A Girl From Forever
Yolanda McCarthy
(The Forever Institute, #1)
Publication date: September 3rd 2021
Genres: Dystopian, Romance, Science Fiction, Thriller, Young Adult
“Night is a predator, and it’s got me.”
A thrilling dystopian story of star-crossed love, perfect for fans of Eve of Man and The Hunger Games.
Do you know who you are? Do you know where you belong? Do you recognize good from evil? Seventeen-year-old Fern thought she understood it all…
“Yolanda McCarthy’s dystopian novel, A Girl From Forever, is a thrilling teen adventure that explores multiple what-if scenarios as a young woman follows a lengthy quest for answers. Told in the first-person narrative from Fern’s point of view, the reader will be instantly caught up in the turmoil that plagues the protagonist as she seeks answers. With considerable conflict, both physically and mentally, the plot moves forward with a driving force that will have the reader unable to put the book down… This is a powerful story that not only rivets the reader but speaks to them about issues all young people face: first love, betrayal, truth, and denial, and what’s really real is this complicated world in which we live.” – Readers’ Favorite 5* review
Psychics, immortals, and a battle over humanity’s destiny. First love. Betrayal. Abduction. Murder. When friends become enemies and terrorists turn into allies, Fern’s betrayer could be her soul mate – but that might not be enough to keep her alive…
Some lies are lethal.
Author Bio:
Yolanda grew up in London, where she worked as a lawyer, a supermarket assistant, a civil servant, and at a cat shelter. Not in that order. Her work took her to California, Serbia, and Dubai, but her fondest memories are of Bermuda. (She’s still homesick for Bermuda. Especially the pink sands of Elbow Beach…)
She now lives in Kent with her husband and son, where she writes all kinds of speculative fiction. Sometimes she climbs mountains.
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Guest Post
Best music list for writing?
I’m so easily distracted that I can’t listen to music when I’m writing. But I do need to play loud music before I sit down to write! Here’s my current playlist for getting fired up for writing…
Demons (Imagine Dragons). Every writer has to look their inner demons in the eye… Then coax them onto the page.
Uprising (Muse). Excellent for plotting the big showdown scene!
Human (Rag ‘n’ Bone Man). This song helps me get into my characters’ head space. All of them, even the villain, are just trying to find their way to what they think will make them happy. They’re only human and they make mistakes. Some are fixable, and some they get to live with… Or not. This song also reminds me that I can only do what I can do. Maybe the perfect story in my head won’t be quite so perfect by the time I get it on the page. Maybe not everyone will love it. I’m only human…
Riders on the Storm (The Doors). Because it sounds like Writers on the Storm. A little bit. No? Well it’s a great tune anyway.
White Lies (Mr Hudson). This song could have been written by one of my characters, Rehan! He’s not proud of what he’s done, but at the same time he passionately believes that it was the right thing to do and he refuses to apologise for it. Even when he should.
Looking too closely (Fink). This song is about the truth hurting, and that’s definitely something my main character, Fern, has to come to terms with.
I see red (Everybody loves an outlaw). When Fern has had a think about it all, this would be a good song for her to listen to!
Forever Young (my favourite version is by Youth Group). This is a song about the cold war, so on the face of it, not much to do with a scifi thriller, but several of my characters would emphasise with the lyrics – particularly my villians. And the yearning in it is beautiful.
And so it begins (Klergy). A good song to remind me to stop messing about with my phone playlist and start writing…
Any advice on mental health and writing?
I’m no expert on mental health, but I do know that pouring your inner thoughts onto the page is cathartic. It can be a way of processing difficult times, or stepping into a different world when we need a break from this one.
Sharing that writing with the world… This deserves more caution. It’s a profession that brings with it a whole lot of rejection and criticism, and that isn’t for everyone. I think my advice on ‘mental health and writing’ would be to write whatever you like as honestly as you can, then edit selectively until it’s something you’re happy to have ‘out there’ and remember that it doesn’t have to be published at all. Art doesn’t have to be looked at to be art.
I’d also suggest surrounding yourself with positive people. I don’t mean people who tell you that your writing is great (although that’s nice) but people who offer criticism constructively and have a ‘you can do it’ attitude to life. One of my favourite things about the writing community is that there are so many lovely people in it! I’ve been amazed and a little awed by the number of people giving up their time and resources for free to share their knowledge about writing and the publishing journey. I wasn’t a big fan of social media until I started trying to connect with other writers, when I was lucky enough to meet some fantastic people online. Without them I don’t think this book would be published yet.
So excited for this one! Love your interview!