Guest Blog: Julie Arduini and Autumn's Grace *Prize of E-Book to Chosen Commenter

Dear Readers, I hope you are doing well. I know the month just changed the page, but I am clinging to summer with both hands. How's the weather where you are? It's still like an oven if you step outside during the day.

Introduce yourself--name, where you're from, and something people notice when they meet you.

I’m Julie Arduini, Are-due-we-knee, and I utilize faith, family, and chocolate in stories that feel like home. Surrendering Hearts is my current series that features the Hart six multiples as they discover their identity and try to find a love like their parents shared. The series is based in the Finger Lakes Region, where I lived for over 30 years. I now reside in Ohio. People notice my hair, either the gray or the curls, but people also mention my eyes.

Tell us about your book--title and back cover blurb.

Autumn’s Grace: A contemporary Christian small-town romance

A teacher without a classroom. A tech producer without a stage. A story about finding purpose again.

Autumn Grace Whitaker never imagined seizures would end her teaching career. Returning to Dogwood Creek with her service dog, Bo, she hopes to catch her breath and recover from the transition. But when she’s invited to help shape a new disability ministry, she’s torn between fear and the longing to matter again.

Caleb Hicks can’t shake the guilt of missing family moments while traveling for work. His years touring with a country duo has always been his refuge, but now that he’s home, he’s wrestling with wounds he’s never named—until reconnecting with Autumn brings them to the surface.

Their lives keep intersecting in unexpected ways: quiet moments, awkward apologies, shared vulnerability. With a little help from the Dogwood Creek Matchmakers, Autumn learns a life restart can be a blessing, Caleb realizes what home means, and something tender begins to grow between them.

Share one thing that you found difficult or challenging about writing this book.

This is part of the Dogwood Creek Matchmakers series, a multi-author project with Leah Atwood, Robin Bayne, JoAnn Durgin, Dawn Kinzer, Lisa Prysock, and Lisa Soard. Each novella has a Matchmaker and we worked hard to make sure our novellas accurately reflect the community we’ve built and the Matchmakers created. I started Autumn’s Grace with one Matchmaker, but it turned out she was being used and the stories wouldn’t work keeping them both. I had the latter release, so I switched over to Alicia Curuso. Alicia was the Matchmaker I used in Clean Sweep, so I knew her. Turns out she had a perfect life reset that fit in perfectly with Autumn and Caleb.

Do you have any questions for my blog readers?

The inspiration for Autumn’s Grace came in part to my own life reset. I learned in 2024 I had undiagnosed congenital cataracts. By 2025 my vision declined to where I needed surgery. Having restored vision has changed my life, and I’ve also grieved the past. Autumn and Caleb each face life shifts. How about you? Have you had a plot twist?

Purchase Autumn’s Grace:  https://www.amazon.com/Autumns-Grace-Contemporary-Christian-Romance-ebook/dp/B0HDX3SBR6

Dogwood Creek Matchmakers series: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DS1WPYMK

Each novella can be read as a standalone.

Julie Arduini Social Media & Book Sites: https://linktr.ee/JulieArduini

Thank you, Julie, for being a guest! And I have to say I'm in love with that puppy on the cover! Blessings, Christina