A warm welcome to author Tere Michaels joining us today here at Love Bytes to talk about her new release “Forever & Ever: A Collection of Stories”.
Welcome Tere 🙂
Thank you so much for having me! I appreciate all your support over the past few years, and for hosting me with my new book, “Forever & Ever: A Collection of Stories.”
“Forever & Ever: A Collection of Stories” has been a wonderfully bittersweet experience. After ten years of writing these amazing characters, sending them into their Happiest of All Happily Ever Afters with these glimpses into their future felt like the perfect ending.
After “Truth & Tenderness,” I honestly thought the story was through. I felt like Matt and Evan’s big secret (their engagement, and implication of marriage), and Griffin and Jim’s baby, the celebration of their wedding – that was the ideal send-off. We’re all happy, right?
But then all this stuff starting coming into my mind! These characters kept dropping in to make suggestions about what they were up to. Kids grow up, right? How were Matt and Evan going to react to it? Weddings. Babies. The future. I knew I didn’t have a huge book for it, but that didn’t mean we couldn’t visit, right?
And of course, everyone wanted to “see” Matt and Evan get married! I wrote a few little stories for my newsletter and that made it even worst.
It was almost like baby lust!
I wrote a long story set around Christmas, for my newsletter. That was the catalyst. I knew I wanted to write the guys as grandfathers, because of all the emotional stuff that would bring up, and the stories started piling up.
“Forever & Ever” is ultimately a love letter to my readers, and my characters. By being able to dabble in their future, with these stories, I gave them all satisfaction in their lives. I mean – everyone loves weddings and babies but ultimately they’re really a symbol of our desire to know the characters we love are happy. And living wonderful lives beyond “the end.”
One thing I didn’t want to do was put anyone’s relationship in peril! The thought of it made me woozy with sadness!
So, none of that!
Just love and friendship and sarcasm and tears and ridiculous people loving each other through think and thin. I hope everyone enjoys this loving goodbye to Matt, Evan, Jim, Griffin and their cast of thousands. Thanks for this decade of Faith, Love & Devotion, and here’s to the next ten years and new worlds!
Enjoy this little taste of “Forever & Ever: A Collection of Stories.”
Evan drove down the narrow streets surrounding the courthouse, searching for a spot. He’d hoped coming later in the day, at the end of the court’s business hours, would afford him something a bit closer, but finally, in desperation, he squeezed the car into a space near the end of the park—which meant a bit of a hike to where Matt waited.
He’d changed into his best suit in a McDonald’s bathroom before leaving the city, a flurry of nerves and excitement. Everything seemed to be falling into place, a phenomenon Evan wasn’t intimately acquainted with as he walked past throngs of schoolchildren and mothers with baby carriages and old men playing chess. Every step, every clack of his dress shoes on the pavement, brought him closer to Matt and this dip into… un-Evan-like behavior.
His palms began to sweat.
Fumbling, Evan got his phone out to text Matt.
Where are you?
Look for the giant wedding mall on the corner.
What?
You cannot miss it. Believe me.
A few more blocks and Evan spotted Matt pacing in front of a newsstand, except as he got closer, he realized what Matt meant. A woman tried on a veil as someone he presumed to be her mother held an ornate picture frames in each hand as if trying to decide between them.
Matt spotted him when he reached the other side of the street; Evan waved nervously as he waited for the light to change.
“Hey,” he said as he jogged over to Matt’s side, heart fluttering. “Wow, you look great.”
Matt’s best suit—the navy rich client suit, the one Bennett and Daisy had given him two Christmases ago—fit him perfectly, so much so that Evan gave him a lingering once-over.
“You always give me that look when I wear this,” Matt said delightedly. He waved two small plastic containers under Evan’s nose. “Here, have a rose.”
“Oh.” Evan hadn’t thought of flowers, but the little white rose, already halfway to wilted, made him smile. “Perfect.”
“You ready to do this?” Matt handed him one container, then opened the one he kept. When he moved to pin it on Evan, Evan got lightheaded with what felt strangely like lust.
“Huh?”
Matt fussed with the giant pin and Evan’s lapel. “Are you ready to get hitched? And why is this so hard? I did this for prom, why can’t I remember?”
Evan tried not to flinch when Matt stuck him. “Prom for you was like, forty-seven years ago,” he said.
Indignant, Matt stuck him again, this time clearly on purpose.
“Yes, by the way. I’m ready to get married,” Evan said finally. Matt grinned as he managed to attach the rose to Evan’s jacket.
“Excellent. Because I’m really looking forward to the honeymoon.”
Evan returned the favor, attaching the boutonnière onto Matt’s jacket. And maybe he copped a feel of the chest beneath that fancy blue suit.
“You are quite the randy groom,” Matt muttered, leaning over to smack a quick kiss on Evan’s lips.
“Who knew?” Evan cleared his throat as Matt walked over to drop the empty plastic containers into the garbage can on the corner. He felt a little drunk as he stared at Matt, his brain shorting out.
Mine.
![Forever & Ever - A Collection of Stories (Faith, Love & Devotion Book 7) by [Michaels, Tere]](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51Z1tQYMNDL.jpg)
Blurb:
A Faith, Love, & Devotion Anthology
What happens after the story ends?
Join Matt, Evan, Jim, Griffin, and their friends and families for a glimpse of what happens after happily ever after. Between growing up and growing pains, weddings and retirement, changing careers and changing diapers, life is never boring. Changes, decisions, tears, and joy await as the years march on.
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Tere Michaels unofficially began her writing career at the age of four when she learned – via a Disney magazine subscription – that people got paid to write stories. It seemed the most perfect and logical job in the world and after that, her path was never in question.
Tere’s specialties are snark, angst, and happily ever afters. And not so happily ever afters that eventually work out because she is, after all, a romantic – tempered with realism. She has written fifteen books including her popular Faith, Love & Devotion series and the superhero saga The Vigilante.
Nothing makes her happier than knowing she made a reader laugh or smile or cry. It’s the purpose of sharing her work with people. She loves hearing from fans and fellow writers and is always available for speaking engagements, visits, and workshops. Send her a message through her contact page or connect with her on Twitter(@TereMichaels) and Facebook .