ROCK! You all deserve the highest of fives. Thank you so much for all your hard work. It doesn’t go unnoticed by me.
My husband and I live in Tennessee with our four dogs and when I’m not writing, I am working during the day in a pottery studio. I enjoy being outdoors and going fishing, camping, kayaking, swimming, and hiking. I also love to curl up any given night and just let a book suck me in. But that doesn’t mean that the next night I’m not all hopped up on Mountain Dew and watching The Vampire Diaries or YouTube while fangirling like a crazy person. I’m somewhat
of an introverted extrovert, you could say.
I am the creative child that refused to grow up. When I was a little girl, I would steal my mom’s tapes and make up my own dance routines to perform for my parents after dinner. I remember my brother and I used a handheld tape recorder and a tape player to create our own radio show skits.
My Uncle was the first one to introduce me to the wonderful world of Broadway, and after that I performed in a handful of plays and participated in choir from Elementary School until my junior year in High School. I guess I have been a storyteller of some sort since that first performance in my parent’s living room.
That love of stories stayed with me into college, and I ate up every English class I took. I would finish the required readings within days of receiving the assignments and bust out long-winded essays the night before they were due, but I didn’t care – I loved to read and write. A few years ago I started keeping track of the amount of pages I read during the year and then I began to blog. I started getting told that people enjoyed my blog and my writing and since I love to read, why not write my own book?
I laughed at them. I could never write my own book. But the more I thought about it, the more these characters started to appear, and pretty soon I wrote the first chapter, and then I hit 10,000 words, and when I finally decided to announce that I was actually writing my own book, I was blown away by the response. I still am to this day.
If I have learned anything throughout this whole experience, it is that being exactly who you are will get you right where you are supposed to be in life. Each day I am faced with challenges of many different kinds, but in the end, I get through it because I know I am strong enough to do it. Charlie may have discovered who she really was throughout Promise Me This, but I also did, too. I have never been happier now that I am pursing my dreams.
I love to hear from all of you. Always feel free to email me, Facebook me, tweet me, etc! I always try and respond back!
http://www.sarahashleyjones.com
http://www.facebook.com/authorsarahashleyjones
Twitter: @Sarahashjones
[email protected]
Stacy Sanford is passionate about the written word in all its inventive, descriptive glory, and is a grammartastic editing diva; dedicated solely to making authors sound fabulous, no matter what stage in their writing career they find themselves in. She is honest, not snarky, and maintains a professional working relationship with all she encounters. And she loves bacon. Stacy has worked with both Young Adult (YA) and New Adult (NA) novels, but is open to editing anything with words. Or bacon.
You can contact her at her blog
http://www.thegirlwiththeredpen.blogspot.com/
or through Twitter @GirlWithRedPen
You can find Sarah on her website and Facebook
http://www.okaycreations.com
&
http://www.Facebook.com/okaycreationsSH
Table of Contents
One
Two
Three
Four
Five
Six
Seven
Epilogue
The Lost Scenes
Playlist
Acknowledgements
About the Author
Promise Me Forever Page 8