ALONG CAME LOVE
Contemporary Inspirational Romance
Steeple Hill - Love Inspired #345, April 2006
ISBN 0-373-87363-8, 250 Pages, $4.99

Single mother Lauren Woodman returns to Vermont to renovate her family’s historic property and open an antique and art gallery. She longs to build a secure life for herself and her young son, leave her past mistakes behind, and avoid any romantic entanglements in the future. When Lauren crashes her car into a snow bank, she is rescued by a longhaired man she assumes is a homeless wanderer. Wes Evans is actually an ex-missionary who considers himself a failure for buckling under in the face of persecution and imprisonment for his illegal missionary work in the Middle East. He senses God has sent him to Vermont to help Lauren and her son, but he is torn by his desire to keep his past a secret. As their friendship deepens to romance, Wes is forced to make difficult choices that involve great sacrifice in order to protect Lauren and her son. Lauren and Wes discover new dimensions of God’s grace and forgiveness as they put their love, their faith, and their very lives on the line for each other.

Click here to download an excerpt of "Along Came Love ."

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Along Came Love Recipes

Did your mouth water when you read the description of Aunt Tilley’s Apple Walnut Muffins? Or did you wish you had the recipe for the chicken enchiladas she baked on Lauren’s birthday? How about Bill’s special baked beans recipe or those yummy chocolate chip oatmeal cookies Lauren brought to the community potluck? I love to cook, and I thought it would be fun to share some of the recipes from ALONG CAME LOVE. Please feel free to pass them along!

Happy Cooking,
Carrie

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Tilley’s Apple Walnut Muffins
    1/3 cup vegetable oil
    1 golden delicious apple peeled and shredded , or 1/2 cup apple sauce
    1 cup sugar
    2 eggs
    1 teaspoon vanilla extract
    2 cups flour (Or you can use 1 cup of white and 1 cup of whole wheat)
    1 teaspoon baking soda
    1 teaspoon cinnamon
    1/2 teaspoon salt
    1 1/2 cup peeled and chopped golden delicious apple, about 1 large
    1/2 cup raisins
    1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix the oil, shredded apple, sugar, eggs and vanilla in a large mixing bowl. Add the flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Mix just until the dry ingredients are wet. Add the chopped apple, raisins, and walnuts and fold in. Don’t over mix. Pour into muffin tin sprayed with nonstick cooking spray or use paper liners. Bake 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clan. Cool and enjoy!

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Tilley’s Chicken Enchiladas
    1 can (10 3/4 oz.) Cream of Chicken OR 98% Fat Free Cream of Chicken Soup
    1 container (8 oz.) light sour cream
    1/2 cup mild or medium salsa
    1/2 cup chicken broth
    2 - 3 cups chopped cooked chicken
    1 1/2 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
    10 Fajita Size Flour Tortillas, warmed
    1 medium tomato, chopped
    1 green onion, sliced

Mix soup, sour cream and salsa to make sauce. Mix 1 cup sauce mixture, chicken and 1 cup of the cheese. Spread about 1/4 cup chicken mixture down center of each tortilla. Roll up and place seam-side down in 3-qt. shallow baking dish. Pour remaining sauce mixture over enchiladas and sprinkle with remaining cheese. Cover with foil.
Bake at 350 degrees for 30 – 40 minutes. Top with tomato and onion before serving.
Serves 6.

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Bill’s Maple Baked Beans
    1 1/2 pounds of dry white navy beans
    1 cup real maple syrup
    4 oz. salt pork, cubed (or 3 slices of bacon cut into pieces)
    1/4 cup chili sauce
    1 onion, chopped
    1 tsp. salt
    1 tsp. dry mustard
    salt and pepper to taste

Place beans in a large saucepan, cover with cold water, and bring to a boil. Simmer for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand, covered for 1 hour. Drain, reserving liquid.

In a small bowl, combine maple syrup, chili sauce, chopped onion, salt, and mustard. Place half the beans in a 1 quart casserole dish, top with diced salt pork or bacon, then add remaining beans. Pour maple syrup mixture over beans. Then add 1 1/2 cups of reserved bean liquid. Cover and bake at 300 degrees about 2 hours, stirring occasionally.
Add more reserved liquid as needed to keep beans moist. Serves 6-8.

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Tilley’s Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies
(Actually, this is my mother-in-law, Shirley Turansky’s, recipe. She has baked them for the delight of her husband, children, and grandchildren for about fifty years.)
    1 cup butter or margarine
   1 cup sugar
   1 cup brown sugar
   2 eggs
   2 1/4 cup flour
   1 teaspoon soda
   1 teaspoon salt
   2 cups rolled oats (I use old fashioned)
   1/2 cup walnuts
   1 cup chocolate chips

Preheat the over to 350 degrees. Cream together the butter, sugar, and brown sugar. Add the eggs and mix in. In a separate bowl mix together the four, soda, and salt. Add to the first mixture and combine. Add the oats, nuts and chocolate chips and mix. Spoon out onto cookie sheet and bake 9 – 12 minutes until golden around the edges. Don’t over bake. Let them stay on the pan for 2 –3 minutes before you transfer them to a rack to cool. Makes about 6 dozen.

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Comments from reviewers and readers

From Patty:
I loved your book Along Came Love. There was so much in there that has helped me as a fairly new Christian. For one thing, I have been reading my Bible daily but found it hard to really know how to pray. After reading your book I began underlining some of the prayers you used and began to "shoot up prayers" as you would say in your book. This has truly helped me more than you could know.

But, the thing that really helped me to turn a corner in my struggles with the past (a divorce after 23 years of marriage and 4 painful back surgeries that have left me in pain more pain than before they started) was the bottom of page 49 that says Nothing could change the past. He had to let it go. Take hold of today. That was the only way he could keep those painful memories from holding him captive any longer. Thank you for following God's leading in writing this book. It spoke to my heart and has helped me to fully understand WHY I had to let go.

There was so much more in your book that helped me too and I ended up underlining page after page so that I could go back and reread the parts that spoke directly to me. I hope that you will continue to write and know that you have helped a woman here in Sacramento to get past her emotional pain by explaining WHY! Life is so much fuller these days now that I understand.

From Diane:
I thoroughly enjoyed this sweet story wrapped around two individuals, both struggling with forgiveness issues in their lives. Author Carrie Turansky has given us characters so real, we feel like we know them personally. And they aren't perfect—which only helps us to identify with them even more. She takes us on a rollercoaster of emotions with Lauren, Wes, and little Toby, on their difficult journey to discover that the truth truly does set you free. Near the end, I literally could not turn the pages fast enough. Well done, Carrie Turansky! A delightful book that I would recommend to anyone.

From Traci:
 I just finished your book yesterday and I loved it! The story was great and kept my attention until the very end! It was so true to life with feelings of guilt and God's forgiveness! You are a terrific writer, keep up the good work!

From Val Whisenand, Steeple Hill Love Inspired Author:
What a wonderful, dear story. You brought tears to my eyes more than once—and that rarely happens.

From Judy M:
Hello new author to Love Inspired! I have been getting Love Inspired for quite some time now. I just want to tell you I think your new book, Along Came Love, is excellent, possibly among the best I have read. And, yes, it touched my heart deeply. I had forgotten I John 1:9. Thank you, Carrie!  What joy and peace flooded my heart as I applied it again to myself. I was also impressed with the character, Arthur Zeller, at the end of the story. Might you consider writing a sequel to this book? I would like to know more about Arthur Zeller. By the way, I am 68 years old. I would also like to know about Bill and Julia, and wonder what happened about Ryan. Did he ever change? What a marvelous story! Thank you again.

From Barbara D:
I just finished reading Along Came Love and really, really enjoyed it. I subscribe to the Love Inspired books, and I hope there will be more forthcoming with the name by: Carrie Turansky on them. When I can get out to a bookstore or the library, I will certainly be looking for your name. Congratulations. I know everyone loved the book as much as I did.

From Tonya:
I wanted to tell you that I read Along Came Love. I couldn’t go to bed until I finished it. I loved the characters and the story. I’m sure this will be one of many books you write. You definitely are gifted. Many blessings on your ministry.

From Natalie:
That book Along Came Love is so amazing! You are such a talented writer. I fell in love with Wes and Lauren not to mention little ole Toby. He was so perfect. I have a question. Do you think that will become a movie? I hope so. I could see the pictures as I was reading, but a movie would be better. I am 15 years old. I got your book on Friday and finished it on Monday. 

From Keneta:
I'm on chapter 19 of  your debut book, Along Came Love. What a fantastic novel! My mom told me, "You HAVE to red this! It's wonderful! I couldn't put it down!" She was right, and we're wondering when your next novel is coming out. Keep up the writing, the dear Lord has gifted you!

From Priscilla:
Just wanted to let you know that my mom and I read your book this week, and we both really enjoyed it. I am a psychiatrist (currently a stay-at-home mom) and my mother is a retired English teacher. I get the Love Inspired books from the book club. My mom wrote her comments inside the book, "Excellent handling!! Not "wishy-washy" like many "Christian novels." She told me she thought you did a particularly good job with making the little boy seem realistic. I read the book in one sitting (should have been doing laundry, or something, but oh well...), which is unusual for me since there aren't many novels out there that hold my attention like that. I liked the fact that you didn't just write a secular novel that was just "cleaned up" for the Christian market—your characters actually struggled with spiritual issues, and the book was "inspirational" but still entertaining.