I’d have to say my favorite part is the diversity. The main characters are from different cultures and backgrounds—Melissa being white American and Javier being a Cuban immigrant. I also love the setting of the book. Orlando, FL is such a beautifully diverse city.
What was your inspiration for writing AFTER US (THE BEFORE AND AFTER SERIES)?
Well, I’m a huge supporter of diversity and I loved the idea of two different cultures combining. I also wanted to introduce a girl, Melissa, who has to find a way to overcome her scars, and a guy, Javier, who struggles with overcoming his own demons.
What do you hope readers will take away from AFTER US (THE BEFORE AND AFTER SERIES)?
I’d love for readers to take away the message of hope, the strongest of all things.
What’s your writing ritual like? Do you listen to music? Work at home or at a coffee shop or the library, etc?
I love music, but I usually don’t listen to it while I write. I find that I need complete quiet to allow my characters the strongest voice. So for that reason, I write at home, in solitude. Usually not at a desk, but instead somewhere comfy like the couch or my favorite chair, propping my laptop on a pillow, holding copious amounts of chocolate. But in this case, there’s a part in AFTER US where I did listen to music and it goes with the theme in that chapter.
Ideally, I’d write about 2,000 words a day. Unfortunately, life doesn’t always let me.
What advice would you most like to pass along to other writers?
Aspiring writers, I’d encourage you to write and write and write. It might be through an ocean of tears and frustration and hardship, because lets face it, words are difficult to capture. You struggle them into sentences that sometimes work out and sometimes are taken away by the delete button. But in any case, write anyway. I don’t know a single author who hasn’t walked the trail of “what if” and “is this story good enough.” Write anyway. It’s the only way. I hope to one day read your words, too.
What are you working on now?
I’m currently writing book 3 of the Before & After series, titled MAYBE ME. It follows Javier’s sister Maria, and a new guy named Hale. Keep an eye out for it in 2015! If you’d like to hear more, you can visit me on social media. Meet you there?
ABOUT THE BOOK
After Us
by Amber Hart
Paperback
K-Teen
Released 12/30/2014
Sometimes secrets kill. Maybe slowly, maybe painfully. Maybe all at once.
Melissa smiles. She flirts. She jokes. But she never shows her scars. Eight months after tragedy ripped her from her closest friend, Melissa is broken. Plagued by grief, rage, and the painful memory of a single forbidden kiss.
Javier has scars of his own. Life in the States was supposed to be a new beginning, but a boy obsessed by vengeance has no time for the American dream. To honor his familia, Javier joins the gang who set up his cousin, Diego. The entrance price is blood. Death is the only escape.
Two broken souls could make each other whole again—or be shattered forever.
Our time will come. And we’ll be ready.
Purchase After Us at Amazon
Purchase After Us at IndieBound
View After Us on Goodreads
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Amber Hart grew up in Orlando, Florida and Atlanta, Georgia. She now resides on the Florida coastline with family. When unable to find a book, she can be found writing, daydreaming, or with her toes in the sand. She’s the author of BEFORE YOU, AFTER US, UNTIL YOU FIND ME, and sequel to UNTIL YOU FIND ME (untitled as of yet). Represented by Beth Miller of Writers House. 
