Monday, December 10, 2012

Carrie Fancett Pagels

Carrie Fancett Pagels writes romantic historical fiction.  Represented by Joyce Hart, she is Zone Director of the ACFW MidAtlantic Zone and Blogs at “Colonial Quills” (http://colonialquills.blogspot.com) and “Overcoming With God.” 


Welcome to Ink Dots, Carrie. What an honour to share you with my readers. Tell us where you're from and who you live with. I live in Yorktown, Virginia in the USA. I am originally from the upper peninsula of Michigan and can be referred to as a former “Yooper” because the upper peninsula is abbreviated as the U. P. This is a VERY rural and rustic area which is composed of mostly national forest and has Lake Superior on one side and Lake Michigan on the other. The people from up there are rather different—very independent and kind of pioneer type people. I live in a suburban area of Virginia now which is part of a huge catchment area called Hampton Roads.  Millions of people live in this area which is very spread out. But the county I live in, York, is somewhat small in comparison to say Virginia Beach, which is also part of the area. Wow, that sounds incredible. You live in a part of the world I dream about visiting! 

Tell us what you write. I write “romantic” historical fiction. A kindred spirit. I write historical romance too. There's something so delicious about our genre, isn't there? 

If you could have lived at another time in history, what would it be and why?  This is a great time for me.  I would not have like to live through another time in history I don’t think! Settled in the real world, and keen to visit the past through good books, like so many? I get that! 

What about the here and now? Have you been to Australia?  No. I would love to visit Noela Nancarrow who just joined our blog. And visit Queensland.  I also have distant Fancett relatives there I would love to meet! But before that trip I would love to get to France, Germany, and the Netherlands because I have a manuscript set there. (Prayers for its publication are appreciated!) Oh, wow! The beautiful Noela. I don't blame you for wanting to visit her. And yes, we will be praying for publication news to arrive for you very soon!

Who has influenced you as a writer the most, and why? Anne of Green Gables, by L.M. Montgomery painted such a beautiful picture of a young girl's life in Canada. And since I grew up living near the border of Canada and was the same age as Anne when I read the book, I related to the character. Montgomery's vivid portrayal of the setting, her characterization, and her unique story telling hooked me. The Thoenes stories brought me to Christian fiction. Their historical accuracy, strong characterization and powerful stories made me want to write Christian fiction myself. That was almost 25 years ago but their writing has held the test of time. I think many echo your love of both writers, Carrie. 

***

If you would like to learn more about Carrie, here's where you can find her. One day very soon, Carrie will have a book to share with us, and I look forward to featuring her here again, and celebrating her good news. In the meantime, visit here and find a kindred spirit. Just like I did. :)


Carrie's dream is to share her stories with you. Wouldn't it be great for this to happen next year? I'll be praying that door opens for Carrie very soon. 

What about you? What's your dream for the new year? Share your dreams and you could win any of the Colonial Quills author's e-books. Winner gets to choose, and I'll announce who that is, here in the comment thread on Friday. Good luck!