As my Tradewinds series with Mountain Brook Ink draws to a close with the release of Barefoot Memories this month (YAY!), I’ve found myself fighting more than a few waves of nostalgia. I started writing the first book in the series, Porch Swing Girl, when I was barely fifteen years old. Now I’m creeping up on twenty (EEK!).
A lot has changed since I first “met” Olive, Brander, and Jazz on the pages of that long-ago first draft—I’ve graduated high school, been on a once-in-a-lifetime journey across Europe, and started college. I’ve grown up (a little, at least 😉).
As a chapter in my life draws to a close, I’ll be taking some time to look back on all that has changed in these last four years…and on what stays the same. -@writer__taylor Share on XMy characters have changed too. Their relationships—with God and with each other—have grown and matured in ways I didn’t expect when I started writing. Their lives, just like ours, went through a series of twists and turns that even I never saw coming.
And so, as a chapter in my life (and in the life of my characters) draws to a close, I’ll be taking some time to look back on all that has changed in these last four years…and on what stays the same.
Not only do I continue to find great joy in storytelling, but I also still hold a love for Hawaii (where my books take place!) deep in my heart. I’ve never been able to make myself draft a story using an outline (I’m what us writerly folks call a “pantser”), and I can’t seem to stop coming up with new story ideas. But, best of all, I still feel God’s faithfulness in my writing life just as strongly as I did back when I started the first draft of Porch Swing Girl.
He continues to lift me up and guide me through every trial and every triumph…and He does that for you too! Whether you’re an author or not, God is with you in all that you do. And no matter how the seasons change, the love and guidance of our Lord and Savior will always remain the same.
No matter how the seasons change, the love and guidance of our Lord and Savior will always remain the same. -@writer__taylor Share on XThank goodness for His word, which says, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” (Hebrews 13:8)
Thank You, Lord, for that.
Taylor Bennett is a YA author and an assistant editor for Magnum Opus Magazine. She has published several pieces of fiction and nonfiction in Magnum Opus Magazine and her novel, Porch Swing Girl, was a semi-finalist in the Go Teen Writers “We Write Books” contest. Taylor is a member of ACFW and OCW and she is active on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram. Her newest book, Barefoot Memories, released March 1.
What if the biggest decision of your life wasn’t yours to make?
With the New Year upon her, Olive Galloway is determined to put the past behind her and uncover the new future waiting for her in her island home. However, her best friend Jazz seems dangerously close to giving up on her alcoholic mom—as well as her own dreams. Together with an unlikely ally, Olive helps Jazz regain her confidence and enter a high-stakes race, but there’s still trouble on the horizon. Their friend Brander is due to come home from a whirlwind music tour on the mainland, but he’s holding tight to a secret that could change their friendship forever.
Offered the chance to fulfill all of her wildest dreams with a single word, Olive realizes that she could be headed back to the mainland sooner than she’d imagined. Caught up in a whirl of possibility, Olive struggles to decide between returning home to fulfill her childhood wish or building a new life in Hawaii. The choice could change her life forever.
