Y’all are in for such a treat today! Our featured author is in the midst of a new release celebration and we’re just in time to join the fun! 

About the Author

Carrie Turansky has loved reading since she first visited the library as a young child and checked out a tall stack of picture books. Her love for writing began when she penned her first novel at age twelve. She is now the award-winning author of seventeen inspirational romance novels and novellas.

Carrie and her husband, Scott, who is a pastor, author, and speaker, have been married for more than thirty-five years and make their home in New Jersey. They often travel together on ministry trips and to visit their five adult children and three grandchildren.

Carrie leads women’s ministry at her church, and when she is not writing she enjoys spending time working in her flower gardens and cooking healthy meals for friends and family. She loves to connect with reading friends through her website and social media.

website | facebook | twitter | pinterest

 

Five Favorite Tea Party Recipes

Carrie: I loved traveling to England to research my novels. On both those trips, I visited some amazing historic homes, including Highclere Castle where Downton Abbey was filmed, and Tyntesfield, the lovely estate I had in mind when I wrote the Highland Hall novels.

On the first trip I traveled with my husband Scott, and on the second with my dear author friend, Cathy Gohlke. Cathy and I also met up with authors Melanie Dobson and Liz Curtis Higgs and her tour group for some special adventures.

Of course, when you’re in England, you do as the English do and enjoy afternoon tea!

Beth: Oh, that sounds delightful!

Carrie: I’ve been collecting tea treat recipes for a few years, and I’ve celebrated the releases of my English historical novels with tea parties. I thought it would be fun to share some of my favorite recipes with you!

I hope you’ll try one or two of these recipes and enjoy them with a cup of tea while you read my newest novel, Shine Like the Dawn!

Chocolate Dipped Strawberries
Ingredients:
1 pint of fresh strawberries
1 cup chocolate chips
1 Tbs. shortening or oil

Chocolate dipped strawberries are a fun treat and easy to make. First, line a cookie sheet with wax paper and have some toothpicks ready. Wash and dry a pint of plump ripe strawberries and let the come to room temperature. Wipe them with a paper towel again to be sure they’re dry.

Pour 1 cup of milk chocolate, semisweet chocolate, or dark chocolate chips into a medium size bowl or large mug, add 1 Tbs. shortening or oil and microwave on 50% for 30 seconds, then stir. Do that a few more times until the chocolate is melted and smooth.

Use the leaves of the strawberry as a handle and dip the berry into the melted chocolate, not all the way, just part way. While still holding the strawberry, tap your hand lightly a few times to shake off the extra chocolate into the bowl and then lay the berry on the waxed paper to dry and harden. If the leaves are too short, use a toothpick inserted into the stem area as a handle.

Enjoy your strawberries that day or you can refrigerate them for one day.

Coronation Chicken Salad Sandwiches
Ingredients:
Leftover cooked chicken or 1 small chicken breast
2 Tbs. mayonnaise
2 Tbs. Greek yogurt
1 – 2 Tbs. mango chutney
1/2 medium apple, peeled and chopped
1/4 cup sliced almonds
1/4 cup dried cranberries
Dash curry power
Dash coriander
Salt and Pepper to taste
Watercress or baby leaf salad
Crusty white bread or wheat bread

Shred the cooked chicken, or poach 1 small chicken breast in water for 10 minutes, then cool and shred. Mix with equal dollops of mayonnaise and Greek yogurt, and a spoonful of mango chutney.

Stir in chopped apple, almonds and cranberries. Add a dash or two of mild curry power and coriander. Season with salt and pepper. Butter slices of bread, fill with the chicken mixture and some watercress or baby leaf salad.

This should be enough to make at least two sandwiches. Play some British music or watch Downton Abbey and enjoy.

Lavender Tea Bread
Ingredients:
3/4 cup milk
3 Tb. fresh lavender, finely chopped, or 2 Tbs. dried
6 Tbs. butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup sifted powdered sugar
1 tsp water
1/4 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Grease and flour a 9×5 inch loaf pan.

Combine the milk and lavender in a small saucepan over medium heat. Heat to simmer, then remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly.

In a medium bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in the eggs until the mixture is light and fluffy. Add the vanilla. Combine the flour, baking, powder, and salt. Stir the dry mixture into the creamed mixture alternately with the milk and lavender until just blended.

Pour into the prepared pan and bake for 45 – 50 minutes in the preheated oven.

To prepare the glaze, combine the powdered sugar and remaining ingredients. Spread over the hot cake. Cool in the pan 20 minutes on a wire rack and then remove it from the pan to finish cooling on the rack. Enjoy!

Adapted from The Reluctant Entertainer

Raspberry Lemon Scones
Scone Ingredients:
1 stick (1/2 cup) cold, unsalted butter
2 cups unbleached flour
1 Tbs. baking powder
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp salt
Zest of one large lemon
3/4 cup heavy cream
3/4 cup frozen raspberries

Glaze Ingredients:
1/2 large lemon juiced
1/2 – 1 cup powdered sugar

Cut the butter in to 1/4 inch pieces and return it to the refrigerator to keep cold until needed.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Combine the flour, baking powder, sugar, salt, and lemon zest in a large wide bowl.

Add the butter to the dry ingredients and toss to coat it with flour. Working quickly with clean finger or a pastry blender, rub or cut the butter into the flour mixture until it resembles coarse meal.

Add frozen raspberries to the mixture and toss to coat. Drizzle heavy cream evenly over the mixture. Toss with a fork, scraping up from the bottom, until the dough starts to clump together. Knead the mixture together briefly in the bowl until it comes together in a mass. It’s okay if there are a few stray bits and dry patches. It’s very important not to overwork the dough.

Turn out the dough on the parchment-lined baking sheet. Press in stray bits gently and shape the dough into a 7 – 8 inch square about 3/4 inches thick. It should look a bit rough and ragged, that’s okay.

Using a knife or scraper, divide the square into 9 smaller squares. Divide each square in half diagonally to make 18 small triangles.

Separate the scones carefully to give them room to spread. Bake until pale golden, about 12 – 15 minutes.

To prepare the glaze, combine lemon juice and 1/2 cup powdered sugar in a small bowl. Whisk to combine. Add more sugar as needed to create the desired consistency for glazing.

Cool the scones for at least 10 minutes before glazing. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Adapted from Four Arrangement

These are best the first day, so invite friends over when you make this recipe. How about your book club or Bible study friends? Enjoy!

Lemon Curd
Ingredients:
4 large eggs, room temperature
1/2 cup coconut oil
Zest of 2 lemons
1/3 cup honey
1/8 tsp fine sea salt
1/2 cup lemon juice, freshly squeezed (about 3 – 4 lemons spending on size)

Add the eggs, coconut oil, lemon zest, honey, salt, and lemon juice to a 2-quart non-stick saucepan. Whisk together until all ingredients are combined. If your coconut oil is at a solid state and doesn’t combine right away, that’s ok, it will melt when you heat it.

Continue to heat the mixture over medium-low heat, whisking constantly until thickened. The lemon curd will thicken to pudding consistency after about 8 – 10 minutes.

Remove from the heat, transfer to glass containers and cool to room temperature before refrigerating.

Thanks to Sharon Lachendro – What The Fork Food

Lemon Curd is delicious on the Raspberry scones or just about anything!

Beth: Oh, Carrie! These recipes are making me so hungry! Thank you for sharing them with us!

Books

Tell us about your latest book

Carrie: I’m very excited about the release of Shine Like the Dawn! This novel has all the family drama, romance, and inspiration readers enjoyed in the Highland Hall novels, but it also has intrigue and a mystery!

It was fun to learn more about the setting in Northumberland and Cragside House, which I renamed Morningside Manor for my story. I think readers will enjoy stepping back in time and joining my heroine, Maggie, on her journey in Edwardian England.

I’m so pleased it will be available in paperback, ebook, and audio so readers can enjoy it any way they like!

In a quiet corner of northern Edwardian England, Margaret Lounsbury diligently works in her grandmother’s millinery shop, making hats and caring for her young sister. Several years earlier, a terrible tragedy reshaped their family, shattering an idyllic life and their future prospects. But Maggie is resilient and will do what she must to protect her sister Violet. Still, the loss of her parents weighs heavily on her heart and she begins to wonder if what happened that day on the lake…might not have been an accident.

When wealthy inventor and industrialist William Harcourt dies, his son Nathaniel, who is Maggie’s estranged childhood friend, returns from his time in the Royal Navy and inherits his father’s vast estate, Morningside Manor. He also assumes partial control of his father’s engineering company and the duty of repaying an old debt to the Lounsbury family. But years of separation between Nate and Maggie have taken a toll and Maggie struggles to trust her old friend.

Can Maggie let go of the resentment that keeps her from forgiving Nate—and reconciling with God? Will their search for the truth about her parents’ death draw them closer or will it leave them both with broken hearts?

goodreads | amazon

Endorsements for Shine Like the Dawn

“Shine Like the Dawn is a shining gem of a story. Turansky creates characters that are vibrant along with a sweet romance that elicits a satisfying sigh. Intrigue, secrets, and dangerous conflicts make the plot riveting until the very end.”
– Jody Hedlund, author of Luther and Katharina, ECPA Book of the Year

“Reading a Carrie Turanksy novel is the next best thing to taking a trip to England, with the added luxury of stepping back in time. Shine Like the Dawn is an Edwardian gen, layering rich spiritual truths with love, loss, secrets, and forgiveness, always showing God’s abundant restoration. This hope-infused story is as lovely as the cover!”
– Laura Frantz, author of A Moonbow Night

Beth: I adore this book! Readers, find my review and MORE giveaway opportunities on the Celebrate Lit blog tour stop!

What are you working on now?

Carrie: I’m mid-way through writing my next English historical novel. It’s set in 1909 with the backdrop of early aviation and the race to be the first to fly across the English Channel.

The hero is a young aviator and airplane designer with a mysterious past, and the heroine is an aspiring journalist who is trying to win her father’s love and approval. The working title is Beyond the Clouds, but that will probably change before it releases in early 2018.

Beth: I can’t wait to read it! Thank you so much for sharing your delicious recipes and exciting bookish news with us today!

Also Available

Edwardian Brides series

goodreads | amazon

 

Join the Shine Like the Dawn Celebration

Stop by Carrie Turanksy’s Facebook author page and view her live videos February 21 – 25, 3:00 p.m. Eastern. She’ll be talking about the story behind Shine Like the Dawn and giving away a fun prize each day to one person who leaves a comment. Even if you can’t catch the live video you can still enter for 24 hours after it’s posted.

Carrie is also hosting a book launch celebration and giveaway on her blog February 25 – March 6. Stop by and enter for your chance to win some lovely prizes including a signed copy of Shine Like the Dawn, a journal set, a pen set, and a lovely reading journal.

Exclusive Giveaway

In addition to those yummy recipes and the inside scoop on her bookish news, Carrie Turansky is sponsoring a special giveaway of Shine Like the Dawn exclusively for Faithfully Bookish readers! Be sure to comment on this post AND the Celebrate Lit blog tour stop for 5 bonus points!

US mailing addresses only

a Rafflecopter giveaway
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