Join me today as I welcome author Julie Arduini as she shares about reality shows and her upcoming release.

The second book in my Surrendering Hearts small-town romance series, Repairing Hearts, features sextuplet Ryan Hart and his reality show, Repairing Ryan’s Heart, as a means to pay for home renovations. Ryan is the family loner, and his desire to stay away from the attention being a sextuplet brings brought him to the dump of a home he can’t pay for to fix up.

I was nervous to create a reality show, much less two, because I’m not a reality show viewer. Repairing Ryan’s Heart is pitched as an event to help Ryan find a project manager for his renovations. Once finished, a sister home improvement channel would continue with a new show, Building with the Hearts, that would feature the project manager supervising renovations that the Hart sextuplets would participate in.

What Ryan discovers is there isn’t much real about a reality show. Almost immediately he learns although yes, a project manager will be chosen, it will be done more as a dating show. All the contestants are women and they are vying not just for the job, but Ryan’s heart.

My research showed that actual reality shows aren’t that real, either. I binged Dance Moms during this time and got so hooked that I’m now listening to the Dance Moms podcast, Because Mom Said So. My mom heart wanted to protect those girls, so it’s refreshing to see, as I now follow them on social media, the girls are now healthy young women. As I traveled down the Dance Moms rabbit hole I found out that the show was “heavily produced.”

Reality shows either have episodes plotted out that the people involved follow, or certain goals the producers want obtained. On Dance Moms, young Chloe discovered producer notes of things they wanted to take place during rehearsals and/or competitions. The moms confirmed that producers also edit, so often what they as moms said or did was edited to make the situation look completely different. It of course is intended to cause drama and conflict, which reality shows are known for.

Writing Repairing Hearts was fun because these are fictional characters so no real person is tormented. However, like actual reality shows, there was a villain with a delicious backstory. I’ve received messages about Raini Bly and how frustrated readers are with her. I get it. She is a compilation of reality show mean girls I watched or read about.

What’s also exciting is my reality show plot isn’t finished. Although Ryan has his project manager, the renovations start in Book 3, Building Hearts. Evan is the third sextuplet and he’s always wanted the spotlight. This show has his siblings working on Ryan’s house with crews, and Evan realizes he has a lot to learn about family and business. This reality show will have a more home improvement feel to it, so that will be more research for me.

How about you? Are you a reality show watcher?

Here’s more about Repairing Hearts:

What happens when a reality show creates a blight on sextuplet Ryan Hart’s life harsher than his dump of a home?
 
Ryan, the independent, brooding second oldest of the Hart sextuplets, can’t enjoy the solitude he craves when he agrees to star on a reality show. The plan is to discover a project manager to renovate his hole of a property. The show reveals that it's more about Ryan’s dating life. Can he keep his guard up when everything around him is falling apart faster than the shingles on his roof?
 
BJ Wallace loves her quiet life in Wisconsin that she’s created far from her traumatic childhood. Everything changes when she learns she's competing on Repairing Ryan's Heart. As the show focuses more on Ryan than the house, BJ falls for him. Will she win the show and destroy Ryan with her secret, or sacrifice her heart to protect Ryan?
 
A small-town, reality show romance with family drama and a Christian thread of surrendering pride and anger.

Purchase Kindle Repairing Hearts: https://www.amazon.com/Repairing-Hearts-Christian-Surrender-Surrendering-ebook/dp/B0CLCTD289

Purchase softcover Repairing Hearts: https://www.amazon.com/Repairing-Hearts-Surrendering-Julie-Arduini/dp/1733687653

About Julie:

Julie Arduini loves to encourage readers to find freedom in Christ by surrendering the good, the bad, and ---maybe one day---the chocolate. She’s the author of the new contemporary romance series SURRENDERING HEARTS (Anchored Hearts, Repairing Hearts, +four more.) Her other romance series is SURRENDERING TIME (Entrusted, Entangled, Engaged.) She also co-wrote a YA series with her daughter, SURRENDERING STINKIN’ THINKIN’ (You’re Beautiful, You’re Amazing, You’re Brilliant.) Her stand-alone romances include MATCH MADE IN HEAVEN and RESTORING CHRISTMAS. Julie maintains a blog at juliearduini.com and participates in the team blog Christians Read. She resides in Ohio with her husband and daughter. Learn more by visiting her at http://linktr.ee/JulieArduini.