My Affair Mentality Moment—Engaged Update
It’s been TOO long since I’ve checked in and said hello, and I hate it. This blog is my baby, and I miss it when I’m not personally posting. I thought I’d give you an update on my writing and the “Oh-oh” moment I had.
ENGAGED is set to release next month and I’m excited. This is the third story in my Surrendering Time series, and it’s Trish’s turn. Trish Maxwell was the bad girl in ENTRUSTED, but she’s back in Speculator Falls with egg on her face and a lot of apologies to make. Her dream job in NYC was a nightmare and now she’s living with her parents working at her mom’s department store. Her hometown starts growing on her, especially after she meets paramedic Wayne Peterson. Yet everywhere she seems to go, people want to know what her plan is. Will she stay in town? Go back to New York City, or something else?
This story has been easier to write than ENTANGLED, I think because I can relate more to Trish than Carla. However, the closer I got to the end, the more my mind drifted to what’s next. Not only did a six book series drop from heaven onto my lap, but then another idea to write a series with my teen daughter came to mind for the summer.
I’ve been filled with plot ideas, characters. Themes. Character traits. Names. Title ideas. So much new to work through that the thought of going back to the old had me dragging my feet a bit. I reached a place where I had to press pause on the new ideas and put all my attention on ENGAGED.
It was then I realized that’s an affair mentality. I’ve seen it play out on TV, country music, and sadly, real life. Marriage that feels lonely, selfish, distant, too comfortable, whatever—and the new person comes around. They say the right things. Listen. Spend time. Show affection. And the new person starts to be on the front burner. The spouse is old news, it’s too late as far as the drifting spouse is concerned, and sparks become a forest fire.
Okay, so my writing wandering isn’t quite the same as a marital affair, but the comparison was enough to send me back to ENGAGED and the current work before I move on.
That’s my update. How about you? What’s new?
***
At the end of the month I will be sharing ENTRUSTED with newsletter subscribers to prepare them for ENGAGED. If you’d like a monthly update with giveaways, author updates, recipes, book reviews and more, subscribe for free at juliearduini.com. Make sure to tell a reader!
