The Tuesday 10 With Jen Turano & Giveaway

I'm so excited to start a new weekly (hopefully) feature on my blog! It's going to be called The Tuesday 10. To say I'm over the moon having author, Jen Turano, as my first author is putting it mildly. Absolutely, hands down, she is one of my favorite Christian authors! Her stories are such a fun ride from beginning to end. I can guarantee that you will love each and every one of her books.

About Jen Turano:

Named One of the Funniest Voices in Inspirational Romance by Booklist, Jen Turano is a USA Today Best-Selling Author, known for penning quirky historical romances set in the Gilded Age. Her books have earned Publisher Weekly and Booklist starred reviews, top picks from Romantic Times, and praise from Library Journal. She’s been a finalist twice for the RT Reviewers’ Choice Awards and had two of her books listed in the top 100 romances of the past decade from Booklist. When she’s not writing, she spends her time outside of Denver, CO. Readers may find her at www.jenturano.com or https://www.facebook.com/jenturanoauthor/ or on Twitter at JenTurano@JenTurano.

Ok, ok, enough of me gushing! Let's get to my 10 questions!

Q: Do you ever find yourself laughing out loud at the lines that you write for your

characters?

Jen: Interesting tidbit about my early drafts – they’re not amusing. It’s not until I get to the

third edit that things begin to change, and then, yes, I do occasionally laugh out loud

when something absurd strikes and I add it to the manuscript. I then, of course, have to

share that absurdity with Al (husband person,) who normally just shakes his head and

wonders about the state of my mind.

Mimi: I'm shocked that it's in later drafts the humor is added! I'm fascinated by this glimpse into your process!

Q: Before you start writing a series do you already know how many books there will be?

Jen: I do, but that’s probably because I decided after my first series, which was four books,

that I would only write three books in a series from that point forward. Four is tricky

because you have to remember so much about the characters, and I have the attention

span of a gnat. Even with three, I spend a lot of time pouring over my notes to make

certain I’m not mentioning that a character has blue eyes in the third book when in the

first, they were green. One time, I wrote that one of my heroes had never seen the

heroine cry, and didn’t realize until the very last moment, as in right before it was about

to go to print, that he had seen her cry, in the very first book. I had to apologize rather

profusely to one of my editors for making that change so late in the process. Thankfully,

I have really cool editors, so…whew.

Mimi: I have a hard time calling my kids by their correct names. Having to keep track of so many things throughout 3 books sounds tricky!

Q: I know this is like picking your favorite child, which of your characters is the most like

you?

Jen: There’s a little of me in most of my characters, but I relate best to Gertrude Cadwallader

in “Out of the Ordinary,” and Poppy Garrison in “Diamond in the Rough.”

Mimi: I don't think I relate to her, but Gertrude is one of my favorite characters!

Q: If you could travel to any period of time, whether in the past or the future, where would

you travel to?

Jen: That’s easy, the Gilded Age since I spend so much time there, at least in my

imagination.

Mimi: I think I'd have to agree on the Gilded Age!

Q: What book(s) are on your TBR pile for the fall?

Jen: My TBR pile is somewhat overwhelming at the moment because I don’t read historical

romance while writing a first draft, and lately, I always seem to be writing a first draft.

However, on the top of that pile is Elizabeth Camden, “The Spice King,” Joanna

Politano, “Finding Lady Enderly,” and Jody Hedlund, “Evermore.”

Mimi: I just finished "The Spice King" and really enjoyed it! It was my first Elizabeth Camden novel. I haven't read either of the other books, but they're on my list.

Q: If you can have a library in your home that's a replica of any other library in the world

which one would it be?

Jen: Hmm…difficult question, but I’m going to go with the small library from my childhood

hometown, the St. Clairsville Library. It just always seemed like the coolest place in the

world to me, especially the basement where they had this great collection of Nancy

Drew books that had bright pink bindings. Frankly, it was a somewhat spooky part of the

library, which made visiting it all the more exciting.

Mimi: If there's one out there that looks like it was in a really old castle, with several floors, that's what I'd want mine to look like!

Q: You're going on vacation to your dream location. What are 3 items you bring with you?

Jen: Al (husband person,) flipflops, and a bathing suit.

Mimi: HA! I'm glad you'd bring your husband along.

Q: You hear back from your editor that the publishers want an exotic animal in your next

novel. Which animal do you choose?

Jen: I don’t know how exotic this is, but an elephant, because that would open up all sorts of

possibilities, or…a giraffe, now that’s not an animal one sees often in a book. Hmm…something to think about there.

Mimi: Oh my goodness, maybe a baby elephant! My friends wouldn't be surprised at my answer, which would be an alpaca. Although, I don't know that it's exotic either.

Q: Since we're early on autumn what is one thing that you like about each of the four

seasons (and I'm not talking about the musical group)?

Jen: Autumn is my absolute favorite time of year. I love the colors and the way the sky out

here in Denver turns this really brilliant shade of blue – apparently that has something to

do with how high up we are out here. Next comes Winter because I love snow and the

cold. Third would be Spring because of all the fabulous smells when the trees begin to

flower, and last would be Summer. I’m not really a girl who enjoys the hot, although I do

enjoy all the activities the hot brings, such as kayaking, swimming, and lounging in the

shade, reading a book.

Mimi: I'm a spring kind of gal. When everything starts turning green and I can see my plants popping out of the dirt... it makes my heart sing! I do love the warmth of summer and getting out of the house more. Autumn, it's passable. HA! Everything in the garden starts dying, BUT I get to spend more time reading in my hammock so there's that. Winter, I had plenty of that white nonsense when I lived in Minne-snow-ta! I've become soft since moving to Maryland.

Q: We're hanging out over lunch. Are we having coffee or tea and what sandwich & dessert

are we having? And yes you could pick some weight watchers!

Jen: Not coffee because I only have one cup a day and that’s at five in the morning. I’m not a

tea drinker either, so I’m going to go with water. Sandwich would be ham, no cheese,

and since I have been dieting lately, although I hit my goal a few weeks back so I’m not

as intense about it as I was over the past several months, I’d probably choose some

type of yogurt with fruit for dessert. In all honesty, I’ve never been much for desserts,

but give me a bag of chips and I’m a happy girl.

Mimi: Yea, I have one cup of coffee in the morning. I'd want a tall, cold glass of milk with my sandwich. I love meat sandwiches on croissants. I think I'd bring a fruit salad to our lunch. :)

Jen: Thanks so much for having me, Mimi! It’s been a pleasure.

Thank YOU for being my first guest. While I don't have a gift to send you off with, you DO have one for my readers. I appreciate your generosity! You can also purchase Diamond in the Rough through Baker Publishing Group.

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