Storing Up Trouble by Jen Turano: Review, Q & A with Author, and Giveaway!

About the Book

Book:  Storing Up Trouble

Author: Jen Turano

Genre: Christian Historical Romance

Release Date: May 6, 2020

When Beatrix Waterbury’s train is disrupted by a heist, scientist Norman Nesbit comes to her aid. After another encounter, he is swept up in the havoc she always seems to attract—including the attention of the men trying to steal his research—and they’ll soon discover the curious way feelings can grow between two very different people in the midst of chaos.

Click here to get your copy!

About the Author

Jen Turano, (www.jenturano.com) a USA Today bestselling author, has written four historical romance series. She is a member of ACFW and RWA and lives in a suburb of Denver, Colorado. Visit her website at www.jenturano.com.

Outside Marshall Field's in 1895

More from Jen

Thank you so much for visiting me on my Celebrate Lit tour as we celebrate the release of my latest novel, “Storing Up Trouble.” I’m delighted to be here, and I reached out to my street team to help me with the questions you’ll find below. I’m hoping the answers to those questions will allow you to learn just a bit about my new book, as well as allow you to get to know me better. With that said, here we go!

Can you tell us a little about “Storing Up Trouble?”

I’d be delighted to tell you about my latest book. “Storing Up Trouble” is the third book in the “American Heiress” series, but you don’t need to read the first two books in that series (“Flights of Fancy” “Diamond in the Rough” to understand what’s going on. I’ve been writing my books more as stand alone stories, and “Storing Up Trouble” is no exception to that. With that said, this book centers around Miss Beatrix Waterbury and Mr. Norman Nesbit. Beatrix, unfortunately, has annoyed her mother to such an extent that she finds herself banished from New York and on her way to Chicago to spend time with her aunt, a lady Beatrix remembers as being a querulous sort. She, being Beatrix, a lady who lands herself in trouble at the most unexpected of times, soon finds herself a victim of a train heist. An unlikely hero in the form of Mr. Norman Nesbit, a gentleman with a brilliant mind but relatively few social graces, comes to her rescue, and from the moment they disembark from the train, they find themselves thrust into one escapade after another.

Beatrix's aunt wore similar outfit

In “Storing Up Trouble,” is there a character you’d like to be friends with in real life, or better yet, a character you’d avoid at all costs?

I actually have an answer to both parts of that question. Miss Theodosia Robinson is a lady I would love to count as a friend because she’s loyal to a fault, and is a friend who’ll be there for you, no matter if you want to delve into an unusual scientific experiment, or take a jaunt to your local department store to do a bit of shopping. As for who I’d avoid at all cost – Mrs. George Blossom, who has a very small part in the story, but she’s a customer at Marshall Fields & Company who embraces an air of superiority over the sales girls, and I’ve never been one to enjoy people like that.

What do you consider your greatest accomplishment?

That’s easy. Being Dominic’s mom. He was definitely a handful when he was little, which is why he’s an only child, but it’s been incredibly rewarding to watch him grow over the years. He recently graduated from college with a degree in engineering, and seeing him land a grown up job and begin to embrace the whole adulting thing makes me prouder than any book I’ve written or other job I’ve held.

What was the inspiration behind “Storing Up Trouble?”

There were quite a few things that inspired me to write this book. I’d set another one of my books, “Caught by Surprise” in Chicago, and because of the research I did for that book, research I wasn’t able to fit into that story, I knew I wanted to revisit that city at some point. Beatrix Waterbury gave me the perfect excuse to travel back there. I wanted to take her out of her usual setting of NYC, so off she went to Chicago, on a train ride that definitely turned concerning. I had also picked up a few research books about Nikola Tesla and Thomas Edison and I’ve been itching to create a character after those brilliant gentlemen. Norman Nesbit turned into that gentleman, although I have to admit that some of the science Nikola and Thomas used was way over my head. My son, the engineer, tried to explain it to me, but I believe at one point I might have been drooling, and not in the good way, but the bored way. That’s when Norman really began to develop because I thought it would be amusing to have a character who was passionate about his field of study, but most of the people he tried to share that passion with had no idea what he was talking about and always got a bit of a dazed expression in their eyes as he waxed on and on about double-electrical currents.

Tesla

What fun facts did you uncover while doing research for “Storing Up Trouble” but weren’t able to fit into the story?

There was so much fodder for additional storylines just with the research I did on Marshall Field and his department store. Did you know that the main store in Chicago burned down doing the Great Fire of 1871 and…it burned down several times after that? Who knew? There was also a lot of drama surrounding Marshall and his partner for years, Mr. Levi Zeigler Leiter. They had different ideas about how the store should evolve, which resulted in Marshall forcing Levi to sell his shares of the company to him, at which point the store turned from  Field, Leiter, & Company to Marshall Fields Company. It was also interesting to learn that Mr. Fields was notorious for paying his workers low wages, but those workers accepted those wages because of the prestige that came with working at his store. If you worked at any other store, you were considered common, but to work at Marshall Fields was a feather in your cap, even if you weren’t earning as much as you could have earned at another store.

Marshall Field

What are quirky little things you keep on your desk?

At the moment, I have one little pig with googly eyes, one cow with googly eyes, and then another small pig that a reader sent me because she really liked Matilda in “A Match of Wits” and thought this little pig she found at a store was exactly what Matilda would look like.

Have you always wanted to be a writer?

Oddly enough, no, it never crossed my mind until Dominic was in third grade and we decided to write a book together after finishing this horrible series about this bird. That book was never meant for publication, but it did have me remembering that I had, at one point in time before I became a stay-at-home-mom, enjoyed using my brain. I started experimenting with different genres and learned everything I could about the publishing industry. It took me five years to find an agent, and then she sold “A Change of Fortune” to Bethany House, and I’ve been writing for them ever since.

Any words of advice for aspiring writers?

I get this question a lot, and I always answer by saying “Have an honest talk with yourself about what you really want to achieve with your writing.” It’s perfectly fine to want to write because you’re interested in turning it into a career. However, with that said, a writer needs to understand that writing and publishing are two different creatures. Publishing is a daunting business, and it’ll take a lot of perseverance to find success with it. With that said, if you have raw talent and are a story teller at heart, you should write all the time and do whatever you can to learn how to improve your craft.

What are you working on next?

I’m working on a new series right now – “The Bleeker Street Inquiry Agency.” The first book, “To Steal a Heart” releases in November, 2020. It’s about Miss Gabriella Goodhue, who spent her childhood living on the mean streets in Five Points. She’s currently living in a boarding house on Bleeker Street in New York City, and when a fellow resident gets unjustly accused of theft, Gabriella, along with the other ladies living in the boarding house, take it upon themselves to try and clear her name. That’s the beginning of the Bleeker Street Agency, and hopefully the ladies will enjoy much success as the series continues.

Thank you so much for stopping by today. I hope all of you get an opportunity to read “Storing Up Trouble!”

Wishing you all the best,

Jen 

Marshall Field & Company

My Thoughts

Storing Up Trouble by Jen Turano has Beatrix Waterbury heading to Chicago after her mother has banished her from New York after a series of incidents.  On the train, Beatrix encounters Mr.  Norman Nesbit while dealing with a robbed.  Mr. Nesbit believes the bandits are after his research and the two quickly depart the train on the horses the robbers handily left tied up nearby.  Beatrix and Norman have differing views which lead to lively exchanges.  At the end of the day, Norma leaves Beatrix with her aunt who is not at all what she expected.  Beatrix has a feeling her mother is unaware of her aunt’s eccentricities or liberal views.  Norman is anxious to return to his normal life, but his thoughts keep returning to Beatrix.  That short amount of time in Beatrix’s company causes Norman to see his life and his family in a different light.  Of course, the thieves did not get what they wanted.  Lively times are ahead for Beatrix and Norman.

Storing Up Trouble by Jen Turano is the 3^rd delightful tale in the American Heiresses series.  Each book can be read on its own, but you will be missing out if you do not read all three.  I look forward to reading Jen Turano’s novels because I am guaranteed a fun time from beginning to end.  Storing Up Trouble is a well-written story that moves along at a fast clip and includes quirky characters.  The author captured the time-period and the city of Chicago.  We get a glimpse at what life is like for ladies working at Marshall Field’s and Company as well as what suffragists endured.  I was tickled that Harry Selfridge was included in the story.  Beatrix Waterbury and Norman Nesbit are great characters.  Beatrix is an unusual woman for her era which I just loved.  Norman is like an absent-minded professor with money.  Add in Beatrix’s eccentric aunt, the women living with said aunt, Theodosia Robinson, Edgar (aka Lurch), Norman’s precocious niece, Mort, and the cats.   I laughed so often while reading Storing Up Trouble.  I enjoyed the author’s descriptions which allowed me to visualize the characters and scenes.  There was one escapade after another starting with the robbing of the train.  I could just picture Norman hanging off the horse and the cats chasing after the burglars.  The dialogue between Norman and Beatrix was amusing.  These two were meant to be together.  Storing Up Trouble has drama, action, humor, mystery, and romance.  I was sorry for this entertaining story to end.  Storing Up Trouble is a whimsical historical novel with a train theft, a bevy of bloomers, two tenacious thieves, bothersome beauty blends, working woes, the complexities of chit chat, and a problematic pistol.

Marshall Field's 1890s

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Jen is giving away the the grand prize package of all three books in the American Heiresses series and a $25 Barnes & Noble eGift card.  Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click here to enter.  Good Luck!  You can pick up your copy of Storing Up Trouble from Amazon*.  The other two novels in the American Heiresses series are Flights of Fancy (available through Kindle Unlimited) and Diamond in the Rough.  Jen Turano's next novel is To Steal a Heart which is the debut of The Bleeker Street Inquiry Agency.  To Steal a Heart releases November 17.  I am eager to read it.  Thank you for joining me today.  Tomorrow I am reviewing All She Wrote by Tonya Kappes.  It is the 3rd A Mail Carrier Cozy Mystery.  I hope you have a pleasing day.  Take care, stay safe and Happy Reading!

Kris

The Avid Reader

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