Finally Forever with Karin Beery

Behind the Scenes with Finally Forever by Karin Beery

Aunt Linda moved in with my husband and me in 2012. In her mid-sixties, she had lived in a care home for most of her adult life. As a special-needs woman, she moved into the home after her dad died and her mom’s Alzheimer’s made it impossible to care for Linda. The small, family-style care home treated Linda like family, but after several decades there, we wanted to give her a taste of life on the outside.

Living with Aunt Linda was eye opening in so many ways. Not only is she capable of so much more than people realize—her breakfasts and chef’s salads are amazing!—but she has a heart to serve. She doesn’t want people taking care of her unless she can also take care of others.

On top of that, she loves babies and animals. She’s passionate about Michigan/Detroit sports. And she’s a fan of reality game shows, specifically Survivor and Dancing with the Stars (DWTS).

I don’t have the patience for Survivor, but I decided to watch DWTS with her, at least for the first episode. That one episode turned into several seasons of the dance competition, which was more than a dance competition for us. It became a weekly ritual. We arranged our schedules around the show, picked out snacks, then cheered for our favorite teams.

When it was time to start a new novel, I wanted to share it with Linda in some way. That inspired so many real-life ties in Finally Forever: a DWTS-style fundraiser (based on SwingShift and the Stars Dance-Off for Charity in Traverse City, Michigan), a nonprofit that benefits special-needs adults (based on Brickways in Traverse City), and several special-needs characters (all inspired by either Aunt Linda or the other women she once lived with).

In 2014, Aunt Linda moved out to live with her sister for a while, but in 2024, after the release of the Linda-inspired novel Finally Forever, she moved back in with me, and we’re once again watching DWTS together. I’ll never be able to watch that show or read Finally Forever without thinking about Aunt Linda, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Back Cover:

Winning the dance competition could land Caroline her dream job but at the cost of her heart.

Former competitive dancer Caroline Novak dreams of leaving the corporate world to work with special needs women at the Pathways non-profit, but the organization can’t afford a full-time director. All-American defensive end Ben Allen was on his way to the NFL when a knee injury sent him home and into the same office as Caroline, his best friend’s older sister. When Pathways participates in a Dancing with the Stars-inspired fundraiser, Caroline quickly volunteers, and Ben joins her as the local “star.”
 
It doesn’t take long for Ben to realize it’s more than a dance competition, and Caroline is more than his best friend’s sister, but after two failed engagements, she’s hesitant to trust her heart with another man. When the NFL calls Ben, it looks like his dream might finally come true—but it could cost them the championship and Caroline her heart.

Author of hopeful fiction with a healthy dose of romance, Karin Beery lives in northern Michigan with her husband and pets. They drink too much (decaf) coffee, put up their Christmas tree the first weekend in November, and do their best to live every day for the Lord.

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https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/2666258-karin
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