Justified perfectly captures the rhythm and romance of life in a small town, telling the unforgettable story of a woman searching for renewal, a man looking beyond what others see, and a community torn between judgment and love. It is the unforgettable story of broken dreams, second chances, and relentless hope.
Varina
Denman
Author of the Mended Hearts series, Jaded, Justified, and Jilted.
Did
you always know you wanted to write?
Not at all. In fact, as a child, I dreaded writing
assignments. Most of the writing I did in school consisted of research papers
and essays, and I only recall one creative writing assignment which was way
back in seventh grade. It wasn’t until I grew-up and started reading novels
like a maniac that I began to appreciate the nuances that writers used in their
writing, and I wondered if I might enjoy writing as much as I enjoyed reading.
Did
your series come out of personal pain?
The Mended Hearts series revolves around church hurt,
but I never experienced a church hurt situation—at least nothing as monumental
as what I’ve dished-out to my characters. However I’ve felt little jabs over
the years, and I’ve watched negative things happen to friends and family.
Because of that, I can empathize with my characters, and their pain seems quite
real to me as I write their story.
What
do you hope readers takeaway from your books?
Since the books deal with forgiveness and redemption,
I hope readers can take away the understanding that God is big enough to
forgive us, no matter what we’ve done. And in the same way, we should be ready
to forgive others when they sin against us.
Are
you an outliner or a pantser?
I’m a fastidious outliner. Like … so bad my writer
friends make fun of me. But I’m beginning to wonder if I shouldn’t change my
style, because even though I do all that outlining, I end up re-writing almost
the entire book. It’s crazy. Not to mention, time consuming.
Describe
your writing space.
Since my older children have left the nest, I’ve taken
control of one of the upstairs bedrooms which I converted into an office. It’s fairly
plain: a desk and a couch. But all I really need is my laptop and a set of
earplugs, so it works out beautifully.
What
is your favorite book from your childhood? What is the last book you’ve read?
Ah, my favorite book from childhood is From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E.
Frankweiler, by E.L. Konigsburg. When I was in fourth grade, my teacher
played the audio book (on cassette tapes) during our quiet time after lunch,
and I couldn’t wait to find out what happened to the kids in the museum. Years later,
I read it with my children and fell in love all over again.
The last book I read was Behind Bars, Surviving Prison, by Jeffrey Ian Ross. Not quite as
exciting as the kids in the museum, but it definitely helped with my research
for book three. Now I understand a little more about the character of Clyde
Felton who spent twenty years in prison.
My Thoughts:
Justified is book two in Varina's Mended Heart Series. Varina creates characters you'd like to smack, others you want to give a great big hug to. My heart went out to Fawn, who became the center of public ridicule because she was pregnant, Tyler the father of her baby was one that I wanted to knock into the middle of next week.
As with book one, Jaded, we see that gossip is as painful as any situation a person is going through.
James 3:3-6
When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal. 4 Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go. 5 Likewise, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. 6 The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of one’s life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.
This series is very encouraging and shows that our God is bigger than any situation we are going through. His forgiveness is wider and deeper than any sin.
Highly recommended!
