Terri, describe yourself:
I live in Wheaton, Illinois, with my husband, Jim, son, Elliot, miniature schnauzer, Rufus, and Siberian cat, Petey.
Along with my interior design consultation work, I have been the director of women’s ministries at her church for the past six years and is a perennial room mom. I love to read, and my Book Club is in its 11th year. Of particular interest to the group is books about women in other cultures. When I’m not writing or reading, I enjoy photography, quilting and knitting, cooking and baking, and I love exploring the city of Chicago with my family. I have traveled extensively throughout Europe, the South Pacific and the Caribbean. Favorite places are New Zealand and the British Isles, but, being 100% Italian, I feel most at home in Italy, and am passionate about all things Italian. I’ve studied the language for many years, and dream of living in Italy for at least six months—"to get really fluent."
I am a graduate of the University of Illinois at Chicago, and am a member of the American Christian Fiction Writers.
After eleven co-authored books my husband, Jim, I’m exciting to add my interior designer’s eye to my world of fiction. I come to the Project Restoration series naturally, having survived the remodel, renovation, and restoration of three separate personal residences, along with those of my clients.
How do you find time to connect with God?
Along with preparing for both a church and neighborhood Bible study I lead, I fully realize the great benefit of developing the spiritual disciplines of solitude and silence. So I try to carve out time on a regular basis when I can go to a local retreat center for a day alone with God.
Favorite authors? Favorite books?
I’ve been a Jane Austen fan since high school. Other favorite books:
A Prayer for Own Meany (John Irving)
Peace Like a River (Leif Enger)
The Kite Runner, A Thousand Splendid Suns (Khaled Husseini)
A Thread of Grace (Maria Doria Russell)
The History of Love (Nicole Krauss)
The Art of Racing in the Rain (Garth Stein)
Journey to publication:
As soon as I began to read, I began to write, so I was very young when writing became a passion of mine. I would invent intricate stories walking back and forth to school. My first big endeavor was a neighborhood “newspaper” when I was 8 years old. In high school, I had an awesome English Literature teacher who really inspired and mentored me. Thanks, Miss Fina.
But it was not until much later that I was published. Jim and I began to write together about 12 years ago, when we were given the opportunity by Tyndale House Publishers (where Jim is Sr. VP) to write The Treasures of the Caribbean series (Pirates of the Heart, Passages of Gold, Journey to the Crimson Sea.)
Tell us about your current book.
The Renewal is the second book of the Project Restoration Series. It’s a cotemporary story with a 19th century story woven in via the diary of the protagonist’s great-great-great- grandmother’s diary.
Single-mom Leslie Ruskin and her 5-year-old daughter, Ava, are starting over in a new town—Butler, Pennsylvania—after a devastating divorce turned their world upside-down. As Leslie tries to provide a stable life for little Ava, she struggles to manage her own anxiety. As the new owner of the historic Midlands Building, with its architecturally stunning first floor, Leslie is in need of a master carpenter to renovate its neglected interior. Jack Kenyon seems to be the perfect man for the job. He’s starting over, too, after leaving Franklin, Pennsylvania, where he worked for Ethan Willis on the restoration crew of the Carter Mansion. But Jack is struggling to master his own demons. Haunted by loneliness, his past failures, and the lost relationship with his own young daughter, Jack finds it difficult to maintain his sobriety. As the Midlands Building is transformed from the run-down former home of a locksmith shop, with its own secrets, into a vibrant café/bistro, the relationship between Leslie and Jack becomes the catalyst in their journey towards the renewal that their lives so desperately need…and unlocks the love they are destined to discover.
How did you come up with ideas for this book?
Many of my readers are probably, like me, HGTV fans who watch the many shows about fixing up old houses. You find yourself glued to the glimpses of contractors and owners engaged in the process. You live vicariously through the rehabbing, renovating, and restoring.
I can relate. The idea of renovation is in my family’s blood. I’m an interior design professional. My brothers are rehabbers. My husband, Jim, and I have survived the renovation of three houses.
So writing a novel set in the world of the restoration of old buildings has always been a dream of mine. I love the metaphor of restoration, which is why I came up with the idea for the Project Restoration series—stories that would follow both the physical restoration of a building and emotional/spiritual restoration of a character. Perhaps in one of the three books in the series, a reader will find a character who mirrors their own life and points them toward the kind of restoration they long for.
After all, God is in the business of restoring lives—reclaiming, repairing, renewing what was broken and bringing beauty from ashes. The light of his love shines on all those dark places deep within us, exposing what needs his healing touch. This is the type of restoration I’ve become passionate about too.
What’s next for you?
I am just finishing Book 3 of the Project Restoration Series, The Transforation, due to be released in the Fall..
My current work in progress is historical, about an Italian-American young woman in the time of WW2, which reflects my love of researching and writing historical fiction., and for which I draw on many elements from my Italian heritage. It’s set mainly in Italy, so I will use what I have seen and learned in my travels there. I’m really excited about it, and hope a publisher will be, too.
Where can readers find you online?
You can find me online at www.terrikraus.com
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