we will never forget

After our world changed on September 11, 2001, New Yorkers made a promise.

We promised to never forget.

This post is my way of sharing the memories with you. I’ve written about my own 9.11 story. How my friend Stephen and I were supposed to be on the 110th floor observation deck of the South Tower on September 11, 2001. How we’ve returned to Ground Zero almost every year since then to celebrate being alive. Our photos and memories have been posted here over the years. Today, I’ve compiled them for anyone who might be interested.

9.11 Reflections, 2012 – Lights

9.11 Reflections, 2011 – 10 Years

9.11 Reflections, 2010 – We Will Never Forget

9.11 Reflections, 2008 – Dedication

9.11 Reflections, 2007 – 9.11

See them behind your eyes. Carry them in your heart. Keep that promise alive.

Our memories will never die.

sunglow

“A little bit of summer is what the whole year’s all about.” – John Mayer

As a former teacher, I will always be on an academic schedule. That’s just the way it is. Behaviors become ingrained. Rituals like shopping for back-to-school supplies remain a part of my life even though I’m no longer going back to school. Now that I’m a full-time author, the beginning of fall means the beginning of a new book. I started writing the first draft of my ninth book today. First drafts are the hardest part of the writing process for me. This time around is even harder.

The new book I’m writing is the first book of a trilogy, which you can read a bit about here. Writing a series is a new experience for me. I’m really excited to follow the adventures of these characters for three books. Especially their boy adventures. Of course there will be lots of intense boy adventures. I’m a romance writer. That’s how I do.

You may be wondering if I’m romantic in real life or if I just play a romantic on TV. I’m happy to report that I am very romantic. Most of the boy adventures I write about in my books were either inspired by my own experiences or are scenarios I wish I’d experienced for real. So you can imagine how happy I was when I met my BF/soul mate. He’s like a boy right out of my books. This photo of us taken last week on my roof even looks like it could be one of my book covers:

Can I just say that Jayd Jackson is the best photographer ever? Look how well she brings the soul mate connection to life. Jayd shot my last three book covers and is now my official photographer. Like searching for a soul mate, when you find what you’re looking for, you just know. You can check out Jayd’s gorgeous work on her website.

I love this photo for so many reasons. One is definitely the sunglow. I have synesthesia. Synesthesia is a neurological condition in which certain sensory pathways overlap or intersect. Some letters and numbers are strongly associated with specific colors to me. Days of the week all have specific colors too. Monday is red. Tuesday is yellow. Wednesday is blue. Those days have always been those colors for as long as I can remember. My friend Laila also has synesthesia. We used to argue in college about what color Wednesday is.

John Mayer has synesthesia. He sees music as colors. That’s what makes his musical sound so overwhelming. (Yeah, I just have to take a second here to say that John Mayer is still singing the soundtrack of my life. Dear Marie? Twelve years later and JM still knows my everything.) John Mayer would understand about the sunglow. My mind associates the sunglow with feelings of nostalgia, hope, and peace that are beyond words. Which is why I’m so happy to share this photo with you. It speaks for itself.

Capturing that moment with my BF/soul mate in the sunglow. That New York City summer moment up on the roof is what my whole year’s all about.