Book Recommendation - A Match in the Making
Here's a bit about the book:
Miss Gwendolyn Brinley accepted a temporary paid companion position for the Newport summer season, believing it would be a lark to spend the summer in America’s most exclusive town. She suddenly finds her summer turning anything but amusing when her employer expects her to take over responsibilities as an assistant matchmaker. Tasked with the daunting prospect of attaining advantageous matches for her clients, Gwendolyn soon finds herself in the company of Mr. Walter Townsend, the catch of the Season, but a gentleman Gwendolyn finds beyond annoying.
Walter is reluctantly in search of a wife for the sake of his unruly motherless children. What he wasn’t expecting was Miss Brinley, who turns his quest for a new wife into a complete and utter debacle.
The more time they spend together throughout the Newport Season, the harder it is for Gwendolyn to find Walter a wife when she realizes his perfect match might be . . . her.
USA Today bestselling author Jen Turano’s trademark wit, sweet romance, and hilarious mischief will keep you turning the pages of this lively Gilded Age tale.
As part of the author's launch team, I was invited to participate in a Q&A with Ms. Turano. Here's how it went:
1.
This book referenced an occupation I'd never heard of
before. Did society truly have matchmakers for hire in the late 1800s?
Were their success rates ever documented?
Matchmaking
was, indeed, alive and well during the Gilded Age, although there is very
little documentation about it, except references that certain society matrons
had a hand in introducing eligible young American heiresses to appropriate
wealthy gentlemen of the New York Four Hundred. However, there is a bit written
about Lady Paget – the former Mary “Minnie” Stevens. She was a minor American
heiress who married Sir Arthur Paget, and became known as a sought-after
British hostess. Minnie was constantly short on funds, so began arranging
international marriages between American heiresses and British noblemen who
were short on funds as well and had massive properties to maintain. I’ve yet to
find any actual accounts of how Minnie was paid for these transactions, but it
seems as if jewelry would most assuredly have exchanged hands, as well as other
expensive items. It’s difficult to say whether any money was involved, although
I would hazard a guess and say it wasn’t because high-society ladies would have
considered taking money for a match as being far too common for them, although
I wouldn’t be surprised if some of them accepted jewelry and then sold it for
cash, using an agent, of course, so no one would see them dirtying their hands
with any sort of trade.
2.
What inspired the story line for this book/series?
At
heart, “A Match in the Making” isn’t so much a book about matchmakers as it is
about mean girls. I’ve been disheartened over the past few years with how
meanness has become almost acceptable in our society, so wanted to write a book
where someone, and in this case, Gwendolyn Brinley, doesn’t hesitate to call
the young ladies who are embracing the whole “mean girl” attitude out. Once I
decided on that theme, the book just took on a life of its own.
3.
You're well known for hilarity in your books. Is your life
surrounded by such antics that give you inspiration? Or does it come strictly
from your imagination?
You
know, I have to admit that I lead a very unusual life where the most unlikely
of predicaments happen to me on a regular basis. Take a few weeks ago for
instance – there I was, walking my dog down the trail, holding her leash in one
hand, a poop bag in the other, and shaking my head because, of course, she’d do
her business after we’d passed a poop depository and there wasn’t another one
for a good half mile. Well, my cell rang, and it was an important call, so I
answer it with the hand that was holding the leash because…does anyone want to
have a poop bag close to their face? Now that doesn’t seem like a situation
that could turn precarious, except it did when Remee, my dog, caught sight of a
cat and took off. She has a retractable leash, you know, the one I was holding
up to my face along with my phone, and the second she stopped in her tracks
because the cat changed direction, the leash retracted into the holder, sucking
up my hair in the process. Yes, that’s right, it sucked up my hair. So there I
was, poop bag in hand, my hair stuck in the leash, my dog trying to go after a
cat, and yeah, it was downright peculiar. I obviously had to tell the person on
the phone I’d call them back, and then spent the next mile walking down the
trail with the leash attached to my head. Hahahaha – so to answer your
question, there are a lot of outlandish situations that I’ve had in real life
that I write into my stories.
4.
Which character in this book (or series if that is easier)
did you enjoy writing the most? Which one do you best relate to?
I
always love writing children, so Walter’s three children in this story were the
most enjoyable to write. As for which character I best relate to – hmmmm.
That’s a tricky one, but I’m going to say Gwendolyn Brinley, the heroine of “A
Match in the Making” because she’s practical and speaks her mind.
5.
Did anything during your writing process change the
trajectory of this story?
The
only thing that really changed during this story was the first three chapters.
While going through my first draft and getting into the editing process (I do
seven edits before I turn a book over to my editors for the first time) I
decided I had too much backstory in the beginning, so had to back up, delete,
and add that backstory in with just little snippets of information here and
there.
6.
What were some fun things you learned while doing research
for this book?
There
was a scene in the book I wanted to write which would have the children playing
a popular outside game at the time. I discovered “Annie Over” while during
research, and it sounds like a delightful game, one I’m determined to put into
play the next time we have a neighborhood party. It involves a ball, a long
table or hedge, and two teams that take turns trying to hit their opponents
with the ball, calling “Annie Over” every time before the ball goes into play.
Once it is in play, everyone has to dash around to the other side of the table
or hedge, trying to dodge the ball so that they’re not called out of the game.
7.
Were there any scenes that got cut in the editing process
that you would have liked to keep?
When
I’m editing, anything I cut, I don’t keep. I don’t have a folder with deleted
scenes, and because I cut, delete, and rewrite so much, I never remember those
scenes. Before you ask, the reason I do that is there are a lot of times where
I think something is just hilarious, but the scene isn’t moving the story
forward. However, if I were to save what I thought was hilarious, I’ll try to
fit it in somewhere else, and it probably won’t work there either. It’s best if
I just delete and move on to another idea.
8.
Is there any fun behind-the-scenes trivia about this book
or series that you'd be interested in sharing with my readers?
Ever
since “In Good Company,” I’ve been wanting to take my characters back to
Newport for the Summer Season. It was a fascinating place during the Gilded Age,
filled with the upper crust of society and snobbish does not begin to describe
their attitude toward outsiders. Bailey’s Beach was were the Four Hundred swam,
and an interesting tidbit about that beach is that there were times during the
day when the gentlemen, out of sight of the ladies of course, swam in the nude.
The ladies, of course, were expected to swim in bathing costumes that were made
out of black wool (can you imagine being in the sun wearing wool?) paired with
black stockings, because I’m sure that was a great feeling against their skin
when they got wet, leather shoes, and a long tunic top that had sleeves. I
don’t know about all of you, but I would have reconsidered the whole swimming
thing if I had to wear all that because it doesn’t sound all that comfortable.
9.
What is coming next and when can we expect it?
Next
up is the second book in the Matchmaker Series, “To Spark a Match,” coming out
late Fall 2023. It’s Miss Adelaide Duveen’s story and she has turned into a
favorite of mine. She’s a rather awkward sort, but completely loveable, and she
may fall for a gentleman, Mr. Gideon Abbott, who just might be involved with
some manner of espionage. I only have copy/line edits and then design pages
left on that one, and while I wait for those to come back to me from my editing
team, I’m writing the first draft of the third book, tentatively titled “To
Meet Her Match” which revolves around Miss Camilla Pierpont, a former
matchmaker and grand heiress, who has decided to never marry, but may
reconsider that after she becomes acquainted with Owen Hostetler. He’s an
industrialist who lives in Wheeling, WVA, and has made a fortune through steel,
iron, and manufacturing nails. Yes, that’s right, nails.
Thank
you so much for joining me! I can't wait to see what's next!
Thank
you so much for having me. How fun!
~ Jen
~
Here's a bit about the author:
This book releases February 21, 2023, wherever books are sold. For pre-orders, check the following link: https://bit.ly/3Zj2tIX
For additional information, check out the following links:
Jen Turano's website: https://jenturano.com/
Jen Turano's facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/jenturanoauthor
My full 5-star review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5247140312
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