Renewing Forever is the second of a series of standalone novels focused on older characters who think love has passed them by. Frank and Tom’s story is a true second chance romance, reuniting childhood friends and first loves separated by an argument and thirty years of misunderstanding. I hope you enjoy reading about their renewed friendship and their plans for forever.

Otters and Coyotes

It’s fun to compare my characters to animals, to pick the one that fits their personality the closest, and I plan to do it for all the main characters in my series This Time Forever. Previously, I decided Charlie would probably be a golden retriever—based on both his personality, and comments from others—and that Simon would be a jaguar. Or shy housecat. I think he’d prefer to be a jaguar, but you never know. Some folks are content with smaller, less flashy packages.

If Franklin Tern could pick an animal for himself, I can imagine him choosing something both rare and beautiful. It would also maybe be sleek and sensuously furred. The critically endangered Amur leopard would probably suit.

Unfortunately for Frank, however, Tom already chose a more suitable animal—a choice so perfect, it cannot be undone.

For someone who resembled an overdressed otter, Frank smelled pretty good. Like cedar and birch. He looked pretty good too. Age had sharpened his features, banishing the smiling boy with pink, freckled cheeks and riotous orange curls. This Frank—this older, wetter, not-smiling Frank—was taller, slimmer, serious and . . . really, really wet.

Yep, Frank is an otter. Otters are sleek! They’re very versatile creatures, and they have adorable faces. They also feature in the mythology of a lot of diverse cultures, which I really think would appeal to Frank’s journalistic instincts. There is a lot of material out there about the importance of otters from Viking sagas to Japanese folklore. Most interestingly, though, otters can be considered tricksters, which fits really well with the animal I chose for Tom.

Or the animal Tom hinted at for himself, in a rather oblique manner.

A flock of birds rose from the edge of the forest bordering the lawn. Tom sat up and squinted into the distance, wondering if he’d catch a rare glimpse of a coyote. He heard them sometimes, howling in the distance. They didn’t often wander out of the cover of the trees, though, and he didn’t know if any of them lived in this forest, or occasionally roamed down from the game lands.

I can’t think of a more apt comparison than: didn’t often wander out of the cover of the trees. Tom has been hiding away in the Poconos for so long, he’s almost as mythical as the fact we have coyotes living up here. Except we have more evidence of the coyotes.

Coyotes have a lot of significance in Native American folklore—often as a trickster—but also in many creation stories. I love this aspect, because despite his reticence to leave home, Tom is a creator. He’s one of the most nurturing characters I’ve written, a man who has so often sacrificed his own happiness for the needs of others. This doesn’t always work out for him, but he never stops trying.

He’s a builder, and it’s through his vision that Frank comes to believe that his inheritance might be more than a pile of rubble and broken memories.

I hope you enjoy meeting Frank and Tom, and I look forward to introducing you to my final couple, Brian and Mal, and the animals that I feel most closely represent their characters!

About Renewing Forever

A neglected resort, a lost chance at love, and one last chance to renew forever.

Frankie and Tommy once dreamed of traveling the world together. But when seventeen-year-old Frank kissed Tom, their plans ended with a punch to the jaw and Frank leaving town without looking back. Thirty years later, Frank’s successful career as a journalist is interrupted by his uncle’s death and the question of his inheritance—the family resort where his childhood dreams were built. When he returns to the Pocono Mountains, however, he finds a dilapidated lodge and Tommy, the boy he never forgot.

Tom’s been keeping the resort together with spit and glue while caring for Frank’s uncle, Robert—a man he considered father, mentor, and friend—and his aged mother, who he refuses to leave behind. Now Robert is gone, taking Tom’s job with him. And Frank is on the doorstep, wanting to know why Tom is still there and why the old lodge is falling apart.

But before they can rebuild the resort, they’ll have to rebuild their friendship. Only then can they renew the forever they planned all those years ago.

Now available from Riptide Publishing!

Amazon

About the This Time Forever Series

Small towns and second chances.

Simon, Frank, and Brian think love has passed them by. Each is facing down his fiftieth birthday—Simon in a few years, Frank next year, and Brian soon enough. Each has loved and lost. But for these men, everything old really is new again, and it’s only when they return to their roots that they’ll find their second chances and the happily ever after they’ve been waiting their whole lives for.

This time it’s forever.

This series includes:

1. Building Forever — releasing October 15, available now!
2. Renewing Forever — releasing November 12, available for preorder!
3. Chasing Forever — releasing December 10, available soon!

About Kelly Jensen

If aliens ever do land on Earth, Kelly will not be prepared, despite having read over a hundred stories about the apocalypse. Still, she will pack her precious books into a box and carry them with her as she strives to survive. It’s what bibliophiles do.

Kelly is the author of a number of novels, novellas, and short stories, including the Chaos Station series, cowritten with Jenn Burke. Some of what she writes is speculative in nature, but mostly it’s just about a guy losing his socks and/or burning dinner. Because life isn’t all conquering aliens and mountain peaks. Sometimes finding a happy ever after is all the adventure we need.

Connect with Kelly:

• Website: kellyjensenwrites.com
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/kellyjensenwrites/
• Twitter: twitter.com/kmkjensen
• Tumblr: kmkjensen.tumblr.com/
• Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/kmkjensen/
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/kellyjensenwrites/

To celebrate the release of Renewing Forever one lucky person will win a $25 Riptide Publishing gift card and a swag pack of stickers, art cards, and bookmarks! Leave a comment with your contact info to enter the contest. Entries close at midnight, Eastern time, on November 17, 2018. Contest is NOT restricted to U.S. entries. Thanks for following along, and don’t forget to leave your contact info!