Jeremy Anderson has lived this day before. And the one after it. And the one after that. For twenty-five lifetimes, he has mastered the patterns, manipulated the outcomes, and outplayed everyone around him. Now, the cycle feels less like a game and more like a cage. He is not looking for meaning anymore. He is not looking for anyone. But when an unexpected friendship and a new connection begin to pull him off script, Jeremy is forced to question everything he thought he wanted and everything he has spent lifetimes trying to control. I Never Knew I Needed You is a heartfelt coming-of-age novel about timing, memory, and discovering that getting it right is not about the perfect plan. It is about the moments and the people we choose to let in. When I was in my twenties, I wanted to be a writer; I wanted to make movies, and I wanted to tell stories. Sometimes, I did, just never to anyone outside my close circle, and more often than not, I kept a lot of my imagination inside my head. I used to tell myself that someday I'd have something, anything, published, official...real. Those of you who know me know that I can be, well, a bit of a talker... the problem is that my brain works faster than my mouth does, and often, the words can come out a mess. I needed to rein it in, focus, and tell the story that I had been banging around in my head for far too long. My problem was I didn't know how. I had so many incomplete, half-baked tales that seemed way bigger than my ability. I struggled find a writing style and voice that matched my gift of gab. So, I quit. After I gave up writing, my mind continued to race around the world that I wanted to create and the characters living in it. I couldn't shake them. I had to suck it up and figure out a way to unleash the storyteller within my heart. One of the best things about having a teenager is revisiting some of the old movies and TV shows from my youth. When Lauren became obsessed with The Outsiders after spending a summer living in The Eras tour universe with James, Betty, and Inez, it hit me. I love the cheesy and cliché, romantic coming-of-age stories from my youth; truth be told, I haven't found something that hit the same notes that I loved. This would be my style, with a twist. So, I stopped fantasizing about someday being an artist and put away the "I'll do it later" mantra I had lived with for the last two decades and over the course of many late autumn nights watching Pac-12 football; I finally created something that a younger Andy would enjoy. I think you will too. As a new voice among Generation X storytellers, Andy LaPlante captures the imagination with his vivid storytelling and fresh outlook. His journey through New England - from the coastal charm of Cape Cod to the suburban landscapes of Western Massachusetts, culminating in Northern Connecticut - has been a path of relentless self-discovery and transformation. Evolving from an avid consumer of stories in all forms, including books, TV, and movies, to a passionate writer, driven by a desire to bring to life the classic narratives he finds missing in today's literary world. In his debut novel, "I Never Knew I Needed You," set against the nostalgic backdrop of the 1990s, Andy rejuvenates the coming-of-age story as the book introduces readers to a protagonist who is unexpectedly thrust back into his youth, where he must navigate through the complexities and unresolved moments he had left behind. This novel approach to the journey toward adulthood underscores LaPlante's commitment to delving into life's intricacies and its inherent unpredictability. His writing pulls from many different places, mixing the wild ideas of science fiction with the real, down-to-earth stories we see in everyday life. This mix makes his writing rich and full of surprises, reflecting the wide range of stories that have caught his eye over the years. He writes with the hope of bringing readers into the worlds he creates, sharing stories as deep and varied as the ones that have inspired him. He believes in the magic of storytelling to shine a light on the many sides of being human