My Book Therapy presents Carrie Turansky as this week’s featured Voices.

Carrie and her husband Scott have been married for over thirty years and live in Central New Jersey. They have five great kids, a lovely daughter-in-law, a great son-in-law, and two darling grandsons. Now that her children are grown she has more time to be involved in ministry with her husband who is a pastor and who also oversees The National Center for Biblical Parenting. They often travel together when Scott presents parenting seminars around the country. 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 & Gray Christmas and the author of Along Came Love and Home To Fairhaven.

What is the biggest writing challenge you’ve encountered this past year?

After two completed manuscripts were requested and then turned down…I knew I needed to follow up on the editor’s comments and suggestions. I needed to learn more about creating likable characters with believable goals, motivations, and conflicts. I needed to understand more about pacing my story. I also needed time to get over that emotional hump of finishing two books that were not accepted.

How did you solve it?

I have followed the Blog A Book series since January, and I bought Susie’s Inside Out book. That has been very helpful and gave me a positive way to get back to work.  Watching the feedback and critiquing between Susie and Rachel also really helped me. I understand things more easily when someone shows me with an example what they mean. That is a great way to learn.

What is the one thing you learned that you can share with other writers?

Taking time to work through the exercises and questions in the Inside Out book as I developed my new WIP has really been encouraging for me. I especially appreciated thinking through the lies that my characters believe and then finding the truth from God’s word and godly principles that will help my characters have that ah-ha moment of truth. I believe this is going to add spiritual depth to my stories and make them resonate more with my readers.

Tell us about your current WIP.

I am currently working on HOME TO FAIRHAVEN, contemporary inspirational romance that is contracted with Steeple Hill Love Inspired and will come out next year.

Here is the short blurb: Hiding a secret that could destroy her reputation, former teacher Rachel Clark, now director of Northcoast Christian Youth Theater, comes to Fairhaven, Washington, hoping to make a fresh start. When she rents space with an artists’ cooperative overseen by handsome frame shop owner, Cameron McKenna, she believes she’s finally found someone she can trust, but will she have the courage to open her heart and tell him the truth about her past? Or will she hold on to her secret and lose her chance for love?

Carrie, thank you for being our featured Voice this week. To learn more about Carrie, visit her website.

Visit the Voices forum and Meet the Voices thread to discuss writing, life, and everything in between with Carrie. We will feature Carrie as our guest Voice along with a casual Q & A with our book therapists, Susan May Warren and/or Rachel Hauck during a chat on Friday, August 14 at 8 PM EST/7 PM CST.

To access the My Book Therapy chat, follow these steps:

* Log onto My Book Therapy.
* Click on the forum button.
* Sign in with your username and password, if necessary.
* Along the bottom of your browser window, you will see MBT Voices Chat. Click on that and the chat window will pop up.
* Your name will show up in the box on the right hand side. To comment, type in the box in the bottom under the yellow smiley face.
* If you have any questions, send an e-mail to lisa@mybooktherapy.com and put Chat in the subject.