With my first round, I got several people willing to share some basic information. Among them was Terri Kraus. I knew her name from my historical group, which has a small-ish membership–and because I had just sent her book, The Restoration, to one of my reviewers. What I learned over the next couple months is that Terri also has a passion for her heritage and a heart happy to share it and help others.
As I wrapped up my novel, I had a few more questions that needed answered, so I sent out another email. In addition to some more simple “do you know?”s, I jokingly (sort of) offered to “let” (ha ha) a native read my manuscript to check for setting issues. I honestly didn’t expect any takers. So you can imagine my surprise when multi-pubbed author Terri raised her hand after asking a few questions of her own (like “Why did you choose Chicago for your setting?” and 
“What research have you done?”).
Terri blessed me hugely by sharing her Italian heritage as well as her knowledge of Chicago, offering insight into my characters, and providing those priceless words of wisdom like “Chicagoans would never say that.” LOL. Obviously, it got me curious about who “my Italian Chicagoan helper,” as I referred to her to friends outside the loop, really was.
Terri has a slew of books to her credit, some of them co-authored with her husband Jim, some written solo. Her solo series is published by David C. Cook and com
bines her love of design with her love of old things. One of my most trusted reviewers had requested The Renovation the moment I listed it and begged for its sequel, The Renewal when it was available. Her excitement about the first book is palpable in her review. (She’s sent me the review for the second one, but my ancient Word can’t open it . . .) The final book in the Project Restoration series, The Transformation, will be hitting shelves the end of the month (August ’09).
When I asked Terri to share about her writing, she confessed that she still adores the first books she ever coauthored with her hubby–and why not? Pirate books–hello!! She loved digging into the research for a historical, and is currently working on a book about Italian women during WWII. Can’t wait for that one!
Terri tags her work as “Passionately Inspirational Fiction,” and I gotta think that’s appropriate. Maybe it’s the 100% Italian blood coursing through her veins, but I know firsthand that Terri is a woman who pursues her interests with passion and inspires other with her generosity and spirit. And that, to me, is a woman you want to know. Terri’s an author I’m going to watch and I wonderful person I pray I get to meet someday soon!
Check out her website at www.TerriKraus.com.
Roseanna M. White is a bestselling, Christy Award winning author who has long claimed that words are the air she breathes. When not writing fiction, she’s homeschooling her two kids, editing, designing book covers, and pretending her house will clean itself. Roseanna is the author of a slew of historical novels that span several continents and thousands of years. Spies and war and mayhem always seem to find their way into her books…to offset her real life, which is blessedly ordinary.