by Kathleen L. Maher
Welcome back, Carrie! You’ve been a very busy girl since we
last chatted here.
You’ve written (and launched) two full length novels, republished a couple of
your award-winning novellas with new covers, and released at least another one
( or two?) of your stories in audio. I’m guessing I’m missing something,
because I honestly can’t keep up with you! All of that, plus being an amazing
critique partner and writing mentor to yours truly.
Carrie: Yes, it has been busy! Butterfly Cottage, a book of my heart – to honor my mother’s dying wishes—released in May and I’ve been amazed at how much people love this story! I had one reader say that if she could she would give it 10 stars. When I was signing books on Mackinac Island, people came up to me with tears in their eyes because the story resonated so powerfully with them! The pancreatic cancer issue and drug and alcohol addictions are real things that contemporary families deal with. And if your readers didn’t realize it—although I’ve been a historical CF romance writer up until now with Butterfly Cottage I wrote my first Contemporary Women’s Fiction! Yes, there is some romance in there, too! The Steeplechase, Holt Medallion finalist, released on audiobook last month and the narrator did a great job. Dogwood Plantation also got audiobook treatment in 2021. And Behind Love’s Wall is releasing early November. Oh and Requilted With Love, a novella that I got the rights back to, re-released with a big revision in August!
Dogwood Plantation audiobook: https://www.audible.com/pd/Dogwood-Plantation-Audiobook/B08Z4JVHRB?qid=1633698565&sr=1-5&ref=a_search_c3_lProduct_1_5&pf_rd_p=83218cca-c308-412f-bfcf-90198b687a2f&pf_rd_r=ZRC5YRYS99Q8HYRZNQBZ
Butterfly Cottage
https://www.christianbook.com/behind-loves-wall-carrie-pagels/9781636090696/pd/090696?event=ESRCN
Requilted with Love
Can you describe for us what your typical day/week looks like, writing wise? Do you divide your schedule into fixed compartments for marketing, new writing, editing, helping others, social media, or other? Or do you follow a more que sera sera, whatever will be will be, philosophy? How DO you get so much done?
So many of your amazing stories are set in the UP (Upper
Peninsula) Michigan, especially in and around Mackinac Island. You recently
spent a good portion of your summer there. Care to share some highlights and
why it is such a special place in your heart?
Carrie: I grew up in the Eastern Upper Peninsula and worked one magical summer on Mackinac Island. It was our country’s second National Park for good reason—a Michigan State Park now for much of the island. It’s like stepping back in time, in many ways. Summers on Mackinac are glorious and the island has its own microclimate. Even if it’s hot in other parts of Michigan, you’re in general going to be cool at the Straits. The people on the island are really special. The big fire this summer, and the islanders response to help the young couple with their wedding, made national news—this is what Mackinac is all about! Since I am a Yooper girl by birth, and since my family and friends are in the area, I feel more at home there in many ways than I do here in Virginia. (Although, BTW, my ancestors were some of the first European founders right here in the area where I now live! Full Circle!)
I had the privilege and honor of reading early drafts of both of your 2021 releases. Butterfly Cottage, (a debut in contemporary Women’s Fiction for you), and also your upcoming release in Barbour’s Doors to the Past series, Behind Love’s Wall, both of which display your incredible skill at weaving complex casts of characters struggling through unifying themes, with depth and authenticity. I’m still relishing my time spent with these characters, as their stories resonate long after that last page is turned. What for you was the hardest part of writing (almost concurrently) two full length novels set in the same general setting, while maintaining the distinctive qualities and themes of each?
Carrie: As you know, I write in character. So I don’t generally get
mixed up with the characters, but it can happen as you know haha. Thank you for your kind words. I miss the
Charbonneau ladies. I had spent three years percolating their story before it
released and now I want to do a sequel. Maybe in 2022—I have a story that is
meshing with a re-release of another Mackinac Island story where I got rights
back. I find each character and their story has a different “take” on the
island. So from their POV I see the island. Willa, the designer in upcoming
Behind Love’s Wall, almost ruined the island for me—she really did for the
Grand Hotel! I went to the island in character, looking through the eyes of a
designer hoping to pitch a redesign! Ugh! Right now, the contemporary story I’m
working on the heroine, currently named Rachel, will never be inside the Grand,
will likely never make it into the fort, etc. Her view of the island is from
that of. . . not saying hahahaha! No spoilers at this point!
Have you ever written a character, (hero, heroine, minor
character or even villain) that was based on someone you knew personally, with
details so close that you wondered if they would recognize themselves?
Carrie: Oh, you are such a bad girl to ask me that mwahaha! Yes, I
have started out with characters like that and then I blow their bad points up
and take them well over-the-top so they really aren’t the same as the people
who inspired them. I’ve found that if there is someone who really is a
character, I’m tempted to use some of their “stuff” and magnify it a hundred
times! I’m waiting for you, Kathy, to include an arthritic, asthmatic,
migraineur senior citizen with a teenaged son, a lady who only wears pink, to
show up in one of your stories! Hey, maybe I’ll put myself in one of my
contemporary Women’s Fictions in the future!
What is the highest compliment a reader ever paid you?
Carrie: Wow, I had a tearful moment this summer with my waitress on
Mackinac Island. She recognized my name and told me she had read My Heart
Belongs on Mackinac Island and how it had really touched her soul. I got
the sense that it helped her spiritual journey kick off. That’s what I hope my
readers get from my stories—something that deeply touches their souls.
What do you hope readers will take away from your writing?
Carrie: My tagline is “Overcoming with God”. I want my readers to
walk away with renewed hope that God will get them through their circumstances
like He does my characters!
What was the hardest or most interesting research you’ve
ever undertaken for a story? Did it involve travel, wearing period clothing,
dialogue particulars, native flora or fauna, food, dancing…etc?
Do tell all!
Carrie: Like I mentioned, I went to the Grand Hotel on Mackinac
Island, in character, and I told staff I was a novelist writing a story about a
new interior designer coming to pitch her ideas. You’d think I’d have told them
that I had super-spreading Covid and was bringing it to the Grand! The wide
eyes looked about to explode (there were lawsuits filed because of the
dismissal of the previous long-time designer plus he said that the former
owners didn’t have the right to sell items which were his property, to the new
international owners.) Whew! I was worried they might kick me out, so my son
and I hurried along.
What is one thing you wish readers understood about the
process of writing?
Carrie: The novel that you just read took tons and tons of hours to
write. Then more time spent in critiques. Then more in edits. Then more in line
edits and proofs. Then more time to promote. If you saw the original product
some of your fave authors wrote--you would be shocked at the difference between
that and the final product. Every publishing house is different in terms of the
support they give their authors. Some have a light touch and some have a heavy
hand. It takes a village, even for an independent release.
How can new readers find and connect with you?
Carrie Fancett Pagels, Ph.D., is the award-winning author of over twenty Christian fiction books, including ECPA and Amazon bestsellers. Twenty-five years as a psychologist didn't "cure" her overactive imagination! A self-professed “history geek,” she resides with her family in the Historic Triangle of Virginia but grew up as a “Yooper.” Carrie loves to read, bake, bead, and travel – but not all at the same time! You can connect with her at www.CarrieFancettPagels.com.
Website: www.carriefancettpagels.com
Blogs: Overcoming With God and Colonial Quills
Thank you so much for spending time here at the Diamond Mine
of Christian Fiction. If I were to assign the four C’s of value to you as a
diamond, (which are carat weight, color, clarity, and cut,) I would say you are
a 200 carat , multi-faceted, emerald cut, clear blue diamond, but then, since
your favorite color is pink, maybe I’ll say pink. At any rate, you are
priceless and one of a kind, and I hope more and more readers discover what a
true gem you are to Christian fiction!
Wow I love that! TY!!! I dk if my arthritic fingers could
lift a 200 carat diamond no matter what color it was. But that could make an amazing gift to give back to my fantastic critique partner, Kathleen L. Maher,
who is an amazing author and lovely person! Thanks for having me on DMoCF,
Kathy!
GIVEAWAY: To enter, please leave a comment or question for Carrie below. Two lucky commenters will be drawn to win one of her newest releases. Be sure to leave your email address in the comments so you can be notified if you are selected by random dot org for a prize.
Two successful women, a hundred-and-twenty-years apart, build walls to protect their hearts. Modern-day Willa, a successful interior decorator, is chosen to go to Mackinac Island and consult for the Grand Hotel’s possible redesign. During work on a room, she discovers a journal detailing the struggles of a young woman, Lily—which reveals dark secrets. The renowned singer wasn’t who she pretended to be.
As Willa reaches out to Lily’s descendant, a charismatic and prominent landscape artist, she lets down her guard. Should she share the journal with him—revealing hidden history—or once again erect a wall as she struggles to redesign both the Grand and her life?
Butterfly Cottage
Three generations of women unexpectedly head out to the family's cottage at the Straits of Mackinac for a small-town Michigan summer together. Jaycie begins an Archeology internship on Mackinac Island. Her mother, Tamara, takes a break from teaching kindergarteners. And her grandmother, Dawn, struggles with a decision to sell her successful travel agency and possibly retire. Each has her own journey to pursue during this short respite time from "normal" life. One of them has a secret that will change all of their lives. Can she make this one special summer to remember or will all be devastated? Faith for family and friends will be tested, with some finally able to put the past behind them and begin anew. (Set in 2018, pre-Pandemic.)
