![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.daysongreflections.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/Behind-the-Scenes.jpg\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
MY REVIEW:<\/strong><\/p>\n I always love getting to read a new novel by Jen Turano. I enjoy her sense of humor plus the way her heroines are generally not accepted by the high society set. That just makes the character all the more interesting to me, especially when she is as feisty and kind-hearted as Permilia Griswold. And oh, the names! Turano has a real gift for choosing unusual names for many of her characters, often names I have never heard before. Such fun!<\/p>\n Now motherless Permilia had spent much of her life following her father from one mining interest to another so she had not learned all the fine skills society demanded of young women. Her ineptitude earned her a position and reputation as a wallflower at society events. Not particularly interested in making a match, Permilia used her near invisibility to good use in her anonymous gossip columns. Everything changed when she overheard a sinister conversation threatening Asher Rutherford’s life. When he refused to believe her, Permilia took it upon herself to protect him – and that is where the hilarity ensued!<\/p>\n Although the story got off to a somewhat slow start due to all the necessary details about the Vanderbilt ball, it picked up its pace later with plenty of action and romance, laced with a bit of danger and suspense, and as always, several delightfully laugh-out-loud moments. Of course there was a surprise or two in store. Most importantly I was quite pleased to see a couple of not-so-nice characters receive their due comeuppance.<\/p>\n All in all, “Behind the Scenes” was another fun read that kept me engaged throughout its entirety. I am looking forward to this author’s next offering.<\/p>\n I voluntarily reviewed a copy of this book\u00a0 provided by Celebrate Lit. A favorable review was not required and all views expressed are my own.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n ABOUT THE BOOK:<\/strong><\/p>\n Click to purchase<\/p><\/div>\n Miss Permilia Griswold may have been given the opportunity of a debut into New York high society, but no one warned her she wasn\u2019t guaranteed to \u201ctake.\u201d After spending the last six years banished to the wallflower section of the ballroom, she\u2019s finally putting her status on the fringes of society to good use by penning anonymous society gossip columns under the pseudonym \u201cMiss Quill.\u201d<\/p>\n Mr. Asher Rutherford has managed to maintain his status as a reputable gentleman of society despite opening his own department store. While pretending it\u2019s simply a lark to fill his time, he has quite legitimate reasons for needing to make his store the most successful in the country. As Asher and Permilia are forced to work together and spend time away from the spotlight of society, perhaps there\u2019s more going on behind the scenes than they ever could have anticipated. . . .<\/p>\n ABOUT THE AUTHOR:<\/strong><\/p>\n INTERVIEW WITH JEN TURANO:<\/strong><\/p>\n Amusing things happen to me all the time, but I think my favorite was back in college when I was a lifeguard. You see, there\u2019s a lifeguard code \u2013 You will be cool at all times, especially when you\u2019re sitting in a lifeguard chair, twirling your whistle exactly so, and, you know\u2026looking cool<\/em>. So, there I was, in my black lifeguard bathing suit \u2013 swinging my whistle. It was an unusually hot day, so I\u2019d angled my umbrella exactly right as I watched the diving-board section. Now, I know this might come as a surprise, but being a lifeguard at the neighborhood pool isn\u2019t exactly thrilling. It\u2019s rare that anything exciting happens, and that particular day was no exception\u2026until a large gust of wind came out of nowhere and the umbrella took it upon itself to close \u2013 right over me. And because it was now really gusty, the umbrella then lifted up, taking me with it right off the chair and into the depths of the deep end of the pool. From all accounts, it was quite the sight. First, there I was, swinging my whistle and looking groovy. Then all you could see were my legs flailing about as the umbrella covered the rest of me, and then\u2026I was plummeting toward the pool, hit the water with the umbrella over me, and promptly sank. Obviously I managed to get out of the umbrella, but in the process, part of my bathing suit came off, and\u2026well, that\u2019s a story for another day.<\/p>\n \u201cAndrew Henry\u2019s Meadow.\u201d It was actually my little brother\u2019s book, gotten from one of those book of the month clubs, but I loved it. I recently found a copy on an e-site and ordered it, and it\u2019s just as delightful today as it was back in my childhood.<\/p>\n I don\u2019t actually cook much even when I\u2019m not on deadline, so that\u2019s not really an issue. Al and I do a lot of salads or throw some chicken on the grill. We also have a lot of grocery stores that have wonderful deli and gourmet foods, so we get a lot of things there. As for cleaning, I\u2019m one of those neurotic people who can\u2019t work without everything being in place, so I do a lot of tidying up before I go to bed. And, because I do some of my best thinking when I clean, I\u2019ve been known to abandon my writing when I get stuck and pick up a mop or cleaning rag, which means my house is rarely a disaster since I need to get unstuck a lot.<\/p>\n I do the majority of my writing in my office, although I will occasionally take a pad of paper and a pen outside to handwrite when I get bored of my office or it\u2019s a really nice day and I don\u2019t feel like being trapped inside. It\u2019s not that my office is my favorite place to write, it\u2019s more that my writing is my job and I\u2019m more focused on that writing when I approach it as such.<\/p>\n I really like when characters and new story ideas begin to fester. That normally happens when I\u2019m in the midst of another series. By the time I\u2019m done with whatever series I\u2019m working on, the next series is pretty firmly set in my mind, which means I can jump right in as I wait for edits on recently completed work. My absolute favorite part of writing, though, is when I turn in the very final edit on a book and don\u2019t see it again until it comes out in print. Although, I must admit, I\u2019ve never, not once, read one of my books after it has gone to print. Seems rather pointless since I do always know how the book is going to end.<\/p>\n I\u2019ve been wanting to set a book during Alva Vanderbilt\u2019s famous costume ball of March, 1883, for years. Since I decided to slowly travel through the Gilded Age, I just reached 1883 on my plot timeline, so knew I was finally going to get to throw some characters into the very midst of Alva\u2019s ball. It was a blast to write, loved going back to all my books on this particular ball and seeing the pictures, and only wish the Vanderbilt house at 660 Fifth Avenue was still standing so I could visit it in person to visualize the splendors located inside a little more clearly.<\/p>\n I think like most writers, I simply get inspired by the world around me. I love to people watch, and I love to imagine all sorts of outlandish scenarios as I do that watching. I also get inspired by reading the headlines of the daily papers, and by the research books I read. I also love to look through old photographs of the Gilded Age, and became intrigued with Alva Vanderbilt\u2019s ball when I saw a picture of a young lady, Miss Kate Strong, with a stuffed cat on her head and wearing a choker necklace with the name Puss engraved on it. That was all it took for me to investigate the Vanderbilt ball further, delighted to discover it truly was a ball that only comes along every blue moon.<\/p>\n BLOG STOPS:<\/strong><\/p>\n April 27: Reading Is My SuperPower<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n April 27: The Scribbler<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n April 27: Genesis 5020<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n April 27: These Splendid Sentences<\/a><\/p>\n April 28: Back Porch Reads<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n April 28: Smiling Book Reviews<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n April 28: Fiction, Faith, and Fun<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n April 28: Just the Write Escape<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n April 29: Bookworm Mama<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n April 29: Book Reviews From an Avid Reader<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n April 29: Books. Books. AND More Books.<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n April 29: Karen Sue Hadley <\/span><\/a><\/p>\n April 30: Lighthouse Academy<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n April 30: Radiant Light <\/span><\/a><\/p>\n April 30: Bigreadersite<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n April 30: Lane Hill House<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n May 1: Faithfully Bookish<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n May 1: Counting Pinecones<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n May 1: Blogging With Carol<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n May 1: Moments Dipped in Ink<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n May 2: inklings and notions<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n May 2: Blossoms and Blessings<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n May 2: Book Bites, Bee Stings, and Butterfly Kisses<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n May 2: Neverending Stories<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n May 3: For The Love of Books<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n May 3: Singing Librarian Books<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n May 3: Book by Book<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n May 3: Pause for Tales<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n May 4: A Baker\u2019s Perspective<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n May 4: Chas Ray\u2019s Book Nerd Corner <\/span><\/a><\/p>\n May 4: cherylbbookblog<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n May 4: Rachel Scott McDaniel<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n May 5: With a Joyful Noise<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n May 5: Baker Kella<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n May 5: A Reader\u2019s Brain<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n May 5: Southern Gal Loves to Read<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n May 6: A Greater Yes<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n May 6: Christian Bookaholic<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n May 6: Connie\u2019s History Classroom<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n May 6: Splashes of Joy <\/span><\/a><\/p>\n May 6: Just Commonly<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n May 7: A Simple Life, really?!<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n May 7: D\u2019S QUILTS & BOOKS<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n May 7: Daysong Reflections<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n May 7: The Power of Words<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n May 8: Ashley\u2019s Bookshelf<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n May 8: Eat, Read,Teach, Blog<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n May 8: Giveaway Lady<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n May 8: Debbie\u2019s Dusty Deliberations<\/a><\/p>\n May 9: Bibliophile Reviews<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n May 9: History, Mystery & Faith<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n May 9: I Hope You Dance<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n May 9: Simpleharvestreads<\/a><\/p>\n May 10: His Grace is Sufficient<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n May 10: History, Hope, Laughter & Happily-ever-after<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n May 10: Raining Butterfly Kisses<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.daysongreflections.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/divider2.png\" "\\"divider2\\"")
<\/a><\/p>\n
\n
\n<\/a>
\nWhen Permilia overhears a threat against the estimable Mr. Rutherford, she\u2019s determined to find and warn the man. Disgruntled at a first meeting that goes quite poorly and results in Asher not believing her, she decides to take matters into her own hands, never realizing she\u2019ll end up at risk as well.<\/p>\nJen Turano<\/b>, author of nine books and two novellas, is a graduate of the University of Akron with a degree in clothing and textiles. She is a member of ACFW and lives in a suburb of Denver, Colorado. Visit her website at www.jenturano.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n