Jen Turano Interviewed by Carrie Fancett Pagels

Jen Turano

Jen Turano is the author of A Change of Fortune and of a novella, Gentleman of Her Dreams.

Jen, welcome to Overcoming Through Time – With God’s Help.  We appreciate your willingness to share your testimony of overcoming with our readers. 

Would you tell us about the most difficult thing in your life you have had to overcome, with God’s help?

God has helped me overcome many trying times throughout my life, from watching my mother die of a brain tumor, to dealing with relationship issues, and to even overcoming financial disasters at times.  However, none of those situations seemed to want to come out on this page.  What did want to come out was something relatively small that happened recently, but something I believe God wants me to share in the hopes that others will be reminded of what He expects from us.

This past summer was incredibly hot in Colorado and by the time August hit, tempers were short and people were edgier than usual.  I freely admit that I was in a miserable frame of mind.  Besides being hot, a huge hail storm had done extensive damage to my house, and I felt as if I’d spent the entire summer dealing with insurance claims, shifty roofers, and painters who simply couldn’t fit me into their busy schedules.  I was out and about running errands and swung into McDonald’s because one of the items on my list was to pick up a particular burger for my son.  There were fifteen cars waiting at the drive-thru, so with annoyance humming through me, I parked and dodged traffic to get into the restaurant.  An elderly man pulled my attention for a brief moment, but before I could contemplate why he’d caught my interest, an argument at the counter distracted me.  A man was yelling about his chicken being late, and my annoyance began to fade as sympathy for the poor girl behind the counter took over.  By the time it was my turn, the girl was definitely frazzled.  I placed my order, sent her a smile, got my food, and bolted for the door.  I got to my car, and for some reason, checked the bag, annoyance creeping over me once again when I realized half my order wasn’t there.  I trudged back in, reminded myself that the girl who’d taken care of me was my son’s age, pushed my irritation aside, and forced a smile as I asked for the remainder of my food.  After apologizing profusely, the girl handed me a new bag and four pies for my inconvenience.  Wondering what I was going to do with the pies, I headed back out the door, and…that’s when it happened.

The older gentleman I’d noticed before was limping away, and that’s when I realized he was wearing a puffy winter coat in the midst of a heat wave, clutching his coffee cup in one hand, and…dragging a garbage bag behind him with the other.  He was a homeless man, and right then and there, my world shifted.

My feet began to move almost without me realizing it, and before I knew it, I’d caught up with him.  I cleared my throat to catch his attention, and when he turned, I was mesmerized by the most beautiful eyes I’d ever seen.  A natural smile curved my lips as I held out the pies to him, and it took everything I had to keep smiling when his eyes misted with tears.  He tilted his head and considered me for a long moment, shifted his coffee cup to the hand holding the garbage bag, and then, very hesitantly, took the pies from me.

“God bless you,” was all he said before he turned and limped away.

I made it back to the car before the tears came, and I’m not a woman who cries easily, but I cried all the way home, and then continued crying for the rest of the afternoon.  Gone was the annoyance I’d felt for so long, replaced with shame over the fact that I’d allowed myself to get so involved with the little petty things of life, that I’d forgotten to see what was really important…people and compassion.

God sent me a reminder that clearly showed me it didn’t matter if my roofers were less than proficient, because at least I had a roof over my head.  He wanted me to see how self-absorbed I’d become, and He’d done so in a way I couldn’t ignore.

I’ve told relatively few people what happened that day, but for some reason, one I’m quite certain has God’s hand all over it, I’m supposed to share this with all of you.  Perhaps God wants everyone to remember what’s really important in life, and that we need to push aside the smallness that seems to consume many of us, and remember what’s really important.

As I’ve thought about that homeless man, I can’t help but think that perhaps God sent me one of His angels in order to get me back on track.

Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it. – Hebrews 13:2

What is your favorite bible verse and why?

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

This is my favorite bible verse because it rings true for me.  Every time I’ve dithered over a decision, I feel God nudging me in a certain direction, and when I actually act on that nudge, fabulous things have happened.

Gentleman of HerDreams

Disability friendliness: Is this latest release available in audio format or do you have any other works available on audio?  Do your e-books have audio capability? Do you have any in large print?  

At this time, there are some publishers interested in large print rights, but nothing has been verified just yet.

A Change of Fortune

What has been the most important thing you hope your readers will get from your books and why?

I want readers to be entertained by my stories.  Life is difficult these days, and there’s nothing more enjoyable than picking up a book and escaping from the world, if only for a few hours.  My greatest hope is that I might, perhaps, even be responsible for a few grins along the way.

As you researched your books, did you learn anything that particularly touched your heart?

I found a riveting article concerning the sewage problem in the stews of New York City.  Refuse simply piled up in the streets, and I found pictures of children standing by piles of what looked like slop.  Disease was rampant because of the lack of sanitation, and I couldn’t help but wonder how it would feel to be a mother and not be able to provide your children with a clean place to live.

In this latest work, do you have any topics useful for bibliotherapy, or therapeutic influence through reading about a disorder or situation?  

Not really – the story is pretty much a light-hearted romp.

Thank you Jen for agreeing to answer these questions.  Have a blessed day and keep on writing!!

Thank you for having me.  It was a lot of fun, even if writing about the homeless man left me in tears again.

Jen's books can be purchased through CBD, Amazon, and other book retailers.

GIVEAWAY: A copy of Jen's book will be given away to one of our commenters this week.  Extra counts given to readers who swing by Colonial quills to read our Frontier Forted Fiction Holiday anthology. Put FFH after your comment and the number(s) of those you have read to get extra counts in the giveaway!

Question: Have you had something happen to you that God used to show you how self-absorbed you have become?