Grace and Literary Laughter: An Interview with Author Jen Turano

Today I have the privilege of talking to Inspirational Historical Fiction author, Jen Turano. (Be sure and read all the way through for an exciting giveaway opportunity.) 

On a personal note, I’ve been a fan of Jen’s books for some time now. I first read her novel, A Change of Fortune a year or so after losing my aunt to cancer. My aunt was one of my best friends and had a nutty sense of humor that kept the whole family laughing, no matter what. When she passed, I took comfort in knowing she was with God, but I didn’t have much mirth for a while. When I read A Change of Fortune, with its plot full of crazy antics and witty dialogue, it was one of the first times I found myself uncontrollably laughing out loud in over a year. That book has a special place in my heart.  

But that’s enough of my commentary. 

Jen, thank you for chatting with me on my blog today. I think your readers probably all agree that humor is one of the most prominent aspects of your books. Even though these stories take place in another time and involve situations most of us don’t encounter every day, such as fancy dress balls, your characters’ ability to laugh at themselves and see the absurdity in their own situations gives them an authenticity that is very appealing. How do you go about infusing so much humor into your work? Is that something that comes naturally? Do you ever draw from reality?

Thank you so much for having me today and thank you as well for your kind words about my books. And now – why I write madcap adventures, filled with amusing situations. That all goes back to your comment about finding yourself laughing after you’d experienced a loss in your life. Before I wrote A Change of Fortune I had actually decided that it was time for me to move away from trying to get published and return to the career I’d had before I took time off to be a stay-at-home mom. God soon made it clear that He apparently had different plans for me. As I was cleaning the bathroom one day, and right after I’d spoken with a friend of mine about an opportunity in fashion, I suddenly got this flash of a story – and I mean, I got everything. I knew who the characters were, the setting, everything – and…it was a crazy story. So, I told God that I was going to give it one more go, but then, if that book didn’t sell, I was putting away my keyboard forever. I wrote that story and then my agent kindly sold it to Bethany House, and the rest is history. But, the madcap adventure did bring me a ton of scathing reviews and less than friendly emails, which had me a bit put out with God for steering me back to an industry I’d been sure I was ready to abandon – until I got my first letter from an ALS patient. She’d become confined to her room, her world shrinking day by day, but she’d found herself laughing while reading  A Change of Fortune – something she’d not enjoyed in quite some time. That’s when I realized why I was writing what I was writing and decided that madcap adventures were going to be my signature stories from that point forward because, clearly, that's what God wanted me to do with my writing. 

As for how I go about infusing humor in my books – I think that’s all due to the fact I’m rather weird and see the world a bit differently than most people. I’ve always had a strange sense of humor, and yes, many of the situations I write about are reality-based – drawn from the peculiarities of my everyday life.   

I love the Gilded Age settings of your books. What attracted you to that era and prompted you to use it as a backdrop for your novels?

I had gone to see one of the authors who’d written To Marry an English Lord (which was one of the books that inspired Downton Abbey) and she talked a lot about Consuelo Vanderbilt and her ill-fated marriage to a duke. Well, that got me curious about Consuelo’s mother, Alva, and after reading Alva’s history, and finding some riveting articles about Alva’s famous ball of March 1883, I soon became slightly obsessed with the Gilded Age. That right there is why I decided to set my historical romances in that era. There’s so much fodder for story it’s almost overwhelming, but that does mean I’ll have plenty to write about for years and years to come.   

Readers definitely get a tantalizing glimpse of Gilded Era pomp and circumstance with your books, yet at the same time, many of your characters, particularly the female ones, find themselves contradicting cultural expectations with their actions. They are reporters or private detectives, and they spend time with people who aren’t in the elite class. They seem to accept the excesses of their society, without being corrupted by them. What are a few lessons readers can take away from your convention-defying heroines?

I try to create characters readers can relate to – each with their own faults and curious habits. The one thing I always want readers to take away is that it’s okay to be yourself – to defy the conventions that other people think you should embrace, and to live a life that’s filled with kindness, humor, and a bit of the absurd.   

I love the “Wallflowers” characters from your latest series. Permilia and Gertrude from the first two books really make the most of their positions slightly on the fringe of society. At some point, most of us have felt like outsiders or like we only partly belonged. Can you talk a little bit about the unique role of these characters? Is there anything you hope the reader takes away from reading about this situation?

Everyone always wants to fit in – but the majority of us have times in our lives when we simply don’t fit the mold we’re expected to fit. Before I wrote the proposal to send to my editor for the Wallflower Series, and I’m just going to admit I really couldn’t decide what type of series I wanted to write next, I stocked up on all different types of historical romances to see if something would inspire me. Well, nothing did. The books I’d chosen were filled with heroines who were all diamonds of the first water if you will, and I found myself unable to really embrace those characters because there’s not much conflict to be found when your life is moving along so perfectly. That’s when I thought it would be amusing to create a series around a group of wallflowers – but not have them embrace the tried and true troupe of being timid, mousey sorts. 

By creating characters who certainly weren’t diamonds of the first water, but who had their own sense of charm just the same, I hoped that readers would take away the idea that everyone has a place in the world, it just sometimes turns out that the world and people we occasionally surround ourselves with is not always the world we’re meant to inhabit. And, sometimes we need to trust those whispers we get from God and trust that He knows exactly where we fit into the world.

Permilia and Gertrude were certainly written as outcasts, but they’re two completely different young ladies. Permilia has a strong independent streak, and by having her take up a position as an anonymous gossip columnist, it really set her apart from any of the other ladies in society. I wanted readers to see Permilia as a bit of a Cinderella figure, but one who could survive on her own terms even though she did win her own Prince Charming in the end.

Gertrude was a more difficult character to develop. I always knew she had secrets from her past, a burden so to speak, but I didn’t know what that was when I introduced her in the prequel novella and then first book, Behind the Scenes. It wasn’t until I began to develop her relationship with Mrs. Davenport that I realized she wasn’t merely going along with her employer’s outlandish behavior because she was a kind and gentle soul, but because she was trying to find redemption from what she saw as sins from her past. After I figured that out, I was then able to give her more depth and allow her to grow in her spiritual and personal journey, which then allowed her to accept that she was worthy of love as well as a happily-ever-after.   

What is the name of your next book, and when will it be released (not that we’re impatient or anything)?

Caught by Surprise comes out July 2018 – and then…my next new series will begin releasing in 2019. I have a title for the first book but can’t share – although it might have the word Flights in it, and the series revolves around three great American heiresses – all of whom will (because this is a Jen Turano series after all) balk at the expectations demanded of grand heiresses and go just a bit…rogue.   

In closing, I always ask my guests, is there anything you’d like for me and my readers to pray for you about?

That’s so kind of you. I always appreciate prayers for good health, and for God to watch over my family and friends.

You can read about Jen's books on her website and follow her on Facebook and Twitter.

GIVEAWAY:

Jen Turano has graciously agreed to give away a signed copy of her novel, Out of the Ordinary. To enter this giveaway, simply leave a comment below. Share your thoughts on this discussion, tell me which Turano book you love or would love to read, or just say, "Hi." 

The giveaway will last from today until March 29. I will randomly select one winner from the comments. Please provide your email address so I can contact you if you win.