Kick It One More Time

Sebastian Porter is coasting through life when an accident brings his plans to a standstill. He returns to his hometown of Lake Caywood and is confronted with not only a painful recovery, but a painful past that has haunted him for years. Forced to navigate a complicated relationship with his father, Bas finds himself a stranger in his childhood home. With a future step-mother and step-sister living under the same roof, he wonders if Martha is merely another conquest for his father. As Martha helps Bas in his recovery, he thinks often of his own mama, who died when he was young.

Fearful that his parents’ history will dictate his actions, Bas questions whether or not he will make the same mistakes as his father… especially in regards to his childhood best friend, Lucy, whom he hurt many years ago.

Lucy wants nothing to do with Sebastian Porter. Having finally healed from that previous heartache, she has moved on from the boy who left her behind. She is happy with her new boyfriend, Chet, and the life she has made for herself in Lake Caywood. But when the magical maple tree in her yard signifies that Bas has returned, Lucy questions whether or not the scabbed-over wounds ever truly healed.

As Bas nurses his physical wounds, he finds that the emotional ones—both the ones he carries and the ones he made—hurt every bit as much.

The Story Behind the Story

I don't hide the fact that Sebastian Porter is my favorite character of all time... and when I say this, I mean OF ALL TIME.

He is my favorite character across all genres and authors and time periods. I. Love. Him. And he has been in my head since I was in the fourth grade, which is when my mom told me to make up a story in order to fall asleep one night.

Originally that story consisted of two characters named Kenny and Sierra. Kenny was Sebastian (I've since reallocated that name to his bandmate, Kenny Russo) and Sierra was Lucy (which is the weirdest thing ever because Sierra is not a name I'm especially fond of).

Back in the day, Bas was an angsty teenager living in Southern California and playing ska music. As I grew up, so did he, and now he's this guy who lives in my head and is with me 24/7. His name is still the first thing I think when I climb into bed at night, just as it is the first thing I think when I wake every morning. I'm always writing stories about him in my head -- playing with the language and creating key scenes that will later be used in a novel. Sometimes those novels are his books; other times, he merely makes a brief cameo.

It's unlikely that you will enjoy Bas as much as I do -- few people seem to find his moody and artistic tendencies as endearing as I -- but in the event that he does occupy a spot in your heart, just know that you are safe to love him because I have zero intentions of ever killing him off. I can't. Sebastian Porter is as much a part of me as my heart, and without him, I'd probably give up writing completely because what would be the point?