Friday, November 1, 2013

Jordyn Redwood: An Author's Take On Letting Go-Letting God

Everyone's Story welcomes back the amazing Jordyn Redwood. One thing I've come to respect Jordyn for--and there's many--is her willingness to be honest with herself and to share this with others. And that's why I'm glad that this popular and beloved author of medical mystery thrillers for the Christian market chose to share with us the inside story behind writing her newest release, PERIL.

Can you relate? Both Jordyn and I are looking forward to hearing from you!

Also, check out the book trailer and the cool Giveaway offer. 


Book Giveaway:
Jordyn is offering one print copy of PERIL to one randomly chosen commenter--USA ONLY. The winner will be announced here on Friday, November 8th, between 5-6 PM EST. For convenience, please leave your contact information within your comment. Thanks! 





Blurb of PERIL:
Medical mystery thrillers with a chilling diagnosis—the only cure is to keep reading! Dr. Reeves implants superior memory cells into soldiers’ brains with amazing results—until negative symptoms appear. When his daughter is taken hostage by enraged research subjects, can he discover the answer they demand before Morgan’s life is in serious PERIL.



Kismet by Jordyn Redwood

I have a confession to make. I’m a control freak. Not just a neat and tidy type but more giving my daughter a lecture when she rearranged some Christmas decorations and I told her she couldn’t because she wasn’t paying the mortgage.

Yes, that did happen. I could say that there were other things going on at the time but . . . sigh.

So, now we’ve established I’m a bad mother and a control freak! And yes, I’m saving up for her future counseling sessions. As a person of faith, I do believe God has a plan for my life but my hands are clenched just as tightly as they can be around the steering wheel.

My nature lends to the job I do. Every day, I bring calm control to chaos as a pediatric ER nurse. It’s expected of me. However, as a Christian, I’m supposed to “Let go and let God.”

Easier said than done.

However, what I have noticed is that when I do surrender to His little nudgings—things seem to work infinitely better but I still have that cold-dead-hands grip on my life.

I always loved to write. In high school, I’d written countless short stories, scenes and even a couple of what would be called novellas. I didn’t always write things that were honoring to God. I did want to be published but my parents said I needed to go to college and get a real job.

So I went to nursing school. I really wanted to be a flight nurse and that was my sole drive for the next ten plus years. I stopped writing during pursuit of this one goal.

And that goal didn’t happen. Out of my frustration—I started putting pen to paper again and considered getting input to see if anyone thought those words strung together were good or just the dismal musings of a person dissatisfied with her life.

I don’t believe God wastes anything. During pursuit of my unrealized dream, God used several interactions to speak to my heart about what I was writing. Now, I wasn’t a closet Fifty Shades of Gray writer but what I was writing wouldn’t necessarily point people to God.

Maybe it would even pull them away.

I thought—if I put words out there—I’ll be responsible for the effect they have on people and do I want to explain to God why some people stopped believing because of something I wrote.

From then on I began to write with a Christian worldview in mind.

My stories partly reflect what I struggle with. In Peril, my latest release, it is about Morgan’s struggle with controlling her own life when everything is out of control. She’s suffered a horrible loss she feels she should have prevented, her health is in decline and her marriage is breaking apart. This control freak is thrown into a hurricane. The novel is about her learning to relinquish the grip she has on the steering wheel.

My hope is if I write it enough then perhaps I can do the same.
What’s amazing is how God uses kismet or fate to weave these threads over the years to get to one person at the right moment.

I got this note from a reader (the best thing as an author) that Peril helped her realize she needed to “Let go and let God.” and I shared my own struggle with her about being a control freak and this was her response:

“You see, before the foundations of the world began, God knew I'd be going through something on September 30, 2013 and He also knew He would give you the words to write and also give me the book and I would be reading just that passage at just this time. Wow. What an awesome God we serve.”

He truly is. Think about it. The years. The people. Those little moments that led up to that moment of inspiration for one person.

I think those moments are designed.

What about you?

Jordyn's Ah-hahs To Tweet:

Visit with #MedicalMysteryThriller author Jordyn Redwood on Everyone’s Story. #FreeBooks (Tweet This)

Author Jordyn Redwood shares the story behind her novel PERIL. Can you relate? (Tweet This)

Jordyn Redwood: Can a “control freak” let go and let God do His wondrous work? (Tweet This)

Author Bio:
Jordyn Redwood is a pediatric ER nurse by day, suspense novelist by night. She hosts Redwood’s Medical Edge, a blog devoted to helping contemporary and historical authors write medically accurate fiction. Her first two novels, Proof and Poison, garnered starred reviews from Library Journal. Proof was shortlisted for the 2012 ForeWord Review’s BOTY Award, 2013 INSPY Award and the 2013 Carol Award. You can connect with Jordyn via her website at www.jordynredwood.com.

Find Jordyn At:

30 comments:

  1. I haven't read anything by Jordyn before and would love to. I tweeted a tweet :) I used to work in a medical office so it sounds like a cool setting

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    1. Jeanne, welcome to Everyone's Story. And thanks for the Tweet! Jordyn's novels sound like the perfect read for you--I'm glad you're connecting with her via your visit this evening. Please check back either later or tomorrow for her reply.

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    2. Hi, Jeanne. Nice to meet another member of the medical fold! Thanks for leaving a comment.

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  2. I know all to well what it means to be a control freak. My oldest son is somewhat like me and thinks he is ocd. I try and try to let go and let God. I know that he is more capable and he knows the outcome of every action. Now I'm constantly questioning God, should I do this, should I do that, should I go right or left. Putting it all in Gods hands is easier said than done even though I have been miraculously healed by him, felt him brush my cheek when my heart was broken and needed to know everything was okay and I have know what it mean to be kept by him, protected from something far worse than what I experienced. If you have learned how to change your mindset and stop being a control freak please clue me in. http://godislove373.blogspot.com and http;//sharingodslove.com. It is burdensome on my heart to write to share Gods word. If only I could feel good enough and capable enough to write down his message of grace and spread it around as far as it will reach.

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    1. Lisa, thanks for your visit tonight. Oh, I think you've done an excellent job in sharing your passion of our Lord, and I thank you. Surrendering control and trusting Him isn't easy... but He doesn't give up on any of us and I'm forever thankful for that.

      Watch for Jordyn's reply later on.

      Hope to see you again.

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    2. Hi Lisa,

      I certainly don't have all the answers but what I have found is that when I do something I feel weak at it gives God an opportunity to show His power through me. So you are capable because as a believer you have the power of God who can work through you!!

      For instance with writing... I didn't go to school to be a writer. The quality of my stories is an exercise in letting God do His work.

      I hope this helps. I don't think there is an easy answer. It's getting to know God's heart that is most important.

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  3. Hmmm ... you had me at "but more giving my daughter ...". Jordyn & Elaine, replace daughter with son and I'm standing alongside you.

    Isn't a wonderful feeling when we let go & trust Him? Even if it takes a few moments (well an hour, right?) of white knuckle fever to experience it. As my son reminds me much of my self-imposed stress is anticipatory but isn't that the core essence of anxiety I reply?

    But God is so gentle in His response and often funny: "See, what were you worried about? He returned the thermometer to the first aid kit!" Ha.

    Jordyn... thank you. Oh, and you're not a bad mom. You never have been & never will be.

    Elaine, once again you've treated your readers with a challenging insight into the wonder of God and a talented author like Jordyn is able to share some of that wonder with us.

    Jordyn, wishing you every success with Peril.

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    1. Ian, I always appreciate your visits & comments and tonight you had me LOLing. Thanks! And thanks for being such a fan... if I may call you that.

      Your son has great insight to the writer's mind!

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    2. Aww... Thanks, Ian. And it is a good thing that God is so gentle.

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  4. Hi Jordyn,

    I am truly laughing out loud. Unfortunately, I think my daughter inherited my desire for things to be in their place. She now tells me where something goes if the dishwasher is unloaded "incorrectly". I have to laugh! What is it about human nature with some of us that we have specific ways for things to be done? I have no clue. All I know is that I am grateful God loves me the way I am and loves me enough to continue to mold me to be more like Him. Without that hope, I would be stuck folding towels in thirds and neatly hanging them over the rack - - until they all lined up perfectly. :-)

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    1. Lisa,

      Have you looked in my closet?

      It is a good thing God loves us as we are. Thanks for leaving a comment.

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    2. Lisa, thanks for the return visit. Hmm. Very interesting. While my husband has always been a bit miffed that I've had to have things a certain way around the house, when I ventured back into the work force 8.5 years ago I realized how OCD the majority of people are. Actually, I'm nothing compared to what I see out there. Ha. But when you think about it, if you remove the stigma/cultural joke about obsession-compulsion, God, in His loving grace, ordered the universe and all of existence to be a certain way. I'm sure for an excellent reason. And He did create us humans in His image. So... enjoy your daughter's dishwasher enthusiasm!

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  5. Amen, Jordyn. At my grandmother stage (and as a decades-long ER nurse), I easily remember keeping a too-tight grip on the reins of my life--how control still won out though I parroted the "let go and let God" advice. And then God's plan yanked those reins from me and set me on a course that boggled me . . . and humbled me, convinced me that he was my strength.It began the beautiful rest of my life. Thank you for this reminder. And for your books--I've read them all. PERIL is awesome. And so are you.

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    1. Aww, thanks Candace. You know I love and admire you and am so happy we are friends.

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    2. Candace, thanks for your visit and many thanks for the FB promo plug that greeted me this morning.

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  6. I have Proof on my TBR table and am kicking myself because I haven't had time to read it. Will have to remedy that! How well I understand the desire to control my life (and others, lol), but a few years ago I learned to let go and let God. Boy did my life get easier. Sometimes even now I will stop and clench my hands, then release them along with whatever I'm trying so hard to get to go my way. Great interview. pat at ptbradley dot cm

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    1. Pat, I hear you on the woes of the TBR mountain. What an ironic occupational hazard we writers/authors have with the little time to read!

      A while back, I learned the life lessons of letting go and letting God. While I can't say my life has turned to Easy Street living, I will say that each time when any anxieties start to percolate, if I obey Him by turning all focus on Him and trusting, than I do sense a peace that I can not find elsewhere.

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    2. Thanks so much for stopping by Pat and I'm honored Proof is on your TBR list. I'd love to hear what you think!

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  7. The Lord's been trying to teach me to take my hands
    off the steering wheel with so many circumstances over
    the last 15 years, especially. I'm still learning to let go and
    trust Him day by day. PERIL sounds like it has all the turns
    and twists people can relate to in real life with an intriguing plot!

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    1. Kathy, thanks for you visit, you night owl Like you, daily, I must renew my trust in God.

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    2. Kathleen,

      It's so good to see you here! What's been going on with your writing life?

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  8. Jordan, being an ER nurse I remember that tight control you have to keep over the chaos, but when I became the patient I soon realized that there's only one in control. I was unable to go back into nursing due to my injuries and I still struggle with that. Letting go is hard.I keep telling myself this was God's way of telling me I needed to be home with my children. I have enjoyed moments alot of other mothers have missed and for that I'm thankful. I still have alot of control issues and when I forget he's in control that's when things get crazy around here. It's a daily struggle, but I know he's my strength. Thank you for opening up and sharing. I look forward to reading your books. Wishing you the best.
    Blessings
    Katrina

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    1. Katrina, thanks for visiting today. It's by reaching out and sharing--as you and Jordyn have lovingly and candidly done--that we can all help to encourage others.

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    2. Wow, Katrina,

      Thank you for being so open! And it's great to meet a fellow member of the nursing fold. Personally, even though you may not be working actively as a nurse I think you're always part of the family!

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  9. Elaine, thanks for this post and I just finished Jordyn's book Poison. Told her I loved it and nearly fainted in one scene (and I'm a nurse practitioner!). God works within us and thankfully redemption shines brighter on a darker canvas.

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    1. So great to see you here Jude and I'm so excited you loved Poison!

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    2. Jude, it's always a pleasure to see you here. Now, that's some testimony to how engaging Jordyn's stories are! I'm sure you've brought a smile to her heart.

      I love your description of redemption on a dark canvas.

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  10. What a beautiful response your reader gave! I don't surrender perfectly all the time... um... probably none of the time. But it's infinitely easier when I remember how much my Savior loves me. He gave His very life for me, so why would I doubt His ability or desire to carry me through mine. :)

    Excellent interview! Elaine, I love getting to know the writers behind all these great books. Thank you for introducing us to Jordyn! And Jordyn, thanks for your transparency. :) I have a teen daughter. I totally understand the need for a "counseling" fund. ;)

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    1. Jennifer, it's always a joy to see you here. I'm glad you enjoyed Jordyn's segment--she's a treasure of spiritual guidance.

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  11. While it may be fun to launch a new blog guest and mark a new week--curious to see which viewers will visit and from which countries--it's not easy saying good-bye to present guests. This time is no exception. Jordyn, this has been your third visit on Everyone's Story and I always admire what you have to share with us. Thanks so much for being my guest. And thanks for your awesome giveaway of a copy of PERIL…

    The winner of PERIL by Jordyn Redwood is Jeanne. Congratulations, Jeanne! Both Jordyn and I will contact you in private emails. Happy reading.

    And thanks to all those who have taken the time to visit this week, and to those who have left comments. I truly hope to see you again.

    Blessings to all.

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