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
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 āThis is the way, walk in
it.ā
Isaiah 30:21
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Jen and her agent Mary Sue |
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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 hadnāt 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.
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Nov, 2012 Release |
God, it seemed, had other ideas.
Practically from the moment Iād had the
discussion with my agent, the story I was working on, another mainstream
romance, became almost impossible to write. Iād 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.
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June, 2013 Release |
I was cleaning my shower a few weeks
later, waiting for those scrubbing bubbles to do their thing so that I wouldnāt
need to get out the power washer to blast away the shower scum, when it hit me
ā a complete character, along with her story, and side-characters who were all
too intriguing to abandon.
Since Iām a rather compulsive sort, I
couldnāt 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 Iād been waiting for
forever.
I finished the story and sent it off to
Mary Sue, not really knowing whether or not sheād find it acceptable for the
Christian market, but surprisingly enough, that didnāt even matter. My life was better, more complete, and
when she called and said she loved it, everything changed yet again.
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October, 2013 Release |
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":
leave a comment (and email address)
and become a follower of this site if you aren't already.
U.S. residents only.
Winner announced on my facebook page.
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?
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?
Comments
reviewkidsbooks(at)gmail(dot)com
cyndilou83(at)gmail(dot)com
mandn@wisper-wireless.com
I agree listening to the little voice brings amazing results. And I find her location at the time an amusing truism. Cleaning her house. God loves when are hearts are clean and prepared to listen.
This is a beautiful testimony.
Sure loved having you today, Dena.
What a compliment that you have one of Jen's books on the waiting to read list.
Sure enjoyed talking with you today. Did you get some virtual sweet tea? It's on the counter.
Hope to see you again.
Beth
bharbin07[at]gmail[dot]com
So nice to see you here today. Yes, Jen's is a great story. God knew the exact right agent to link her with then he opened the doors with their friendship. What a blessing for not only them, but us as well since we get to read the fruit of that labor.
Hope to see you again, Cyndi.
Thanks for stopping by today. sure loved having you.
Barbara Thompson
barbmaci61(at)yahoo(dot)com
I think, when you have a chance to read Jen's books, you will find them as equally wonderful as this testimony. So whether you win the book give away (and I'd love to give all of the commenters one) I hope you get a copy to enjoy.
So loved chatting with you today, Barbara:)
Looking forward to our next chat.
Thank you for becoming a follower. It was so nice to meet you today.
What a compliment for Jen. You have already read two books and looking forward to her next. Now that is a reason for the rest of us to get busy and catch up to you.
I hope you can come back again soon. Sure was nice chatting with you today. Oh, and don't forget to get some virtual sweet tea while you're here.
I enjoyed chatting with you and hope to see you again, here. God's blessings on you.
Hope you have a great weekend!
Wishing you all the best,
~ Jen ~
Completely delighted you have one of my books and thank you so much for participating in the book banter the other day. I do hope you'll enjoy A Most Peculiar Circumstance:)
Have a fabulous weekend!
All the best,
~ Jen ~
Happy Reading!
Wishing you all the best,
~ Jen ~
Wishing you all the best, and thank you for stopping by.
~ Jen ~
Have a great weekend!
All the best,
~ Jen ~
Thank you for dropping in today and I do hope you get the chance to read one of my books:)
Have a wonderful weekend!
All the best,
~ Jen ~
Good luck with the drawing!
Wishing you all the best,
~ Jen ~
So nice to see you here today. With a testimony like Jen's, I agree and thankful she chose to write inspiration fiction. :)
It was nice chatting with you over some virtual coffee. I hope to see you back again.
Hope you have a great weekend:)
Wishing you all the best,
~ Jen ~
wfnren(at)aol(dot)com
Thank you for becoming a follower. I sure look forward to seeing you here again. :)
Looking forward to seeing you again.
I am a follower.
bonnieroof60(at)yahoo(dot)com
nice to have you here. We enjoyed sharing Jen's testimony and hearing from you.
Looking forward to your next visit.
Thank you so much for swinging by, and I'd love to take credit for the cover and the title, but...hmmmm....nope - I didn't have anything to do with either of those.
Good luck with the drawing and I hope you have a fabulous week.
All the best,
~ Jen ~
Hope you have a great week and happy reading!
All the best,
~ Jen ~
Wishing you all the best,
~ Jen ~
Maybe if I did more housework I would be more inspired, LOL. Sometimes when I am half-way in and out of a dream I will wake up enough to jot down some of it.
Thank you for the encouragement to listen to the still, small voice that speaks volumes.
Blessings, Janice
Thank you for stopping by and I know all about trying to catch up on e-mails. I was out of town for a week and I'm still catching up two weeks later:)
I'm never able to remember those dreams - or motivate myself enough to reach for my post-its if I do happen to wake up with a stellar idea - I guess I'll just have to keep relying on those cleaning situations - but just so you know - it's not like my house is spotless all the time:)
Have a great week and thank you again for leaving a comment.
All the best,
~ Jen ~
We waited for you!
And we loved chatting with you. (confession, my housework isn't done either) :)