The Diamond Mine of Christian Fiction: Our Own Carrie Walker Releases Her Newest Book!

Ah, readers. Take a break from snow, sleet, and sub-zero temperatures, (as I write this, it is 2º F outside my window)~even if you're only looking at pics of all that wintery stuff in someone else's yard!

Because this week, I'm highlighting one of The Diamond Mine of Christian Fiction's very own, Carrie Walker! Her second book Right Before Their Eyes released just two days ago. Wahoo! We're all so proud of her accomplishment and here is where you get the scoop on Carrie and her newest release.

PT: Welcome Carrie. You're usually behind the scenes here at The Diamond Mine, but now you've released your second book this past Monday. Tell us all what started your writing journey?

CW: It was my first book, actually. J I always loved reading and would often think “what if I wrote a book” but I never sat down to actually do it, until God gave me a story. Once I had the story idea of a baby that doctors deemed “incompatible with life” living to change the life of a troubled teen, I had to figure out this writing thing and realized I loved it.

PT: You have seven kids, correct? How you manage to squeeze in time for writing and share the coolest thing about a big family.

CW: Yes! Seven kids definitely keep me busy. The ages of my kids are 20, 20 (they aren’t actual twins, my eldest we adopted at the same time I was pregnant and they are 6 months apart), 18, 15, 13, 10 and 7. It’s an interesting balance, squeezing in writing, but I feel like God carved out that time with my first book when I really needed time to learn what I was doing. Now, I don’t let any open time go unused. It’s not unheard of for me to be typing in the car while waiting for one of my kids to come out of an activity!

PT: I think a lot of moms squeeze in me-time that same way. What’s the most fun place you and your family ever visited and why it is a favorite?

CW: Oh, that’s a tough one. I love to travel with the family, and I always want to pick somewhere new because there are so many amazing places to see. I would say one of the most memorable would be the Grand Canyon.

One of the most fun was an Airbnb we stayed in while in San Diego. It was 107 year old house that had a real tree house in the back yard. So fun for the kids.

PT: A little bird told me that you love snow, right? How much snow did you get this year so far and your favorite snow activity?

CW: I just love snow, and especially the first snow. It’s so magical to see the world covered in a blanket of white. We have gotten disappointedly little the last few years (this year included so far), but I’m anxiously awaiting making a snowman with the kids. I really want to take them sledding too. We got new sleds two years ago and haven’t been able to use them yet.

PT: Let’s get down to writing. What’s your favorite writing aspect: idea creation, character creation, writing, editing, marketing, or in-person book signings?

CW: I love the brainstorming phase with ideas and characters. It’s so fun to start to feel a story come together in your mind and see that vision and realize “yes, there’s a story here.” With writing and editing, I like whichever one I’m not doing, LOL. If I’m writing and get stuck, I dream of the day I’ll be editing. And then when I’m editing and can’t get it figured out I wish to be drafting again. The grass is always greener I guess.

PT: So let’s talk about your newest release. Where did the idea come from for Right Before Their Eyes?

CW: I always envisioned Emma’s Hero to be the first book of a 3 book series, in that we can see Mason’s character grow from a troubled teen into adulthood with an underscoring glimpse of how this baby, that doctors counted out, changed the world—even years later. So, for this book, Mason walked on the page already telling me where he was at in his life, struggling with love and deciding on medical school.

But the cross-over storyline of a foster teen who lost her foster home and is transferred to a group home definitely was an inspiration. I knew that Clare would be a social worker, but then the thought of showing this subplot through the eyes of that teen really felt right. I wanted to walk through this trying time with her and learn.

PT: Do you use any real-life scenarios from your own life in your books?

CW: Not always, but this book does have a nugget from real life. There is a story that Grandma Dottie tells Mason at a time he’s struggling to make a decision that is a true story from my own grandparents. Every time I hear it, I smile…and I hope you do too.

PT: Inquiring minds what to know who your favorite character is in Right Before Their Eyes, and which character is most like you?

CW: I just love Mason. He’s so real to me, the way he’s trying to seek God and do what’s right, but struggling with his own weaknesses and being bold. I feel there are so many times his struggles are so relatable and it’s so easy to cheer for him when he succeeds. The character most like me, would probably be Clare. I often bite off more than I can chew in life, and with it all being good things it’s hard to say “no” to them, and so I can find myself having to figure out how to do it, and needing to find the help God is providing for me.

PT: Drum roll…tell 5 things about Carrie Walker that have nothing to do with writing:

CW: I love playing board games.

I have a pet Labrador-Retriever Mix.

I love to travel.

I love old houses.

I met my husband when I was fourteen (started dating when I was fifteen).

PT: On to the future. What’s the next book idea or direction?

CW: The third book in the series Someone to Lean On will release in the spring of 2026, so I’m working on the edits for the final story in the Faith Endures Series along with drafting a new story that isn’t tied to this series.

PT: And that wraps it up. Now, if you can stand the wait to see if you win our drawing~please leave a comment and email or leave your info on our contact form to enter~BUT if you can't bear to wait, go, GO, GO right now to this link to support Carrie and get her newest release Right Before Their Eyes.

Thanks Carrie for the peek into your family and writing world!

Want to know more about Carrie? Of course you do! Read on and check out her links:

LINKS:

www.carriewalkerwrites.com

www.facebook.com/cwalkerauthor

www.instagram.com/cwalkerauthor

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/48336857.Carrie_Walker

https://www.amazon.com/author/cwalkerauthor5.10

BIO

Carrie Walker lives in Michigan with her husband and seven children. From her ten years serving as a high school youth minister, adventures around the globe, and raising a family, many stories have been knit within her heart.

As an avid reader she pens what she loves to read, contemporary stories that bring hope to a hurting world. Weaving romance among story lines of characters in struggle, she aims to show God working in all situations. When she’s not playing board games with her husband, shuttling kids in the Walker bus or wishing for snow, Carrie can be found at the keyboard bringing those stories to life.

Carrie’s writing has been recognized in many contests. Her debut novel, Emma’s Hero, won the IAN Book of the Year for Christian Fiction, placed in the International Book Awards, ACFW Crown Award, Monroe Walton Center for the Arts Award, and won the 2020 ACFW First Impressions Contest.