Celebrate the release of Renewing Forever (This Time Forever #2) with author Kelly Jensen and Riptide Publishing with a playlist! Be sure to leave a comment to be entered in the super awesome giveaway of a $25 Riptide credit AND swag! Good luck!
Color My World—The Renewing Forever Playlist
Because Frank and Tom are close to my own age and there are a few scenes that revisit their childhood friendship, a few of the songs on this list are from my childhood and teenage years as well. As I packed those past scenes with memories of my own summers in Maryland, and experiences at school, I chose songs that resonated.
There are also a number of more modern numbers on the list—songs that put me in mind of Frank and Tom’s story.
“You’re Somebody Else,” Flora Cash
I heard this song for the first time just a few weeks ago and only as a snippet of music at first. That’s often how I catch most of the songs that become my favorites: a small measure of the melody, or a refrain that repeats often enough to break through the mental fuzz that often persists around my thoughts as I drive.
The second time I heard the song, I asked Google to identify it for me. Then forgot to check the result as life interceded, causing me to run somewhere and do something. The third time I heard the song, really heard it, I was determined to look it up. So I did—and sat there with tears rolling down my cheeks as I listened to not only to a melody that had become hauntingly familiar, but lyrics that could almost have been written for Frank and Tom’s story.
“You’re Somebody Else” is a beautiful song and it’s become the theme for Renewing Forever. (Though I think my book has a happier ending?)
“100 Years,” Five for Fighting
I love, love, love Five for Fighting, and this is one of my favorite songs. The first time I watched the video for this one, I cried. I know I seem to do that a lot, but even when I’m not thinking about my characters, I’m thinking about StuffTM and “100 Years” is the song for that. It’s about life and love. About living the years as they pass, and then remembering to look back. To me, it’s about not only living every moment, but remembering to honor all of them.
Kind of makes it the perfect song for two men who grew up together, broke apart, and never forgot the other, eh?
“The Boys of Summer,” Don Henley
I’m an Eagles fan, therefore I am a Don Henley fan—this album in particular. I owned it on cassette and played it so often I actually snapped the tape and had to buy a second copy. And of all the songs on this album, this was the one I loved best.
“The Boys of Summer” represented to me the summer of 1984, when I was sixteen and newly aware of the fact a boy might like to spend time with me. Listening to the lyrics all over again as I write this post, I can see how this song is also wonderfully suited to Frank and Tom. There sure are a lot of songs about love lost but never forgotten—it’s like an essential part of the human experience.
“Like a Stone,” Audioslave
Oh, Tom. Yes, this one is for him. The idea of him waiting for Frank to come back is indescribably sad, as is
the idea that he waited “like a stone.” But, in a way, that’s exactly what he does. On the surface, Tom’s life is a bit of a mess. It’s vibrant and full—he always has somewhere to go and something to do. Inside, however, he really hasn’t moved on from the loss of Frank. Add to that the fact he has dedicated the bulk of his life to caring for others, there isn’t a lot left for himself.
But, like a stone, Tom endures. He is patient and he does wait. He’s worn by circumstance by the time Frank comes back for him, but just as solid as he’ll ever be.
“Tongue Tied,” Grouplove
This is another one for Frank and Tom’s childhood. This is also another song that haunted my car radio until I looked it up, and when I did, I knew it was perfect for Frank and Tom as kids. Also, the video is really, really fun!
“Color My World,” Chicago
Perfect song is perfect, and this is Frank reflecting back on his friendship with Tom. I love the slow, soft refrain in the melody for Color My World for the feeling of patience it evokes.
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.
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.
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:
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:
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!
