Intersection Column | Finding the Humor When Life Gets in the Way

by Jen Turano

As most of my readers know, I write comedy—historical romantic comedy to be exact. My goal with my writing is to provide readers with a bit of an escape from a world that far too often can feel overwhelming.

With that said, I have to admit that the entire writing process for In Pursuit of Civility was one of the most challenging processes I’ve ever had since I’ve become an author. In all honesty, I wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to finish this book.

You see, life can sometimes get crazy, and the crazy started with me in the spring of 2024. I had to get a little cancer removed from my arm. It was supposed to be no big thing, but the basal cells had burrowed a little deeper than anticipated. That’s why, when I woke up after surgery, my entire arm was bandaged and there was a huge divot in my forearm. I was pretty sure arms weren’t supposed to have divots. And when my doctor asked me how good I was with wound care, turns out he was asking because my arm needed to grow back—something I didn’t know an arm could do before I got a skin graft. I realized my recovery was going to be a tad longer than I had anticipated. That meant, for the first time in my writing career, I was going to have to push back some deadlines because I couldn’t use my left arm for months.

No need to fret about me because I’m fine now, although I have a horrendous scar. But after I finally got the feeling back in my left arm, my husband unexpectedly retired because the financial institution he worked for was pulling out of Denver.  Yep, that’s right. Then, because that wasn’t life-adjusting enough, we decided to put our house on the market because we’d been thinking about retiring to the beach for years—although we didn’t realize we’d be putting that plan into action quite so soon.  

I thought it would take us a couple of months to sell the house, so I wasn’t all that worried about meeting my new deadlines until a plot twist came along. We sold the house in a week and a half and the buyers needed to move in ASAP, which meant that my husband and I were soon homeless and motoring across the country with my grumpy cattle dog in the back of our SUV. All our worldly belongings were not in the care of a moving company, but stuffed into a few of those Pod things because we didn’t have an address to have our belongings delivered to.

Luckily, it didn’t take us long to find a super cool house that has that ‘old Florida’ feel, complete with Spanish Moss and fabulous oak trees. One would have thought life was beginning to settle down, but those Pods we used went to the wrong place. It was a bit stressful while all our stuff was missing, but the Pods finally showed up a few weeks later, right around the time my favorite Jeep showed up as well. Poor Agnes—my Jeep—had to not only suffer through being shipped across the country but also suffer through a hurricane in Louisiana, although I’m still not quite sure how she got there.

With my house now somewhat furnished and Agnes back in a garage, I settled down to continue writing In Pursuit of Civility. The problem was, as I was rereading the story to reacquaint myself with it, I came to the unfortunate realization that my story wasn’t reading like a comedy, but more like a tragedy—not something I’m known for.

That was right around the time imposter syndrome decided to strike.

Imposter syndrome, if you’ve never heard the term, is when a writer decides they are clearly a fraud. In my case, I decided that I had not a single ounce of humor left to put on a page. Because I am a comedy writer, this was going to be problematic.

I cannot tell you how long I sat at my desk, gazing mournfully at a chapter that was lackluster at best. Just when I was reaching to call my agent and tell her I was done with writing forever, an image of a monkey sprang to mind from out of the blue.

Now one wouldn’t think that seeing a monkey would be all that inspiring unless you immediately knew this monkey’s name was Harriet, and she wasn’t just any monkey, but a monkey who had the proclivity for picking pockets. Just like that, my sense of humor snapped back into place.

That image, undoubtedly sent by God, was a reminder that, while I was certainly experiencing upheaval in my life, sometimes something as simple as a good laugh can put our lives in perspective. 

Thank you for spending some time with me and I hope you’ll check out In Pursuit of Civility, complete with Harriet the monkey, as well as a few mischievous ferrets, unruly young ladies from the Merriweather Academy for Young Ladies, and a treasure hunt that might also involve some pirates.

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About the Author

Named one of the funniest voices in inspirational romance by Booklist, Jen Turano is a USA Today bestselling author, known for penning quirky historical romances set in the Gilded Age. Her books have earned Publishers 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. She and her family live outside of Ormond Beach, Florida. Readers can find her on Facebook and Instagram, and at JenTurano.com.

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About the Book

Annaliese Merriweather has been appointed the temporary headmistress of the Merriweather Academy for Young Ladies. When a mischievous student disappears, intent on pursuing a pirate map, Annaliese recruits the help of Seth McCormick, an eccentric inventor, along with a menagerie of Annaliese's rescued animal companions. Somehow, they'll need to outwit dangerous individuals also intent on seeking the treasure—all while deciphering what their hearts desire.