Carrie Turansky’s faith is a motivating factor in her latest Christian/romance book
By Regina Yorkgitis
The British social class drama Downton Abbey, with its schemes, romances and twists of the captivating time in history, has become a fan favorite in the United States.
But for one 25-year Lawrence resident, the series served as an inspiration for the author’s latest book, The Governess of Highland Hall, which was published this fall by WaterBrook Multnomah, a division of Penguin Random House.
“It’s very hard to get published,”said Carrie Turansky, a Christian/romance author.
In fact, she wrote five books before one was finally accepted.
An Oregon native, Turanksy has always loved to read, but her first passion was art. At Oregon State University, Turansky graduated with a bachelor’s degree in fine arts. After college, she worked in an advertising department for a book distributor. Soon, she got married and raised five children with her husband, Scott.
“Carrie brings so much of her own heart into her books,” said Carrie’s friend Cathy Gohlke, an author. “I think it is interesting that Carrie has lived parts of the lives of the characters in her books.”
Turansky, 59, is a world traveler, like the heroine of her latest book. She lived in Hawaii for eight years, made her way around Europe and even spent a year in Kenya on a mission trip with her family.
“We are Christians and we wanted to do a missionary experience,” she said.
It was her family’s trip to Kenya that first sparked her desire to write. Feeling nostalgic when she returned to the U.S. from Kenya, she decided to write about her memories.
“I thought I could relieve my experiences,” she said.
Through writers’ conferences, Turansky learned the techniques of writing a book and has now authored several publications.
At a convention in Philadelphia, she met an editor searching for someone to write a romance novel, playing on the popularity of Downton Abbey.
Turansky developed a proposal, consisting of the first three chapters of a book, and the submission was so popular that several publishers were vying for her book.
Before writing The Governess of Highland Hall, Turansky thoroughly researched Edwardian England. She learned about communication, music, games and holiday traditions of people of that time. She even visited Highclere Castle, the estate pictured in Downton Abbey.
Turansky also researched how faith played a part in that time period.
“Faith is the center of my life,” Turansky said. “I really wanted to find out what the people with strong faith were doing at that time.”
Turansky, who described faith as “really down to earth,” did not come to fully understand her faith until she was a young adult. Since then, her faith has become the most important aspect of her life. Through her writing, she hopes to encourage her readers to live their life with a faith center.
“I want to make the stories realistic,” she said.
When one of her characters face a situation, she asks herself how she would honestly handle that situation.
The heroine of The Governess of Highland Hall, Julia Foster, worked as a missionary in India before moving to England in 1911. Responsible for the wellbeing of four children, as a governess in Highland Hall, Foster transforms the estate with her faith.
Like Anna Smith, Turansky’s favorite character in Downton Abbey, Foster is kind to everyone that she meets. But while working at Highland Hall (and finding love along the way), Foster encounters the rigid class divide that governesses of that time faced.
“The governess was in the middle,” Turansky said.
Governesses were never fully welcomed into either the estate family or the servants quarters.
The Governess of Highland Hall is Carrie’s “best book yet,” according to Cathy Gohlke, award winning author of Promise Me This. Gohlke said the uplifting book is a cross between Jayne Eyre, Anne of Avonlea, and Downton Abbey.
Turansky has embraced social media, like Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest, to connect with fans. She has more than 3,000 Twitter followers, and for the cover art for her book, Turansky sent artists a Pinterest board of her inspiration.
When she is not writing, Turansky actively participates in the women’s ministry at her church, Calvary Chapel Living Hope in Robbinsville. The friendships and memories she has in made in Lawrence have kept Turansky in the town for 25 years. Yet, she still makes time to visit her grandkids in California and travel when she is able.
Turanksy is finishing Book 2 of The Edwardian Bride Series, The Daughter of Highland Hall. For updates, follow her on Twitter @carrieturansky and on Facebook at facebook.com/authorcarrieturansky.
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