That's When the Crazy Started ...

UPDATE: Unlikely Merger is available now! We will offer

the book FREE on Kindle July 1-5, 2015.

My Craziest Summer

Guest Post by Julie Arduini

I was in my early 20’s, fresh out of college and ready to start a new life. I was at a crossroads because I was new in my relationship with Christ but clueless how to live in a way that was pleasing to Him when I was still hung up on what others thought of me.

Entrusted
Available on Amazon & Kindle

I was also new in my first real job, matching senior citizens with not-for-profit agencies. It was a position that gave me the opportunity to network with the community. My friend wanted to help me along, so she invited me to join the local service club in town. Although I felt young, awkward and lost amidst a sea of older men, I decided to participate with her.

That summer the club was having a big meeting at the local hotel. It was a big deal and the members were expected to be there. Enough time has passed that I don’t remember what the agenda was, but I do recall being bored.

Bored and me never have a happy ending.

The leaders called for a break so I decided to explore the other conference rooms in the hotel. Another woman joined me and together we headed for the hallway where the walls seemed to shake from the rockin’ music.

“I think it’s a wedding reception.” I gestured for her to follow me as I decided to walk by.

And that’s when the crazy started.

A man from inside the party, where alcohol was definitely flowing freely, pointed to me and waved me in. I shook my head, panicked that I would be the pioneer wedding crasher long before Hollywood decided to make a movie about it. The guy wouldn’t take no for an answer and went into the hallway. He begged me to join him, taking me by the arm, and leading me inside.

Part of me was excited, it was the kind of unpredictable fun college had been. Yet, as a new Christian, the place was full of choices that were going to lead me down a path I didn’t want to go down anymore. Most of all, trespassing.

“I can’t be here. I’m not invited.”

He grinned, his glassy eyes full of spunk. “Don’t worry. I’ll vouch for you.”

I tried to back out. “I have a meeting. I really can’t be here.”

He reached for my hand. “C’mon, let’s dance. Bob won’t mind.”

I looked around trying to find who this “Bob” was.

The stranger continued. “He’s my best friend from college, the groom.” Then he dropped Bob’s last name. A name I knew.

I jerked my hand away and headed for the door. “That’s my dentist. I can’t be here.” I thought about when my next appointment was. Of all the times to have an appointment, it was Monday. I had a hard enough time facing the guy. He was young and resembled Top Gun Tom Cruise. Something my mom didn’t miss when she sent his news article to my college mailbox.

“You know him? You have to dance with him. Let’s go.” Oh this guy wasn’t giving up.

By then I was in an all-out panic. I back-pedaled out of there so fast that the college friend couldn’t keep up. I high-tailed it back to the stuffy meeting prepared to sit straight and pay attention for the rest of the day. And I breathed a prayer that Dr. Bob would never, ever know I crashed his wedding.

Monday came and I felt confident I was in the clear. I wasn’t sure why the guy was cleaning my teeth instead of being on a honeymoon but I wasn’t going to ask. He asked how I was and I gave the most uninterested tone I could muster.

He continued getting the tools ready, fixing the seat, turning the headlamp thing on. “Anything interesting happen this summer?”

I opened my mouth and he inserted the plaque-scraper-thingy. Even if I wanted to talk, I couldn’t, so I shook my head. Nope. Not one thing. Especially not Saturday at the hotel where his reception was.

“So, Julie. How did you like my wedding reception?”

Busted.

Thankfully, he laughed and asked why I didn’t dance with him and made sure his friend in his state treated me right. But I could never look Dr. Bob in the eye again.

That was a crazy summer.

****

Julie Arduini’s passion is to encourage readers to find freedom through surrender. She knows it has to start with her so she admits she’s surrendering “the good, the bad, and---maybe one day---the chocolate.”

She desires in her fiction to not only bring hope to those struggling with surrender issues, she wants to highlight the various Upstate New York settings she enjoyed for over three decades. Entrusted,Entangled, and Engaged pay homage to the beautiful Adirondack Mountains.

Julie is also one of the authors in the sequel to A Dozen Apologies,The Love Boat Bachelor.

She holds a BA in Communications from the State University of New York at Geneseo and is a graduate of the Christian Writers Guild. She’s a member of American Christian Fiction Writers and the 2011 winner of the JournEzine Christmas Contest. Every other Wednesday she blogs at the popular site Christians Read. She enjoys reviewing books and encouraging others at juliearduini.com.

When she’s not writing, reading or blogging she enjoys taking amateur nature pictures and nurturing youth. With a heart to encourage others, she enjoys interacting with readers through social media and can be found throughout social media @JulieArduini.

She resides in NE Ohio with her husband and two children and is blessed to be a step-mom to two adult children and son-in-law who reside in Wisconsin. All of them know not to mess with her chocolate stash.

Behind the Scenes of Unlikely Merger:

Monday, June 29:

            

Fay Lamb: Who Wrote Whom: Meet the Authors of Unlikely Merger: Jennifer Hallmark

Sunday, June 28:

Fay Lamb: Who Wrote Whom: Meet the Authors of Unlikely Merger: Patricia M. Dyer

Saturday, June 27

Fay Lamb: Who Wrote Whom: Meet the Authors of Unlikely Merger: Carole Towriss

Friday, June 26

Fay Lamb: Who Wrote Whom: Meet the Authors of Unlikely Merger: Julie Arduini

Thursday, June 25

Jennifer Hallmark: Traveling with Others by Phee Paradise

Fay Lamb: Who Wrote Whom: Meet the Authors of Unlikely Merger: Marji Laine

Tuesday, June 23

Write Integrity Press: Marji Laine's What’s a Boom-Hunt Road Trip?

Jennifer Hallmark: Why I Keep Saying Yes to The Proposal by Julie Arduini

Marie Wells Coutu: The Ultimate Bucket List

Deborah Dee Harper: DeeTrails ~ To Love a Weed

Monday, June 22

Write Integrity Press: Let the Road Trips Begin

Deborah Dee Harper: The Only Thing We Have to Fear ... Getting it All Wrong

Saturday, June 20

Write Integrity Press: Vote for the Hero!

Author Visits School - Discovers Budding Writers

Write Integrity author Julie Arduini recently visited the Youngstown Christian School, recently renamed Valley Christian School, junior and high school English classes and shared her writing testimony. During her time there, she gave the students a choice of three writing prompts and ten minutes to complete the story.

When we learned about her experience, we asked to share some of the students' work and we're honored to share them with you here today. 

The following are a few of the stand-outs Julie discovered. They are unedited. The italicized parts are the original prompt.

Jason lifted his fork full of mashed potatoes as he watched the news. He chewed to the rhythm of the anchor’s drone as the man read the headlines. Suddenly the newsman lifted his head and looked straight into the camera.

“Jason. This is an assignment just for you. Lean into the screen to receive your instructions.”

***

Jason dropped his plate of mashed potatoes and ran toward the TV screen. A piece of paper came out of the DVD player. It read “Jason. Your father has been captured by your History teacher. You need to go to your dad’s office. Instructions will be waiting there. This message will self-destruct in 5…”

            Jason dropped the paper and ran out of his house. The paper blew up, but only caused a little couch fire. Jason got on his bike and rode to his dad’s office. He sees a van pull into the parking lot. He hides.

           Jason sees two guys get out of the back, and three guys get out of the front. They are heavily armed.

~ Javon M. is an actor and an author who been writing since the fourth grade. Right now he’s in the seventh grade. He has several unpublished books that he has been writing since he was 11 years old. Right now he’s 13 years old, and trying to pursue his dreams as an author.

 ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Vince lifted the manila envelope to the kitchen light. Inside were the results to…his cancer test. The results came negative but they showed something else. It was a remarkable amount of Gamma. Yes, the same exact thing that made Hulk---Hulk.

Vince was confused. He didn’t know how that could be. Vince didn’t do anything that used gamma. The closest thing to it was playing video games. As much as he was confused, he was fascinated. He thought he was going to be the next hulk, but actually he was far from that.

He lost all of his hair, he grew extra toes, and his left ear turned purple. He went to the hospital and everyone treated him like a freak, but to be fair, he was one. Dr. Spaceman told him there was nothing they could do except have him take ibuprofen and sleeping. Vince was outraged, he through Dr. Spaceman into the wall and ran out of the building.

Vince felt different, he felt stronger, taller, and he got an extra pinky.

~ Justin G. is a food enthusiast. He’s always liked writing, but never thought his writing would get anywhere. His mom’s a preschool director, and his dad races motorcycles, so that makes a very interesting and diverse life for him, which also influences his writing. They’re also some of the funniest and annoying memories ever. Long story short, there are many parts of his life, but writing is one of his favorites. He is in junior high.

 ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Vince lifted the manila envelope to the kitchen light. Inside were the results to his lifelong question. Are they really his parents?

He held his breath. He opened the envelope. His face became pale. His hands got clammy. The answer was no. Vince’s world was shattered.

But soon after he became determined. He would find his real parents. Vince had always suspected he was adopted. His “father” had a cleft chin, but he didn’t. He had a birthmark in his iris, but neither of his parents do. And so his quest began.

With anger at his adoptive parents and a desire to learn his real ones, he left to confront his family. After a quick drive, he was greeted by his mother. She said, “Hi, honey! What’s wrong?”

As he stormed in the room, “You’re not my mom!” said Vince.

“What?!” said his mom.

“I have the results right here. You’re not my mom.”

“Honey, even if I’m not…”

~ Laura S. is a sophomore at Youngstown Christian School.

 ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Jason lifted his fork full of mashed potatoes as he watched the news. He chewed to the headlines. Suddenly the news anchor lifted his head and looked straight to the camera. “Jason, This is an assignment just for you. Lean into the screen to receive your instructions.”

The anchorman said, “I need you to go into your garage, and grab something very important.”

Jason waited for the instructions in suspense, hoping it would be something to save the world.

The anchorman continued. “Go into the garage and open the box that is green and brown. Once you open it read the note and complete your task.”

Jason ran into his room, slipped on his clothes and ran to the garage. He opened the box and there was a lawn mower with a note that said, “Here is your new lawn mower. Cut the grass nicely. Please and thank you.”

~ Jordan M. is a freshman at Youngstown Christian School.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

Also, an additional note from Julie:

One of the students, Antonio, wrote a moving piece in just one paragraph about a young man who received a bunch of money. Instead of saving it or buying what he needed, he bought expensive items that would make him look good to his inner city peers. He kept buying like this even though he knew better and suffered consequences. Jason ended up being shot so the shooter could take the belt from him.

I’ve been unable to get a hold of his writing and bio, but two weeks later, I still remember much of it because he wrote a complete story full of choices and consequences in a matter of a few sentences. It was realistic and haunting.

~ ~ ~

A huge thank you to the students and faculty at Youngstown/Valley Christian School for allowing us to publish these stories. We're excited to see what God has in store for all of these gifted young people. And thank you, Julie Arduini, for sharing your exceptional talent and beautiful heart with these budding writers.

Just Don’t Take Her Chocolate!

Welcome to our "Five Golden Days" of Christmas celebration here at Write Integrity Press. We're co-hosting this event with our sister press, Pix-N-Pens Publishing. We'll have lots of fun posts on both blogs, on some of our authors' blogs, and even on our publisher's personal blog! (See the full list at the end of each blog post.) So grab come hot cocoa and come join the fun. We'll offer some free books during the week, and on Friday, we're having our annual Facebook Christmas Party, where we'll play some trivia, take reader questions for authors, and give away some party favors - hope to see you there!

Today, we'd like to feature one of our newest authors, Julie Arduini. We released her first book, Entrusted, earlier this month, and the reviews thus far have been delightful.

Here's one of the latest:

"If you enjoy a sweet romance in a quaint village, you'll love Julie Arduini's debut novel. She fills the town with delightful and insightful characters. The story has a good balance of humor, wisdom and love. Buy this book, wrap up in a warm blanket with a cup of tea, and snuggle in for a great read." ~ 5 Stars

From the back cover:

Jenna Anderson, sassy city-girl, plows—literally—into Speculator Falls with a busted GPS, arriving in town as the new senior center director. She has only one goal—that of belonging no matter how out of place she appears and how angry she makes town councilman and grocer Ben Regan.

Her new life is so rural there are no traffic lights, and when she learns her car isn’t equipped to handle the mountain terrain, Ben’s grandmother offers her late husband’s vehicle, further alienating the local businessman.

As she endears herself to the seniors at the center and creates a vision full of ideas, programs, and equipment, she ruffles Ben’s plans to keep Speculator Falls void of change, including the store his grandfather built.

The two work through community events and shared heartbreak only to face off in a town council meeting where Ben publically rejects her proposal for the senior center, causing Jenna to react out of her fears about belonging.

She returns to Ohio where she realizes she needs to surrender her plans for the center and fears about belonging and trust her Heavenly Father when facing fear, change, loss, and love.

If you'd like an autographed copy of the Kindle version, request one at Authorgraph!


Working with Julie has been five stars as well. She's hard-working, agreeable, and has the most delightful outlook on life. She's truly a blessing to all of us. But we've all learned one important thing about her that we must share:

Just Don't Take Her Chocolate!

The woman is a chocoholic, so consider yourself warned.

This afternoon, we'll add some more fun here and on all the blogs, so be sure to pop back in after 3:30 p.m. (Eastern time). And tomorrow, the fun continues!

Join more of the Five Golden Days of Christmas here:

Rare Rabbits in Bolivia  - Today's FREE Kindle book!

Romance, Suspense, Cruises, and Retirement: An Author’s Life

Christmas Present Memories

Fay Lamb: On the Ledge: Is that All?

Be sure to mark your calendar! We're having a Facebook Party on Friday, December 5, and you're invited! We're giving away books, jewelry, Christmas ornaments, a Nativity, gift cards, and more!