The Possibilities of Amy by Jaye Frances.
Audience/Genre : (Mature) Young Adult/Contemporary Romance.
Publication : March 17th 2012 (Self-Published).

Amy is the ultimate trophy girl—gorgeous face, killer body, and a vivacious personality. But there’s something else about her, something that makes her even more special. Amy is new. A transfer student from out of state, she’s starting her senior year without knowing a soul. And that means she’s up for grabs, available.

Infatuated from the moment he sees her, David is determined to meet Amy, and if the fates are willing, to spend the rest of his life with her. But his shyness prevents him from approaching her—until his friends devise a contest to determine who will be the first to prove their manhood by seducing her.

I'm happy to have Jaye Frances for the first time at the blog today. Her new novel, Possibilities of Amy, is out on Amazon and she's giving away a digital copy of her book today :) Make sure you scroll down and enter!

Thank you, Anjana, for hosting me today on Kindle and Me with my coming-of-age romance novella, The Possibilities of Amy.

I’m often asked why I write from the male point of view. While the reasons (and the motivation) varies, it was an easy choice to make when I began to develop The Possibilities of Amy. The story was inspired from a very personal experience, one that gave me an interesting perspective on those socially awkward and emotionally-charged years I spent in high school.

During a recent high school reunion, I was approached by a long-forgotten classmate, and even though he seemed familiar, I just couldn’t place him. After a few awkward moments of me asking about which classes we had shared and who some of our mutual friends were, I finally had to admit it—I didn’t remember him.

“That’s okay,” he said. “It’s my fault for not wearing my nametag.”

I felt terrible. He had called me by name, asking me about old boyfriends, reminding me of the pink taffeta dress that was drenched with Coke during a Friday night dance in the cafeteria, and during our junior year, the Saturday afternoon he’d sat behind me in the theater to watch “The Way We Were.” Our conversation quickly moved on to more current topics until it became obvious we’d exhausted both memory and common interests.

And then he said it: “You know, I had a huge crush on you all through high school. I spent more nights than I can remember dialing all the digits of your phone number, except the last one. I was just too shy to ask you out. So I kept hoping we’d bump into each other in the hallway and strike up a conversation, or we’d wind up sitting together in one of those break-out discussions we used to have in English class. But it never happened. And even years later, I still wondered what my life would have been like, if I’d only had a little more courage.”

On the way home, it was all I could think about—how he must have felt, keeping his feelings a secret, especially from me, who had spent more than her share of Saturday nights in front of the TV set, wondering why my friends always seemed to have dates, and I didn’t.

The experience became my inspiration for “Amy, ” written from the perspective of a shy and insecure high school senior guy, who falls for a girl in his English class—a girl who doesn’t even know he’s alive.

Excerpt.

I thought about Pete, at home in his room, getting ready for his date with Amy, going to his dresser to check his supply of condoms, opening his wallet and slipping a fresh one inside.

I quickly closed the book I had been pretending to read, grabbed the rest of my things and stepped through the forward door and out into the hallway. I made a quick right and walked toward the classroom’s rear door—the one Amy usually used. If I timed it perfectly, I would be able to “accidentally” bump into her, and after a quick apology, I could unleash my rehearsed small-talk.

The hallway was choked with bodies, all moving at the same sedentary pace. What if I’d already missed her? I maneuvered toward the middle, looking for her blonde hair.

Someone tugged on my shirtsleeve. I brushed it off, not wanting to take the time to turn around.

“Hey, what’s your hurry?”

She sounded familiar, like . . . Amy. For a brief moment, I wondered if my imagination—my desperate need to talk to her—was leading me to color someone else’s voice with expectation.

“Wait up a sec.”

This time I was sure. I stopped and turned around. Amy was standing so close—almost touching—that I started to back away. I caught myself and held my ground, hoping she didn’t notice.

I raced through my inventory of words and phrases, attempting to recall what I had memorized, desperate to get them in order. “I didn’t know you were behind me.” It was the best I could do. I half-expected her to roll her eyes and walk away.

“I don’t want to make you late for your next class,” she began. “I just wanted you to know I liked what you said.” She let a single fingertip find my arm and I felt a rush of air expand my chest. “It made a lot of sense,” she added. “Especially when it’s so hard to understand anything that goes on in that class.”

“I should have introduced myself earlier. I’m Dave.”

She nodded. “Amy.”

I have to say something clever and interesting. I have to ask questions, about where she used to live. I should ask her if she likes it here. No, that’s wrong. Backwards. She’s talking specifics—about the discussion we had in class.

“I hope I don’t disappoint you, but I’m not really into Shakespeare.” Why the hell did I say that? I sound like I’m not interested, like I’m trying to blow her off. I smiled nervously and shrugged. “In fact, today’s probably the first time I’ve ever thought about it. And . . . ” I held the pause intentionally, to sound sincere, “I think it’s because you asked.”

She smiled and leaned forward, then retreated, as we both realized our bodies had briefly touched. My breathing quickened into shallow drafts.

“I just thought it was unusual,” she said, “mature really, to consider a relationship in that way.”

“You caught me on a good day. Normally, I don’t have much to say.” It came out too fast and sounded a little forced.

“I’ve only been here for a couple of weeks, and—”

She stopped, distracted by someone tapping her on the shoulder. She turned to speak to him, and the change on my face had to be obvious—like a brilliantly lit Christmas tree turning cold and dark with the flip of a switch.

He was dragging out their conversation, not letting her go. I stood there like a stray dog, waiting for them to finish, painfully aware of the passing time—of every second lost—while her attention was focused on someone else.

Giveaway Terms and Conditions :

• Giveaway is International.
  
• Prize is an e-book copy of the book.
  
• Author/Publisher's responsible to ensure that the winner gets the book.
  
• Giveaway ends on September 1st, 2012.

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Jaye Frances is the author of the paranormal-occult romance "The Kure", the first novel in "The Kure" series, "The Possibilities of Amy," a New-Adult/Mature YA coming-of-age story about a high school senior forced to choose between alignment with his peer group and protecting his new love interest, "The Cruise - All That Glitters," a satire on romance with an edgy, humorous take about a single man taking his first cruise, hoping for a shipboard romance - or his version of it, and "The Beach," a sci-fi fantasy about a man who has the opportunity to be granted a wish, and is horrified when he lives to see it come true.

Jaye is also a featured columnist for the NUSA SUN magazine. Born in the Midwest, Jaye readily admits that her life's destination has been the result of an open mind and a curiosity about all things irreverent. When not consumed by her writing, she enjoys cooking, traveling to all places tropical and "beachy", and taking pictures-lots of pictures-many of which wind up on her website.

She currently lives on the central gulf coast of Florida with her husband, sharing their home with six computers, four cameras, and several hundred pairs of shoes.

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