SURRENDER THE PAST

Write What You Know (God’s Calling You to Write)

By Julie Arduini

            When I first visited the Adirondack village of Speculator, New York in 1994, I immediately imagined a cast full of characters and a story I thought would be fun to write. I made the heroine a young woman who worked at a senior center because at the time, I was a recent college grad working at---yep---a senior center.

            Fast forward many years and I’m not only married, but I have young children. The call to write is coming back, and I pick up that little Adirondack story. As I took classes and read books, it took many drafts, but that “what if” moment I had in Speculator eventually became ENTRUSTED. It was a “safe” book to write because so much of the heroine was me.

            Then came ENTANGLED.

            I never thought about writing past that one book. When I started seriously writing, I knew series sold better. I batted around ideas in my head, but nothing much materialized. As I wrote flash fiction pieces, ideas began to form, but I saw them more for the last book in a series, not the second. I was revising ENTRUSTED for publication and struggling with the ending. Through prayer, an idea came that neatly tied all the loose ends and gave way to the heroine and her story for book two.

            The problem was, Carla Rowling isn’t anything like me. She’s spent her adult life in Speculator Falls as the sheriff and a single mom. In ENTANGLED, she’s able to start cosmetology school. She is emotionally guarded, and although I can relate to that, the reasons why are different. Mine comes from trust issues. Carla? She can’t forgive herself for her past.

            ENTANGLED was a hard story to write. In part I believe it was a struggle because I wasn’t “writing what I know,” advice I was given as a beginner writer. Carla’s story forced me to dive deep and develop a character I couldn’t relate to. I had to do a lot of research about cosmetology. All of these things were aspects I never envisioned.

            Now that the book is out, I’m receiving reader feedback that they can relate to Carla because they are struggling with guilt and regret. Her story is helping them surrender those things and find freedom in Christ. It is enhancing their own relationships. Had I stuck with what I knew, I never would have this example to share.

            If you’re an author, do you stick with what you know, or do you branch out?

            If you’re a reader, do you like when authors develop characters much like themselves, or characters that are completely from the imagination?

Please leave a comment! We'd love to hear from you.

Entangled: Surrendering the Past

Book #2, Surrendering Time Series

Julie Arduini

“You need to leave me alone. It’s the least you can do.”

Carla Rowling has been given her dream of attending cosmetology school. The gift is so generous she feels unworthy because of choices she made as a teen. The pressure mounts as Carla juggles school, is a single mom, helps her best friend Jenna plan her wedding, spends time with boyfriend Will Marshall, and deals with the fact that her son's father is back in their lives.

Will Marshall is the one Speculator Falls resident everyone can count on. His truck deliveries are reliable. He's the first to help friends like Ben Regan with boat work or be a card partner with Bart Davis. Will's ready to settle down with Carla, loving her is natural. He's bonded with her son, Noah. But when Carla starts cosmetology school, she puts emotional distance between her and Will.

Can Carla release her past and create a future full of highlights, or, will she burn her options worse than a bad perm?

Purchase Link:

Amazon (Kindle and Print):  http://www.amazon.com/Entangled-Surrendering-Past-Time/dp/0692713476/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1464881433&sr=1-1&keywords=julie+arduini

Entangled is book #2. Although it can standalone, if you’d like to read Entrusted: Surrendering the Present first, click here: http://www.amazon.com/Entrusted-Surrendering-Present-Time/dp/0692709177?ie=UTF8&qid=&ref_=tmm_pap_swatch_0&sr=

MEET JULIE

Julie Arduini loves to encourage readers to surrender the good, the bad, and ---maybe one day---the chocolate. She’s the author of the  re-release, ENTRUSTED: Surrendering the Present, as well as the sequel, ENTANGLED: Surrendering the Past. She also shared her story in the infertility devotional, A WALK IN THE VALLEY. She blogs every other Wednesday for Christians Read. She resides in Ohio with her husband and two children. Learn more by visiting her at http://juliearduini.com, where she invites readers to subscribe to her monthly newsletter full of resources and giveaway opportunities at JULIE ARDUINI: SURRENDER ISSUES AND CHOCOLATE and the weekly e mail. SUNDAY’S SURRENDER AND CHOCOLATE.

Facebook: http://facebook.com/JulieArduini

Twitter: http://twitter.com/JulieArduini

G+: https://plus.google.com/u/0/+JulieArduini/posts

Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/JulieArduini

Instagram: http://instagram.com/JulieArduini

Snapchat: @juliearduini

Goodreads: http://goodreads.com/JulieArduini

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Julie-Arduini/e/B00PBKDRSQ/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1427852247&sr=8-1

Monthly Newsletter: http://eepurl.com/dCFG

Weekly Sunday’s Surrender and Chocolate: http://eepurl.com/bJ5yHP

Surrendered Scribe Media Promotions: (Book release info sent as needed) http://eepurl.com/bXAW0L