Fabulous Friday Feature - Jen Turano

Today I welcome an author who discovered her gift for writing Christian Fiction after speaking with her agent. What happened when Jen's heart was won over by godly advice? 
Jen Turano

Enter to win Jen Turano's new release,

A Most Peculiar Circumstance 

Scroll to the end of the post to see how to enter.

I met Jen through the ACFW loop. What a great way to meet new friends. She mentioned her new June release, A Most Peculiar Circumstances. When I wrote to her, she shared the amazing writing journey God has led her on. I just had to ask her to share this with you:

A Divinely-Led Transition from Mainstream to Inspirational Novels

Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying “This is the way, walk in it.”

Isaiah 30:21

Jen and her agent Mary Sue

When I first began writing, my intention was not to write for the inspirational market.  I started with middle-grade stories meant for my son, and proceeded to delve into Young Adult, Contemporary Romance, and then Historical Romance.  When I sent out a story entitled, A Marriage of Inconvenience, I was fortunate to have more than one agent offer me representation.  While making my final decision, I kept being pulled toward a specific agent, Mary Sue Seymour.  

Sept, 2012 Release

Unlike the other agents, she was known to have a strong presence in the Christian market, but also placed titles in mainstream.  I had no way of knowing that by choosing her, by listening to that voice sounding behind me, my life was about to take an unexpected turn.   

While I was waiting, rather impatiently I might add, for that book to sell, I became better acquainted with Mary Sue, and we began to have lovely conversations, most of them regarding our faith.  She, after a talk or two, inquired why I hadn’t considered writing for the inspirational market since my stories were never, er, naughty, and I was a woman who had a strong belief in God.

Nov, 2012 Release

The answer to that left me a little uncomfortable.  I’ve always been a woman who has held my faith closely to my heart, not sharing my beliefs because of contentious situations that happened in my past.  I wasn’t willing, at that particular time, to put myself out there so to speak, knowing full-well that would make me vulnerable.  I initially balked at what she was suggesting.

God, it seemed, had other ideas.

Practically from the moment I’d had the discussion with my agent, the story I was working on, another mainstream romance, became almost impossible to write.  I’d sit and stare at a blank screen for what felt like forever, and when I did begin to type, it almost felt like writing through mud.  Finally, out of extreme frustration, I turned the matter over to God, telling Him that if He had a different plan for me, that was all well and good, but He needed to give me a little hint as to what I was expected to do.

June, 2013 Release

Unfortunately, there was no immediate bolt of lightning, no fabulous story springing to mind, so because I’m notorious for not always listening closely to that little voice that whispers things into my ear, I continued plodding through the work in progress until….

I was cleaning my shower a few weeks later, waiting for those scrubbing bubbles to do their thing so that I wouldn’t need to get out the power washer to blast away the shower scum, when it hit me – a complete character, along with her story, and side-characters who were all too intriguing to abandon.

Since I’m a rather compulsive sort, I couldn’t very well abandon my cleaning, so as I went about scrubbing, vacuuming, and dusting, I grabbed a stack of Post-It notes, and by the time I finished the house, I had an outline for an entire series.

I headed off the library the next day, and after completing a bit of research, I sat down at my computer. Everything in my life changed at that point.  The writing was easy, fast even, but with each page completed, something peculiar began to occur.  My heart lightened, laughter was more common in the house, and my faith began to grow, almost as if this was what I’d been waiting for forever. 

I finished the story and sent it off to Mary Sue, not really knowing whether or not she’d find it acceptable for the Christian market, but surprisingly enough, that didn’t even matter.  My life was better, more complete, and when she called and said she loved it, everything changed yet again.

October, 2013 Release

She sold the series, which I readily admit I found completely fabulous, but more importantly, by listening to that voice, the voice of God, instructing me to choose Mary Sue as my agent, I’m finally doing exactly what I believe God intended for me all along. 

Jen Turano, critically-acclaimed author of A Change of Fortune and A Most Peculiar Circumstance, is a graduate of the University of Akron with a degree in Clothing and Textiles.  She is a member of ACFW and makes her home outside of Denver, Colorado with her husband and teenage son.  Visit her website at www.jenturano.com or visit her author Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/jenturanoauthor. 

To enter the contest for an autographed copy of Jen Turano's book: "A Most Peculiar Circumstance":

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Thank you, Jen, for Joining us This Weekend!

Wow! I feel blessed just having read this story, Jen. 
Reader, how about you? At first Jen didn't think God would give her an idea for a Christian Fiction story. Who would have thought that household chores would bring an avenue for God to inspire. Has God inspired you at an unexpected time?