ENGAGED
is my third and final book in the Surrendering Time series. Each book takes an
element of time and adds a surrender theme to it, as well as a mention or two
about chocolate. ENTRUSTED
was about surrendering the present as Jenna and Ben work on letting go of fear,
loss, and change. ENTANGLED
was about surrendering the past as Carla had to break through re living her
regrets. ENGAGED is about surrendering the future. Trish Maxwell has to replace
her dreams with God’s plan, something that’s difficult when she has no plan but
the dreams she focused on.
What I loved about ENGAGED was I was able
to create a heroine that was the “bad girl” from ENTRUSTED. In Book 1, Trish
was in New York City living the dream. When she returns, she’s still got a chip
on her shoulder regarding her hometown. It’s a place she never wanted to be,
and she left quickly without saying goodbye. Jenna’s new in town and has the
job Trish used to have, and is much better at it. Trish also sees her ex
boyfriend, Ben Regan, has his eye on Jenna. It wasn’t hard to make Trish the
mean girl.
By the
time ENGAGED starts, everything has changed for Trish. The job ended as
abruptly as it started and she has nothing else to fall back on. She’s forced
to move back to Speculator Falls to live with her parents and work at the
department store. Even worse, she has to face the many people she angered when
she left. She’s been humbled, her confidence is shaken, and she realizes she
burned a lot of bridges. What was a neat surprise was of all the new friends
for Trish to have in this book, it’s Jenna who advocates and believes in her.
Trish
wasn’t the only character I changed up a bit. Throughout the series, Kyle Swarthmore
was the city mogul with his eyes on Speculator Falls. Although he grew up
summers there just as Ben had, Kyle’s perspective is different. His dad wants
him to buy up the land and commercialize it. Speculator Falls residents are
protective, they’ve seen the results when that’s been done in other places like
Lake George, and they want to keep their village the pioneer land it’s been
known for. Kyle’s torn, because the longer he stays, the more he feels a
connection to the people. His dad’s influence has a far reach, and although we
never meet Kyle’s father, his presence follows Kyle. I was proud of how between
Trish and Kyle, there was improvement in them as the series progressed.
ENGAGED is out now for Kindle, and coming
soon for print. If you follow my page on Amazon, you’ll be
notified when I have a new release.
Is
there a character that you recall that experienced a change as a series moved
forward? It can be in a book, movie, or TV show. I’d love to hear from you!
About Julie:
Julie Arduini loves to encourage readers to surrender the
good, the bad, and ---maybe one day---the chocolate. She’s the author of ENTRUSTED:
Surrendering the Present, as well as ENTANGLED:
Surrendering the Past. The last book in the series, ENGAGED: Surrendering the
Future, is coming in June. She also shares her story in the infertility
devotional, A WALK IN THE VALLEY. She blogs every other Wednesday for Christians Read, and also is a
blogger for Inspy Romance. 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.
Mary,
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for the feature. I appreciate it! Blessings to you.
Thank you, Julie!
ReplyDelete