Carrie Arcos, an adjunct English professor at Biola, was recently named a 2012 National Book Award Finalist for Young People’s Literature for her novel, “Out of Reach,” released Oct. 16.

Arcos’ novel is geared for young people ages 14 and older, and follows the story of a girl named Rachel and her addict brother Micah, according to Arcos’ website.

“A girl searches for her missing addict brother while confronting her own secrets in this darkly lyrical novel,” the website states.

Persevering through the journey of writing 

Before she could have her editor and agent publish the novel, Arcos spent eight to 12 months writing her first draft. Multiple drafts later, her book was published by Simon and Schuster.

She explained that after the excitement of beginning the book wore off it was difficult to consistently continue to write.

“I think the hardest part in writing the novel was … just finishing,” Arcos said. “You really have to get in the discipline of writing.”

Though Arcos is a Christian, her book is not a Christian novel, she said, in reference to how her faith impacts her work.

Exploring where God is in the problem of suffering

“It’s not a Christian book, you know, it’s not someone [the main character] who comes to faith in the book,” she said. “It’s not targeted to Christians.”

Arcos’ desire is to affect people in general, though she includes a spiritual thread in her novel. One of the book's themes is exploring where God is in the problem of suffering, she said.

“I want to have an impact on people in general no matter what faith they are,” Arcos said

Arcos lives in Los Angeles with her husband and three children.