Getting to Know you Thursdays with Carrie Turansky

Please welcome Carrie Turansky to my blog today. The getting to know you Thursday became Friday but at least we can post again.
Carrie has a new ebook out Surrendered Hearts which I hope you will check out. Thanks Carrie for being on my blog.

1. Can you tell us a little about yourself?

I was born and raised in Oregon, but now life in New Jersey. I have been married for over thirty years to my husband Scott who is a pastor, counselor and author of several books on parenting. We have five young adult children. Two are married and we are blessed with three grandchildren. I have been writing fiction since 1998, and my first book was published in 2005. I've had five novellas and two novels published, and I have two more novels contracted. I write inspirational romance, both historical and contemporary, and women's fiction. 

2. When you were a child did you have a favourite book or books?

My parents took me to the library every week when I was young. That helped me develop a love for reading. One of my aunts was a teacher and knew the importance of children reading great books. She gave me the Newberry Award winning book each Christmas for several years. Some of my favorites were Charlotte's Web, The Little House Series, The Bronze Bow, Little Women, and Anne of Green Gables. 

3. Do you have a favourite Genre to both read and right write?

I enjoy reading inspirational contemporary and historical romance, but I also enjoy women's fiction and suspense.

4. Did you have favourite authors growing up who have influenced you?

Two of my favorite authors was Laura Ingals Wilder and Elizabeth George Speare.

5. When did you know you wanted to be an author?

I wrote my first book when I was twelve. But then I went on to get my degree in fine art. I became a teacher, then I focus on raising my children and homeschooling them. I didn't get back to writing until I was in my early forties.

6. How did you go about becoming an author?

Our family spent a year in Kenya as missionaries, and when we returned to the U.S. I missed it so much, I decided to write a story set there to recapture some of my experiences. I continued reading and studying fiction for a couple years, then I heard about American Christian Fiction Writers in 2000. I joined and have learned a tremendous amount from being involved in that wonderful organization.

I am blessed to also be involved in ministry, partnering with my husband at a church that we planted. That keeps me busy when I am not writing. 

8. Outside reading and writing what do you like to do?

I like to work out in my yard and have some lovely flower gardens. I also enjoy walking around the small lake near our home for exercise. We  have pet bunnies and three birds that are a lot of fun for our family. Spending time with my family and playing with our grandkids are also important to me too.

9. Do you have a place you love to visit or would love to visit?

We have traveled to many countries for ministry and for vacations. We hope to visit Italy and Greece some day.

10. If you could have a meal with 3 living people who would you choose and why?

I would love to have a meal with three of my favorite Bible teachers, Beth Moore, Lysa TerKeurst, and Kay Arthur. It would be great to get to know them and also thank them for the way their Bible studies have enriched my life.

Finally can you tell us about your current books and/or any that will

be coming out soon. Also where we can find you on the web.

My most recent books are Christmas Mail-Order Brides from Barbour and Seeking His Love from Love Inspired. 

Christmas Mail-Order Brides:

Swedish immigrant Annika Bergstrom travels to Wyoming as a mail order bride, but when her prospective groom, Chase Simms, disappears, she finds herself falling in love with his brother Daniel. Will she take hold of her chance for love, or wait for the man she has promised to marry?

Seeking His Love:

Since losing his wife and child, widower Cam McKenna has tried to avoid children. But when he must temporarily care for his nice, Cam opens his home. With no idea how to relate to a fourteen-year-old girl, he seeks the advice of the new Christian youth theater director. He's touched when Rachel Clark give his niece a scholarship-and teaches him a thing or two about teens...and love. But why is Rachel so secretive about her past? The truth threatens their fragile relationship yet promises to bring them closer to each to each other—and the Lord—than either dreamed possible.  This book was chosen by the ACFW online book club as one of their June featured books.

I'm currently working on Song of Her Heart, which is a sequel to Seeking His Love and is set is the same town, Fairhaven, Washington. This one features a young musician who dreams of playing her flute professionally, but she faces several challenges that make her wonder if she has been chasing the wrong dream all along. Several of the minor characters in Seeking His Love make an appearance in this book. It includes a sweet romance with a hero who is worthy of the heroine's love.

I also have an e-book coming out in March titled Like Gold Refined. It is a sequel to my first Love Inspired novel, Along Came Love.  Scarred by an explosion and fire, a young actress seeks refuge in Vermont where she learns faith can overcome her fear and make her truly beautiful in God’s eyes and in the eyes of the man she loves.

For more information about my books, please visit my website: www.carrieturansky.com. I have a special page for each book with background information,recipes, interviews, and the first chapters. 

Jennifer Evan's life is changed forever when a gas pipeline explodes and causes a fire at her apartment. Losing her home and beloved dog are terrible blows, but the ugly scars that cover her arm, neck and shoulder steal her confidence and cause her fiancé to desert her. With her funds depleted and her job on hold, she heads for Vermont where she hopes to reconnect with her brother and find a way to rebuild her shattered life.

Bill Morgan, her brother's roommate and the head naturalist at the Wild River Nature Center, is a strong, quiet man whose faith runs deep. His efforts to share his faith with Jenn seem to push her farther away. But caring actions sometimes speak louder than words, and Jenn's heart is drawn to Bill in spite of the spiritual gulf that separates them. Will she hold on to her pain of her past, or will she surrender her heart and find the faith and love she seeks?

Surrendered Hearts is available at Amazon.com and also through Smashwords.com for most other types of e-readers. If you don't have an e-reader, you can download it to your computer, smart phone, iphone, ect. and read it that way. I hope my readers will enjoy this special story that answers the question - What makes a woman truly beautiful?

Here are two reviews:
"Fire stole Jenn's career, possessions, beloved dog, the affections of a fiancé who couldn't see past her scars, and any remnant of faith she possessed. But struggling through her fears leads Jenn to an amazing God who cherishes her just as she is, and to embrace a love and life she could not have imagined. SURRENDERED HEARTS is one more example of Turansky's ability to draw a reader's heart toward its Heavenly home, filling it with determination, hope, and romance for the journey."

— Cathy Gohlke, Christy award-winning author of William Henry is a Fine Name, I Have Seen Him in the Watchfires,

"This was my first book by Carrie Turansky and i am hooked. Loved the book. Just when you think you know what is going to happen there is a nice twist waiting in the next chapter!! I highly recommend this book! " Pier Shea, Dublin, Ohio.