On "Coming Home"

Revolving door image from Flickr

With three big trips since April, I was starting to feel like my front door was a revolving door! Mind you, I had a wonderful time on my travels to Europe on the dream of a lifetime Rhine River Cruise, our family "Bucket List" trip to Yellowstone where I finally got to see Old Faithful, and then a trip to Michigan. This last trip my time was spent mostly on Mackinac Island rather than in Mackinaw City, where I've spent the past several summers. I got some great research in on my next two books! But I wasn't in one place and ended up with revolving door syndrome on the last trip going from place to place to place. Great to see old friends and family members even if for shorter time this visit.

Beautiful Lake Michigan

In preparing for the coming home, I visited Fort Michilimackinac, the setting of my latest story  Mercy in a Red Cloak. The image above is right inside the fort. And for my readers I bet you'll recognize the image below as a similar door that frames Mercy on my cover!

Gate out of Fort Mackinac

Unfortunately, before I left Michigan, I had to visit the hospital in St. Ignace, for an Urgent Care exam due to extreme heel pain. As I'd stepped into a carriage on Mackinac Island, it felt as though something tore apart in the bottom of my left heel. I can tell you it hurt like crazy. I was told I hadn't broken anything and fortunately for me I had scheduled a visit with my orthopedic doctor for when I came home.

Pelston Airport

After having a wonderful visit with a dear friend from my hometown, I left the next morning from a small nearby airport. The decor there is so quaint--I love it. See a picture above. I got there early as I knew I'd need extra time walking with my very painful foot. I sure was looking forward to getting home and getting some help! Although I was reassured nothing was broken, I knew that something pretty bad had happened in my heel.

Coming home meant I also got to get back to my home church, Northside Christian Church. My fantastic orthopedic doctor (who had a character named after hime--Dr. Michael Potter--in my novella "Shenandoah Hearts" in the Backcountry Brides collection) quickly diagnosed a tear in my fascia and put me back in a boot. Part of my overcoming journey has been getting out of a boot as I spent almost five years in one with my Achilles tendon problems. Big sigh. But the boot (and my knee roller) will hopefully resolve my issue. We also did a PRP procedure to help that troublesome Achilles (painful but in the past it has been very much worth it.)

My guys were here, my hydrangeas were blooming, and I've gotten to see a few dear friends since I've been home. And I've been getting to spend time with my daughter who will soon be a beautiful bride! Now to try to get myself and my son, who has been suffering with ongoing pain issues, both in a little better shape before school starts. And we know who we can look to, because with God, we can overcome.

Question: As you are waiting on God to help you overcome something, what has helped you most?

Roseanna M. White -- Traveling Abroad

Author Roseanna M. White

Traveling Abroad -- by Roseanna M. White

In celebration of our 15^th anniversary, my husband and I took a trip to England and France with the kids, fulfilling a lifelong dream.

When we planned the trip, I purposefully chose some things that I knew would be similar to what my characters would experience in England. 

We visited the Cotswolds, which is where almost the entirety of A Lady Unrivaled is set, toured a few manor houses, wandered the woods and gardens on the estates. And I was thrilled to discover that my descriptions of the area, gleaned from watching videos and studying photographs, was spot on. 

As we walked the wooded paths and got turned around and had to choose between directions, I had to look over at my husband and say, “See? This is why Ella got lost so often!”

What I hadn’t realized was that when we went to Paris, we’d also be walking in the fictional footprints of my characters. In A Lady Unrivaled, there are a total of three scenes not in the Cotswolds, and they’re all in Paris. I’d done enough research (much of it via a friend who’d spent a lot of time there) to be able to describe the streets my characters were on. 

But it was unexpectedly great to walk those streets and see what they would have seen. See the signs for the museum I feature. Stroll along the Champs-Elysee as they did.

Traveling to another country is always interesting—and though my French is terrible (though sufficient for ordering in a restaurant, LOL), my characters wouldn’t have had that problem. They would have taken a boat to France where I took a train (then a train into Paris itself), there would have been more horses and fewer automobiles, but the feel of the old city would have been largely as it is today. 

The Eiffel Tower would still have towered. They would still have heard all the French rather than English and had to think about what they were hearing. It would still feel a bit foreign, a bit unreal, and completely lovely.

Though they wouldn’t have had jet lag to contend with once they got home again, I can imagine them all sinking into their own beds with the same contentment after their trip. There’s nothing like seeing someplace new and beautiful. And there’s also nothing like coming home again.

CFP: Welcome back, Ro!!! Congrats on your new release and on your 15 years of marriage! Looking forward to celebrating with you on the Colonial Quills blog new releases tea party this Friday. The Facebook portion of the party is Friday mid-day. (Click here to indicate you want to JOIN the party this Friday!)

GIVEAWAY: We're giving away a copy of Roseanna's new release this week. Leave a comment to enter. We'll also have reviews up of this brand new novel from Bethany House.

Coping with RA and Travel by Carrie Fancett Pagels

Author Carrie Fancett Pagels

This has been a busy summer with more travel than I've been able to do in a long time. Part of that is because PTL!!! I can walk again! My third PRP procedure last December, seems to have made a big difference in my ability to walk and stand again for much longer periods of time!

So this summer I was able to do a couple of books signings, two library visits (where I was treated so well -- what a blessing!), and got to go visit several people at places where I'd like to sign books or present at next summer or beyond, in Michigan. I donned my pink New Balance tennis shoes and walked all around Mackinac Island. 

I learned a few things. One was that my husband was right about his theory that for me to travel well we'd need to take his big truck and fill up the back with a lot of stuff I need. Like:

My Kindle Fire with my Bible through the Year on it, so I can get into the Word first thing in the morning.
My own very flat pillow (didn't take it to writer's conference later and had to swap out to using a towel!) I have a spinal fusion and degenerative spine so the wrong pillow can cause big problems.
My green tea (I found out for me it lowers my pain about a half level to one full level if I drink it every day.)
My bag full of medications and ointments and patches (like lidocaine patched for my neck) plus supplements that help.
A thick gel foam pillow that I sit on in the truck or when I am in a chair for very long.
Recreational chairs in case I have to sit outside.
My special tennis shoes and orthotics and special sandals.
Ice packs (I use between one to three a night and often during the day use.) These packs can also be heated if need be. 
My glow-in-the-dark plastic water cup which I use during the night (dry mouth is part of the whole RA experience.)
A foam bed topper for my joints in case the rental bed is too hard or too soft.


If you are thinking right about now that I am high maintenance, that would be right! 

Carrie Fancett Pagels and cousin Susan Carey Matheny

One of my coping techniques was also to stop and see friends and family members (like my cousin Susan, pictured right -- she's a newlywed!) along the way. Susie lived for many years in Lansing, which is where my upcoming release "Requilted with Love" in The Blue Ribbon Brides (Barbour, November 2016) is set! 

We tried to keep our legs of the journey to 350 to 450 miles max. It was so wonderful getting to see so many folks, some blog friends I had not yet met in person, like Tina Rice, who has joined us on the Colonial Quills blog! I also got to visit Sister Mary Lou Kwiatkowski and some of her wonderful fellow nuns in Pittsburgh! And author Rita Gerlach, in Maryland, on our return trip.

Carrie Fancett Pagels with Tina St.Clair Rice

GIVEAWAY: Answer this question -- what do you have to do to make travel more manageable for you? One person will receive choice of format for Tea Shop Folly (Forget Me Not Romances, July 2017) and an ebook of O' Little Town of Christmas collection.

Tea Shop Folly (A Teacup Courtship Novella) now available in paperback. One of our commenters will receive a copy of this new novella! 

O' Little Town of Christmas collection is now available with all of the novellas in one ebook. Novellas from the talented Cynthia Hickey, Debra E. Marvin, Becca Withal, Teresa Ives Lilly, and Linda Baten Johnson and myself.

This includes my 2016 Maggie Award published romance novella finalist "The Substitute Bride" (please be praying as mine is the only inspirational finalist and the winner will be announced in October at the Moonlight and Magnolias conference!) 

Coping Post-Conference by Carrie Turansky

Coping with Post-Conference and Being Productive

By Carrie Turansky

I’ve just returned home from a great week in Nashville where I attended the first Christian Fiction Readers’ Retreat and the annual American Christian Fiction Writers Conference. Anyone who has gone to a writers’ conference or other work related conference or even on vacation can identify with the list of tasks that await you when you return. How do you cope and make the most from your time away?

Talking to my husband and sharing the highlights of the conference is a great way for me to debrief. I find talking it over with him helps me see the events in perspective and realize how grateful I am for the positive things that happened and what lessons I can learn from the challenging times. Then I focus on the practical needs: unpacking and getting the laundry going. I take over the dinning room table and separate all my trip items into piles: expenses and receipts, business cards, gifts, books, workshop notes, etc. 

Then I make a list of people I need to follow up with via email. If I made a promise to send someone information or a link, I send that. I thank those who met with me or went out of their way to help me at the conference. I review the business cards and make a note on the back if needed and file those away. I shelve the books or add them to my giveaway basket. I record my expenses and file my receipts. I look over my workshop notes and decide what to keep and file those. 

Writers often work in a quiet environment by themselves, so a week of high-level interaction can be draining. Give yourself time to recover. Sleep well, eat well, and move back into your routine as you feel you’re ready. Focus your thoughts on the positive events of the conference and thank the Lord for all He is taught you through your time away.

CFP: Thank you for sharing, Carrie Turansky! Great seeing you at CFRR and ACFW conference! Great tips! 

Bio for Carrie:

Bestselling Inspirational Romance Author Carrie Turansky writes heartwarming historical and contemporary novels and novellas. She has won the ACFW Carol Award, the Crystal Globe Award, and the International Digital Award. She lives in New Jersey with her husband Scott, and they have five grown children and four grandchildren. When she’s not writing you’ll find Carrie working in her flower gardens, walking around the lake near their home, or cooking healthy meals for friends and family. She loves to connect with reader through her website: Carrie Turansky.com, Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter.

NOW AVAILABLE!!! Check at your local Christian book stores! Also available online.
Mountain Christmas Brides (Barbour Publishing, September 2016)

From a Wyoming ranch in 1880, to a logging camp in Washington Territory in the late 1800s, to Denver, Colorado, in 1913, meet nine couples who find that Christmas is the perfect time for climbing to the heights of romance. Watch as their faith and courage propel them through challenges that come with mountain winters to cozy fireside celebrations that lead to lasting proclamations of love. Penned by an exclusive selection of Christian fiction authors—including Susan Page Davis, Carrie Turansky, Lena Nelson Dooley, and others—this collection of nine romances is one to treasure.

GIVEAWAY: We're giving away a paperback copy of Mountain Christmas Brides with stories by Carrie Turansky, Susan Page Davis, Lena Nelson Dooley, Darlene Franklin, Debby Lee, Mildred Colvin, Gina Welborn, and Tamela Hancock Murray! 

7 Ideas for Coping with Travel Packing by Carrie Fancett Pagels

Summer is supposed to be a time of fun, right? And of trips and fun travels, correct?  But for those of us with chronic pain or other chronic conditions, planning for a trip  or even thinking about the trip can be stressful!

Lists are the friends of travelers, but for those with autoimmune issues, there is often an extra layer of lists just for medications and for over-the-counter medical stuff and supplements. There may be the five ice packs you bring along for your own inflamed joints and another family member's.  We're currently packing for a combo Camp JRA trip for our son and then later we'll have packing for our trip to Michigan where I have book signings and two library presentations. One thing I love about Pennsylvania's Camp JRA program is 1) they give you a complete list of  often-needed things for kids with juvenile arthritis and 2) your child is not the only one hauling all this stuff.

Deciding to even take a trip requires a lot of prayer. God, do you really want me doing this? Even knowing that I could have a flare up, or another family member could? What if I forget my medications? What if I need health care in a remote location? When you're out of state your insurance works a little differently, too.

For those of us already barely managing to do our daily activities of laundry, cooking, keeping up with bills, and some cleaning -- planning a trip adds an entire extra layer of requirements. There is usually some shopping to do. I mainly shop for groceries, every couple of weeks and that is pretty much it. So today, adding some shopping for cargo shorts added a little extra to our Sunday and, although I hate to admit it, taxed my already low stamina.  If you've never read about the spoons theory and autoimmune disease, here's a link (click here.)

Here are just a few tips I have besides first committing your travel to prayer and to the Lord:
1) Figure out your usual schedule and how often you are "down" from your ailment, on average. Take the "good" days or your best days and count those up and divide by the number of weeks. Let's say you find out you really only have 2 days a week that are "ok" days where you get your list done (for me it is a)laundry, b) meals, c) bills, and d) some kind of cleaning) then estimate how long it will take you to prepare for the trip. Take that time and divide it up over those good days.  You may find out it takes you over a month to have stamina to prepare for a one week trip.
2) IF possible, delegate and also enlist the help of others to help with the work.Sometimes just discussing the list with another adult can help. Be sure that person understands where you are going. For instance, in some rural areas of Michigan, where we often travel, there isn't going to be a Walmart to run to! And even if there is, they may be out of stuff that you didn't bring.
3) Be careful not to add too many activities to that period of time leading up to the travel. IF you do that, then you need to add more weeks to your expected packing time.
4) Personally, I've found it easiest to keep a travel bag of sample sizes ready for personal items. That normally takes me a ton of time to pack, so keeping a personal bag all stocked up saves me a lot of time.
5) If you're going someplace where you're wearing your normal everyday clothes, as you get closer to departure consider packing right from the dryer, instead of putting clothes away. Ask kids and spouse to use some of their less-worn items in the interim before the trip.
6) Don't compare yourself to others. You may need an entire suitcase filled with cold packs, special pillows, TENS unit, etc. and a special pillow.
7) The stuff you use at home to manage your illness often becomes taken for granted. As you get closer to the trip really pay attention to the stuff you use on a daily or even weekly basis.  For instance, I use a memory foam pillow when I sit for very long, so that has to come with me. Also, don't forget to pack medications that are only for your "worst" days, just in case.

GIVEAWAY: What about you? What do you need to pack for your vacation that you can't do without?

I'm VERY excited about the paperbacks of my new release Saving the Marquise's Granddaughter coming out on July 1st and I'll be packing a box to take up to my book signings!!! Leave a comment for a chance to win an autographed copy!