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Amy Matayo | A Story of Her Heart Inspired by an Abandoned House
I write contemporary romances. To be exact, I write lighthearted contemporary
romances with a humorous edge. Yes, thereโs always a serious thread tucked
inside my plot, but most readers know me for my humor and sarcasm. But about a
year-and-a-half ago I had this image that wouldnโt escape me. I kept picturing
these kidsโa younger boy, a slightly older girlโliving in this abandoned house I
remembered from my years growing up on the Arkansas/Oklahoma border.
About halfway between the Arkansas border and Tulsa, there is this house on the
south side of the highway. Itโs a beautiful house...now. But when I was younger
it sat empty and unfinished, staying that way for a decade, maybe two. Unused
rusty cranes and bulldozers flanked each side and became covered in cobwebs.
Mounds of fresh dirt slowly sprouted weeds...eventually trees. Even though the
house had the potential to be gorgeous, everything about it used to scare me.
Every time we drove pastโwhich generally averaged to be two or three times a
yearโI would stare at it. Hold my breath. Think up creepy little scenarios about
what might be occurring in that gigantic, deteriorating house. I never forgot
those stories.
And so I kept picturing these kids living inside this house. And the strange
part was that I went to bed one night thinking about nothing out of the ordinary
and then woke up the next morning with the image of these broken, homeless kids
who just wanted to be loved and understood by someone. Maybe I dreamed about
them, maybe I didnโt. But they were there and they werenโt leaving. Not that day
or the next or the rest of the month.
I told my agent about that image and explained the plot in detail. She told me I
was crazy for veering away from the norm, but then she told me to write it
anyway. So I did.
THE END OF THE WORLD was
born from that image and set inside that house. Itโs the story of two broken and
abandoned foster kids that no one seems to wantโnot relatives, not neighbors,
not friends, not anyone. But then they find each other, and in each other they
find their personโthat one person that understands you and wants you and loves
you no matter what you mightโve done in your past or what you still may face in
your future. We would all be so lucky to find that one person, we would all be
so lucky to be that accepted. But more than that, this is the story of what
happens when nothingโnot circumstance or background or mistreatment or
misfortuneโcan prevent you from knowing that you are loved. That you can
overcome. That life may hand you a giant deck of very heavy cards, but it
doesnโt mean youโre stuck holding onto them. And it certainly doesnโt mean that
you canโt throw them on the ground, stomp on them, and walk away free.
THE END OF THE WORLD
isnโt lighthearted or even all that funny, but it is romantic. And itโs the
story of my heart...the one I needed to tell.
Giveaway
What is a dream you've had about a place? Would it be light-hearted? Or do you
think up stories about the people or events that may have transpired at the
place? We're giving away a copy of THE END OF THE WORLD and a
$10.00 Starbucks card. So tell us below.
Author Amy Matayo is an excellent speaker, mathematician, seamstress,
chef...and liar. She's decent at writing books but not much else. Then again,
the book thing makes her marginally cool and a whole lot intimidating.
Not really. Not even her kids are afraid of her.
She graduated with barely passing grades from John Brown University with a
degree in Journalism. But she's proud of that degree and all the ways she hasn't
put it to good use.
She laughs often, cries easily, feels deeply, and loves hard. She lives in
Arkansas with her husband and four kids and is working on her next novel.
A desperate boy. A damaged girl. And a dark house filled with
secrets. For Cameron Tate, being shuffled from foster home to foster home
is just a normal way of life. Until the year he turns fourteen. Thatโs when heโs
sent to the home of seventeen-year-old Shaye McCormickโa fellow foster kid
counting the days until sheโs released from the system. For good reason.
It doesnโt take long for Cameron to learn that Shaye is shackled to the worst
kind of pain...living in a home where nothing seems right. And now heโs joined
her with no way out. Their only refuge is a lake, a quiet spot at the edge of
the property where they can sit together for a few moments at the end of each
day. Alone with their thoughts. Away from prying eyes. At the lake they
become friends. At the lake they begin to talk. At the lake Cameron vows that no
matter how deep their secrets are buried, heโll make it his mission to heal
Shaye from a past that makes living in the present nearly impossible. Even if it
takes until the end of time to do it.
Comments
23 comments posted.
Re: Amy Matayo | A Story of Her Heart Inspired by an Abandoned House
I do dream off places but they a l ways take a sinister cast
:(
(Kathleen Bylsma 6:35pm February 19, 2016)
I do sometimes wonder about all the life stories that might have played out in the beach house we rent.
(Pam Howell 6:55am February 20, 2016)
I enjoy dreaming about places that I have traveled to and
about my place of birth since it shaped me for so many years
and was influential and important.
(Sharon Berger 11:44am February 20, 2016)
I often have dreams about places I have never been to until later in times, like the house I dream about that I later found and bought.
(Kai Wong 10:06pm February 20, 2016)
I dreamed of a house on a lake I had never visited. It was a beautiful
summer day and everything was bright and cheerful - until I went inside.
Then it was dark and frightening. I later went to that same lake by some
fluke of the universe. The house exists.
(Susan War 12:50pm February 21, 2016)
When I was young I had dreams of visiting a castle. I would walk around
and explore the entire structure. It was very old and magical. About twenty
years ago I was able to go to Scotland and took a side trip to Edinburgh.
Well there was my castle.
(Pat Freely 1:52pm February 21, 2016)
I always dream of being in a remote his in the mountains with someone I love.
(Debbie Northcutt 8:58pm February 21, 2016)
I always dream of being away on a nice and peaceful beach with a super hot
date!
(Lily Shah 11:29am February 22, 2016)
I dream about the barns and outbuildings on the farm where
I grew up. We spent more time playing in and around them
than in the yard at our house! My sister and I had grand
adventures inventing stories as we played out there!
(Marguerite Guinn 12:06pm February 22, 2016)
I dream about Montana where I spent many summers as a child.
(Donna Graham 2:46pm February 22, 2016)
I dream about going to Munich.Were I was born
(Linda Hall 2:53pm February 22, 2016)
I dream about Hawaii and the wonderful time I had visiting the islands.
(Bonnie H 10:10am February 23, 2016)
I've had several dreams of this same cottage .It's a small white house with a white fence leading up to it on this winding narrow road . It's a beautiful place with big trees and flowers all around it hidden out in the country somewhere . It's so peaceful there . If I ever find this place it will be hard to leave it . I know it's trying to tell me something .
(Joan Thrasher 11:32am February 23, 2016)
i used to dream about going to rome and Athens to see all the ancient sites.
(Angela Parrish 11:38am February 23, 2016)
I often dream about all the places I want to visit. I think
in a way this keeps me sane, by allowing me to realize that
these dreams can happen, whether real or not, and that I
always have a chance to make these dreams become a reality
if I work hard enough.
(Lauren James 1:56pm February 23, 2016)
I dream about places I would love to visit.
(Jean Benedict 3:31pm February 23, 2016)
In the small mining town where my grandmas lived when I
was a child, there was a three story brick schoolhouse
with ivy growing and weaving itself along every surface.
It was once a beautiful school, but had been unused for
years and, therefore, became kind of creepy. When I
read, I will often and when appropriate picture this
school. It was eventually remodeled on the inside and
restored as an elementary school. So this building has
the potential to be many things in my imagination.
(Terrill Rosado 2:26am February 24, 2016)
I was in a foster home and my dream was to have a home of
my own and to have a family. Well it didn't go as
smoothly as I dreamed but after a few rough patches I do
have a home and do have 2 children and 4 step children
but never dreamed I would end up at the age of 48 in
Iowa. My kids are in their 30's and living in Ca and I am
their go to person when they have problems and that is
what I have wanted to be for them.
(Peggy Clayton 12:28pm February 24, 2016)
Geez woman! Your post had me on the verge of tears and now I can't wait
to read this book. I was in similar situations, lived in shelters, etc as kid and
so books with these types of character always call to me.
I've always dreamed of having a home and loving family of my own💗 and
look forward to the day I find my person and he finds me:)
But as far as actual dreams go I have had a few just like yours, about
places that take on their own lives in my imagination and thoughts. One
was about an old fashioned two story house. I've never lived in a two story
house where I had siblings that in waking life don't exist lol!
(Bella Franco 6:00pm February 24, 2016)
When I would go to castles in Scotland and Ireland I would
always dream about what the times were like and how they lived
back in those days usually not light hearted as it seemed as
though it would have been a hard life even for royalty.
(Denise Austin 6:41pm February 24, 2016)
When I dream of places it's usually somewhere I've been to before, but most of the time in my dreams it's with people I don't know
(Kathleen Bledsoe 6:45pm February 24, 2016)
I had a dream about flying in the sky and I end up back home.
(Deb Pelletier 9:51pm February 24, 2016)
I believe every house has a story. It lives in
a different way.. I truly think every emotional
event that happens to you realises a piece of
your soul into the house. And when you see a
house for the first time if the house has only
sadness,or happiness you can see it!
(Bonny Bordeleau 2:06am March 28, 2016)
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