Carrie Turansky | New Novel News

Across the Blue 
by Carrie Turansky 

Published: February 20, 2018
Publisher: WaterBrook Multnomah (Random House)
Purchase: Across the Blue

Before 1909, flying across the English Channel seemed an impossible feat—but James Drake, a brave young aviator, was willing to try. Defying her parents’ expectations for a good match? Also impossible—but Isabella Grayson was willing to try.

Within the palatial surroundings of her family’s Edwardian estate, Isabella Grayson longs for something more. Despite her father’s success as a newspaper baron and her own journalistic talents, her parents want her to marry an established aristocrat to improve the family’s social standing rather than pursue her dream of writing for one of her father’s newspapers.

Carrie Turansky | Spread the Christmas Joy

Christmas Read-Aloud Stories

Hi Friends,

Reading aloud is such a wonderful way to bring family and friends closer and share a special experience together. We homeschooled our five children, and reading aloud was always one of my favorite parts of the day. We read the Bible aloud, and we often read historical fiction or award winning childrens' books to compliment what we were learning. We also have a special collection of Christmas books that we bring down each December to enjoy together.Here are some of our favorites.

The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey by Susan Wojciechoski
 "Christmas is pish-posh," grumbles Jonathan Toomey, the best wood carver in the valley. He's a Scroogelike recluse; but he has a gentle grouch, and it turns out that he hides a sad secret. He is transformed, not by Dickensian ghosts, but by an eager seven-year-old boy and his widowed mother who ask him to make carve a Christmas creche. The spirit of Christmas heals a sorrowing woodcarver's heart in this splendid edition of a holiday classic. Lynch's beautiful illustrations, in shades of wood grain, are both realistic and gloriously romantic, focusing on faces and hands at work before the fire and in the lamplight. This is wonderful read-aloud story that even young children will enjoy.

Christmas on Jane Street by Billy Romp
The warmweeks they transform a corner of the Big Apple into a Frank Capra-esque small town alive with heartwarming holiday spirit.
, wonderful, real-life tale of the family that brings the Christmas spirit to life on a street corner in Manhattan. Every holiday season for nearly twenty years, Billy Romp, his wife, and their three children have spent nearly a month living in a tiny camper and selling Christmas trees on Jane Street in New York City. They arrive from Vermont the day after Thanksgiving and leave just in time to make it home for Christmas morning—and for a few

Christmas on Jane Street is about the transformative power of love—love of parent and child, of merchant and customer, of stranger and neighbor. The ideal Christmas story, it is about the lasting and profound difference that one person can make to a family and one family can make to a community.

An Edwardian Christmas by John L. Goodall
This small book is a treasure! It is all illustrations with no text, but each page follows the story of a family visiting wealthy relatives in a large country house during Edwardian times. Depicted in loving detail, is Christmas as it was at the beginning of the twentieth century, indoors and out, above stairs and below, as seen through the eyes of a boy and girl. My favorite illustrations are of the family walking to church by starlight, and everyone gathered to play games on Christmas Day. It was first published in 1978, so you may want to look for a used copy online.

Peter Spires Christmas!

This is also a wordless picture book by the Caldecott Medal-winning artist of Noah's Ark, and it contains more than ninety full-color paintings capturing the spirit and joy of Christmas through the delights of three young children. My children all loved this when they were young, and it can be enjoyed by preschoolers through adults. First published in 1996, you will also want to look for a used copy online.

Some of the other books in our collection include:

Esther's Gift by Jan Karon, A Cup of Christmas Tea by Tom Hegg, The Christmas Cross by Max Lucado, A Little House Christmas by Laura Ingles Wilder, A Child's Christmas in Wales by Dylan Thomas, Mary's First Christmas by Walter Wagerin Jr., Christmas at Long Pond by William T. George, Santa Are You For Real by Harold Myra, The Nutcracker, A Three Dimensional Story Book Illustrated by Michael Welply, and The Christmas Stories of George MacDonald.

Do you enjoy reading aloud? Can you add a favorite Christmas story to our list?
__________________

Carrie Turansky is the award-winning author of seventeen inspirational romance novels and novellas. She writes both contemporary and historical stories and has won the ACFW Genesis Award, The ACFW Carol Awards, and the International Digital Award. When Carrie is not writing she enjoys traveling with her husband, working in her garden, walking around the lake near their home in New Jersey, and cooking healthy meals for friends and family. Carrie loves to connect with reading friends through her website, Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter.
Connect with Carrie:
http://carrieturansky.com/
https://www.facebook.com/authorcarrieturansky/
https://www.pinterest.com/carrieturansky/
https://twitter.com/carrieturansky?lang=en

*Giveaway* 

Carrie is gracious enough to offer a copy of her novel Moonlight over Manhattan! Enter below.

All giveaways run until January 2nd and winners will be announced shortly after. Use the image to the left to share on social media and don't forget the hashtag: #SpreadTheChristmasJoy16

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Carrie Turansky | Spread the Christmas Joy

Jesus – the True Light

When I was a little girl I always looked forward to the night our family would pile in the car to go for a drive to see the Christmas lights. We’d wander all over SE Portland, but we would always end up at one particular street near Mt Tabor, just a few miles from our home. I don’t remember the name of the street, but we called it Candy Cane Lane. This cul-de-sac included about 20 houses all on one side of the street with a park on the other, and it ended with a large turnaround. Every house on Candy Cane Lane was decked out with an amazing array of twinkling lights and Christmas figures in the yard. One house even had Santa’s sleigh and eight reindeer on the roof! Sometimes residents dressed up in costumes and passed out candy to the kids in the cars. We always loved that!

But my favorite part of visiting Candy Cane Lane came when we reached the turnaround at the end where a live nativity had been set up. All the cars would slow down as they drove past to look in the stable to see the wise men and shepherds, and Mary and Joseph and baby Jesus in the manger. We’d roll down our windows and listen to Away in the Manger or Silent Night playing in the background. It was a magical moment.

I loved visiting Candy Cane Lane and seeing all those colorful decorations and twinkling lights . . . but seeing the manger scene and remembering the true meaning of Christmas is what made it so very special. That Candy Cane nativity scene made a deep impression on my heart. And the memory still stirs a sense of wonder today. Jesus . . . the True Light of the World.

“Jesus spoke to the people once more and said, “I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.” John 8:12

________________________

Carrie Turansky is the award-winning author of more than a dozen novels and novellas including The Governess of Highland Hall, Where Two Hearts Meet, and Snowflake Sweethearts. She loves to travel for research and on on ministry trips with her husband Scott, who is a pastor, author, and speaker. She enjoys connecting with reading friends on Facebook, Pinterest, and her blog/website: http://carrieturansky.com/

A Refuge at Highland Hall

A Refuge at Highland Hall, the third and final novel in the Edwardian Brides Series, takes place in England in1915. The Ramsey Family and their staff and friends face the dramatic challenges and losses of World War One, yet they also experience hope and triumph as they put their trust in God to carry them through. Penny Ramsey helps her family welcome a group of orphaned children to Highland Hall, but she soon discovers caring for them is more difficult than she expected. She writes to Alex Goodwin, a daring British pilot, who chases German Zeppelins across the sky over the front line in France, and she longs for the time when she will see him again.

Carrie Turansky & Ronie Kendig | New Novel News + GIVEAWAY

A Refuge at Highland Hall

by Carrie Turansky

October 20, 2015
Multnomah Books
Purchase: A Refuge at Highland Hall

A Refuge at Highland Hall is the third and final book in the Edwardian Brides Series. Readers will be swept away to England and France in 1915 as the Ramsey family, their staff, and their friends face the dramatic challenges and losses of World War One; yet they also experience the hope and triumph that comes as they put their trust in God. Penny Ramsey helps the family welcome a group of orphaned children to Highland Hall, but she soon discovers caring for them is more difficult than she’d expected. She writes to Alex Goodwin, a daring British pilot, who chases German Zeppelins across the sky over France and Belgium. She longs for the day they can be together again, but being an RNAS pilot is a dangerous assignment, and the fallout from those experiences pushes Alex beyond Penny’s reach. Can God restore what has been lost and mend the brokenness of war?

Get to know Carrie...

Coffee or tea? 
I am definitely a tea person. I remember going on a church retreat as a college student where I learned to drink tea and I felt so grown up! I love the smell of coffee, but I could never get past the taste. . . so put on the tea kettle and give me some Earl Grey.

Favorite dessert?
I’ve gone gluten-free this year . . . so that knocks out a lot of desserts that I used to enjoy in the past. When I was at the ACFW Conference this fall they served a gluten-free Crème Brulee that was divine. Now I have a new favorite. In fact I just saw a recipe for Pumpkin Crème Brulee, and I hope to make it for Thanksgiving.

Who is your favorite secondary character?
I love Lydia, Kate and Penny’s lady’s maid in The Daughter of Highland Hall and A Refuge at Highland Hall. She has such a great heart and goes out of her way to help others. She really rose to the forefront of the story in Daughter, and I couldn’t wait to give Lydia her own romance in Refuge. I think readers will enjoy following Lydia’s journey.

*Carrie's giveaway is limited to US residents only.

Embers

Ronie Kendig

October 16, 2015

Enclave Publishing 

Purchase: Embers 

He's coming from them. And the kingdom.

Haegan and Kaelyria Celahar are royal heirs of the Nine Kingdoms, but Haegan is physically crippled. What chance does he have against Poired Dyrth, the greatest enemy the kingdom has ever faced, who wields fire with a power none can match?

Their only hope is forbidden: Kaelyria must transfer her fire-harnessing abilities to Haegan. When she does it comes with a terrible price: Haegan's disability is healed, but only by being transferred to Kaelyria. This act unleashes their father-king's wrath.

Haegan must flee the kingdom alone with two impossible tasks: Find a cure for Kaelyria and stop the coming war with the omnipotent Poired Dyrth.

Get to know Ronie...

What are the names of your pets? If you don't have any, what would you name your pets? I have two pets right now—two dogs. A Maltese Menace named Helo and an Air Force-retired military working dog, Vvolt N629.

What are you reading right now?
I’m bouncing between Zachary Bartels The Last Con and Katie Ganshert’s The Awakening.

What's one chore you hate doing?
Cleaning the bathrooms—it was my job all through my teen years and now it’s the one part of the house I can’t stand to clean. Of course, having two teenaged boys might being affecting my aversion, too.

*Just a note readers...there's a rumor going around that Ronie will be back on my blog on Wednesday and I've heard it told that an Embers giveaway will be burning up the blog (hehe, see what I did there?). So, make sure you come back and say hello to Ronie on Wednesday for a chance to win a copy of this hot-off-the-press book.

____________________________________

::WINNER::

 I welcomed the lovely Cynthia Ruchti to my blog last week with her novella An Endless Christmas (isn't the cover amazing?). She graciously offered a copy and we have a winner:

Jane Carlson

Congratulations Jane! Contact me so we can arrange to get you your copy.

Carrie Turansky | Spread the Christmas Joy

Read Me a Christmas Story

One of my special Christmas memories is reading Christmas stories aloud to my five children. We’d get cozy on the couch and loveseat in the living room and choose a story from the basket. And even though they are all grown now and I have four grandchildren, I still bring down that basket of Christmas books to enjoy again each December. Reading aloud is such a wonderful way to bring family and friends closer and share a special experience together. Here are some of our favorite books in our Christmas book collection:

 

The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey by Susan Wojciechoski

"Christmas is pish-posh," grumbles Jonathan Toomey, the best wood carver in the valley. He's a Scrooge-like recluse; but he is a gentle grouch, and it turns out that he hides a sad secret. And when an eager seven-year-old boy and his widowed mother ask him to make carve a Christmas crèche, the transformation begin. The spirit of Christmas heals a sorrowing woodcarver's heart in this splendid edition of a holiday classic. Lynch's beautiful illustrations, in shades of wood grain, are both realistic and gloriously romantic, focusing on faces and hands at work before the fire and in the lamplight. This is wonderful read-aloud story that even young children will enjoy. Amazon link.


Christmas on Jane Street by Billy Romp 
The warm, wonderful, real-life tale of the family that brings the Christmas spirit to life on a street corner in Manhattan. Every holiday season for nearly twenty years, Billy Romp, his wife, and their three children have spent nearly a month living in a tiny camper and selling Christmas trees on Jane Street in New York City. They arrive from Vermont the day after Thanksgiving and leave just in time to make it home for Christmas morning—and for a few weeks they transform a corner of the Big Apple into a Frank Capra-esque small town alive with heartwarming holiday spirit.

Christmas on Jane Street is about the transformative power of love—love of parent and child, of merchant and customer, of stranger and neighbor. The ideal Christmas story, it is about the lasting and profound difference that one person can make to a family and one family can make to a community. Amazon link. 

An Edwardian Christmas by John L. Goodall

This small book is a treasure! It is all illustrations with no text, but each page follows the story of a family visiting wealthy relatives in a large country house during Edwardian times. Depicted in loving detail, is Christmas as it was at the beginning of the twentieth century, indoors and out, above stairs and below, as seen through the eyes of a boy and girl. My favorite illustrations are of the family walking to church by starlight, and everyone gathered to play games on Christmas Day. It was first published in 1978, so you may want to look for a used copy online.

Peter Spires Christmas!

This is also a wordless picture book by the Caldecott Medal-winning artist of Noah's Ark, and it contains more than ninety full-color paintings capturing the spirit and joy of Christmas through the delights of three young children. My children all loved this when they were young, and it can be enjoyed by preschoolers through adults. First published in 1996, you will want to look for a used copy online.

Some of the other books in our collection include: 
Esther's Gift by Jan Karon
A Cup of Christmas Tea by Tom Hegg
The Christmas Cross by Max Lucado
A Little House Christmas by Laura Ingles Wilder
A Child's Christmas in Wales by Dylan Thomas
Mary's First Christmas by Walter Wagerin Jr.
Christmas at Long Pond by William T. George
The Crippled Lamb by Max Lucado
Christmas by Jan Pienkowski
Santa Are You For Real by Harold Myra
The Nutcracker, A Three Dimensional Story Book Illustrated by Michael Welply
The Christmas Stories of George MacDonald
Mele Kalikimaka ~ Christmas in Hawaii by Julie Mehta
The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg

Do you enjoy reading aloud? Can you add a favorite Christmas story to our list?

________________________________

Leave a comment below for a chance to win one of these amazing novels! 

{Carrie is graciously giving a copy of each away!}

Book Blurb: “In The Daughter of Highland Hall, Carrie Turansky sweeps readers back into the early nineteen hundreds, to the glamour of London society as well as the desperate world of those struggling to survive in London’s East End. This beautiful story is filled with endearing characters who will steal your heart and surprises that will keep you engrossed until the very end.”
—Melanie Dobson, award-winning author of Chateau of Secrets and The Courier of Caswell Hall

Carrie Turansky is the award-winning author of more than a dozen novels and novellas including The Governess of Highland Hall, Surrendered Hearts, and Where Two Hearts Meet. She loves to travel for research and ministry trips with her husband Scott who is a pastor, author, and speaker. She enjoys connecting with reading friends on Facebook, Pinterest, and her website: www.carrieturansky.com.