meet Carrie Turansky

Heavy Horse Pull Uploaded by aedra

Today I'm posting at Exemplify Online's Blog about something I learned while thinking about one of my favorite things about fair season: the heavy horse pulls. Join me at Exemplify for Blinders, Please!

This spotlight is a special one for me. It was after I read Along Came Love by Carrie Turansky that God showed me that writing even while the kids were here at home was possible, that I didn't have to wait until they were grown and out of the house. I had just finished the story and read her author page at the back of the book and her story played a part in my getting serious about writing and following God's call. Thank you, Carrie.


Carrie Turansky is originally from Oregon but now lives in beautiful central New Jersey with her husband Scott. They have been married for over thirty years and have five great kids, a lovely daughter-in-law, a great new son-in-law, and two darling grandsons. She enjoys being involved in ministry with her husband who is a pastor and co-founder of The National Center for Biblical Parenting. Carrie leads the women's ministry at her church, teaches Bible studies, and enjoys mentoring younger women.  When she is not writing or spending time with her family, she enjoys reading, gardening, trying out new recipes, and walking around the lake near their home. Carrie and her family spent one year in Kenya as missionaries, giving them a passion for what God is doing around the world. Carrie is the coauthor of Wedded Bliss, Kiss the Bride, A Big Apple Christmas, A Blue and Gray Christmas, and the author of Along Came Love and Home to Fairhaven.  She always enjoys hearing from her readers. You may contact her through her website: www.carrieturansky.com.

A Blue and Gray Christmas
Surrender yourself to the forces of love in four engaging Civil War Christmas romances. Join up with Leah Woods as she searches for her missing fiancé in Fredericksburg, Virginia. Stick to your guns with Arabella Lambert as she pledges her allegiance to pacifist Barry Birch, a man labeled a coward. Ride out the storm with Rachel Thornton as she resists her attraction to the wounded artist James Galloway. Saddle up with Confederate-born Hannah McIntosh as she falls for Chris Haley, an embittered Union soldier. Can these couples forge an everlasting union in the tide of civil war?

Here's an excerpt from Carrie's novella
A Shelter in the Storm in A Blue and Gray Christmas.

A BLUE AND GRAY CHRISTMAS By Carrie Turansky, Vickie McDonough, Lauralee Bliss, and Tamela Hancock Murray.
A Shelter in the Storm
Chapter One

A gust of wind rattled the shutters over the parlor windows. The lantern flame flickered, sending shadows dancing across the walls. Rachel Thornton’s hand stilled, and she looked up from her sewing.

Her younger sister Susan stopped reading aloud mid-sentence and glanced at her, questions shimmering in her blue eyes.

A shiver raced up Rachel’s back, but she forced a smile for her sister’s sake. “It’s just the wind, dear. Go on.”

Susan nodded though uneasy lines creased the area between her slender brows. She tilted the Bible toward the lantern light. “Thou, O Lord, art a God full of compassion, and gracious, long-suffering, and plenteous in mercy—”

A shot exploded outside. Rachel gasped and pricked her finger. A shout and second shot followed.

Susan dropped the Bible and spun toward the windows. “Do you think that’s Father?”

“I don’t know. Stay here.” Rachel strode into the wide entrance hall.

Her sister ignored her words and hurried after her. “Maybe it’s Colonel Hadley and his men on patrol.”

Rachel’s mind raced with possibilities. It could be the Colonel. Union troops occupied the Nashville area and often called on their family, but they rarely came to Springside this late at night unless they needed medical help from her father.

“Do you think they’re chasing a deserter or a Confederate spy?” Excitement overshadowed any fear in fifteen-year-old Susan’s voice.

A more alarming question rose in Rachel’s mind. Had Father been attacked on his way home by one of the bushwhackers who lurked along the roadside, robbing travelers and stealing their horses?

She hurried to her father’s library, jerked opened the desk drawer, and pulled out his revolver.

Susan gasped. “What are you doing?”

Rachel opened the chamber, checking to be sure all six bullets were in place. Her father had taught her how to fire it, though she’d never shot anything but a homemade target in the pasture beyond the stable.

She swallowed and tried to steady her voice. “I’m going to make sure everything’s all right.” If she hadn’t been so frightened she would have laughed at those words. Nothing had been all right for more than three years, ever since this terrible war had broken out.

Gripping the revolver, she returned to the entrance hall and approached the front door. She would not stand by and let someone hurt her family or destroy their home. Not after all they had endured.

Susan ran after her. “You can’t go outside.”

“I have to. What if Father’s been shot and needs our help?”

Panic filled her sister’s eyes, and her chin trembled.

Rachel laid her hand on Susan’s arm. “Don’t cry. I’m sure it’s just—”

A solid thump and low moan sounded beyond the front door.

The sisters froze, their eyes locked on each other. Rachel swallowed and grasped the revolver with both hands.

You can purchase A Blue and Gray Christmas. from Amazon and CBD.

Carrie is giving away a copy of A Blue and Gray Christmas. To be entered in the book giveaway, leave a comment and check back on Sunday, September 20th to see if you've won. If you want to guarantee that you're notified if you win, then leave your email address in the comment, otherwise, you can just check back and email me through the button in my sidebar. OR you could sign up to have Patterings updates delivered to your inbox. If you do, it will give you a bonus entry in the giveaway, otherwise you can enter twice--once for each post you leave a comment on. :^)

Be sure to check out the other two book giveaways currently going on here at Patterings! One is with Candy Arrington, who is giving away a copy of When Your Aging Parent Needs Care: Practical Help for This Season of Life and the other is with Terry Brennan who's giving away a copy of The Sacred Cipher. Be sure to leave a comment on those posts to be entered in the book drawings.

I'll see you tomorrow with an interview with Carrie Turansky!

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