A young screenwriter meets her soulmate, only to discover he is from the future and must return in order to save her life.
Bio: Janie Emaus believes when the world is falling apart, we’re just one laugh away from putting it together again. She is the author of the blended holiday picture books, Latkes for Santa Claus, and the forthcoming Matzo Balls & Easter Eggs. As well as the novel, The Time Traveling Matchmaker. Her essays, stories and articles have been published in numerous magazines, anthologies, and websites. In 2016 she won an honorary mention in the Erma Bombeck Writing competition. To learn more about Janie visit her at www.janieemaus.com.
Avis: Hi Janie! I’m so glad you join us for today’s blog post! I love stories that blend genres and The Time Traveling Matchmaker does just that with romance, time-travel, and mystery! What a great read! But enough of that. Readers want to know more about you, so let’s begin with our first question:
If you didn’t write, what would you do for work?
Janie: I’ve always wanted to be a singer/songwriter. But there was one large drawback to pursuing this career – I can’t carry a tune. To myself, I think I sound wonderful, but not to anyone within earshot, over the age of two. I can write lyrics, though, and I do make up silly songs to entertain my grandkids, nieces, and nephews. And two of the characters in my women’s fiction novel are performers and songwriters.
Avis: LOL! A songwriter who can’t carry a tune, I can relate! I love music, but ditto on carrying a tune! I bet all the kids in your family love hearing your songs, though! But back to the writing questions:
How do you select the names?
Janie: I often start with family members, as a place holder. And then when I get a feel for the character, they usually let me know what name suits them best. I try not use similar sounding names or ones that start with the same letter.
Avis: I like your process for choosing names. Let the character tell you! There is so much in a name, and your characters were speaking loud and clear! Here’s a questions that focuses on you as a reader!
What is the first book that made you cry?
Janie: I can’t remember the exact first book, but I know that Sophie’s Choice by William Styron was the first one that made me literally sob for what seemed like hours.
Avis: William Styron wrote magic into Sofie’s Choice! That’s for sure! He’s one of my personal literary hero’s! Here’s another writerly question:
Does writing energize or exhaust you?
Janie: Energize, for sure. I’m excited to see where the story is going to take me. I don’t plot out the novel, scene by scene. I get to know my characters, what they want, what stands in the way and then I say – go for it! And let them tell me the story.
When writing essays and articles, it’s the greatest feeling in the world, when I get that last line to bring the piece full circle.
Avis: You are a multi-faceted writer, for sure! It’s been a pleasure getting to know more about you and your writing process and some of your reading faves! And for my review of her fabulous novel, scroll to the bottom!
For more information on Janie Emaus and her work, check out her social media links below!
https://www.facebook.com/janie.emaus
https://www.facebook.com/Janie-Emaus-Books-Blogs-473633136036884
Twitter: @Janie_Emaus
https://www.instagram.com/janieemaus/
Blurb: In The Time Traveling Matchmaker, love takes on a new meaning when soulmates are brought together through time and space.
Like every goal-oriented twenty-something, Jessica Singleton, an aspiring filmmaker, is obsessed with finding her future as quickly as possible. What she doesn’t know is that the future is obsessed with finding her, too. Renn Porter, an agent with Time Traveling Matchmaker’s Inc, blasts back in time – and into her life- in order to transport Jessica to the soulmate who has paid for this service…in the future. But things turn dangerous when it’s revealed that Renn has been sent after his own soulmate.
Caught between two times, Jessica and Renn must struggle to stay alive. Falling in love is the biggest risk either of them has ever taken – because, as they are destined to learn, the very existence of Time Traveling Matchmakers, Inc. rests in Jessica’s hands.
Review:
Janie Emaus’s The Time Traveling Matchmaker is a paranormal/fantasy romance that builds up to steamy romance by the end of this (her debut) novel. Emaus warps the space-time continuum to bring us a nail-biting story that builds scene after nail biting scene!
Emaus’s protagonist, Jessica Dylan Singleton, is a young woman still reeling from a bad relationship and breakup a year later, who just wants to move on already. She wanders through life with her eyes half-closed until she meets a mysterious man in a tan trench coat. When she witnesses that man’s disappearance into thin air, she has a new mission. Find out how he does that!
Jess, a screenplay writer, is on hiatus from her writing program, but her advisor is pressing her for a chapter, so she doesn’t lose her place in the program. No pressure there. But Jess finds inspiration in the most unlikely place, her father’s love story with her mom. Soulmates who met in the 1980s, her mom and dad had a special kind of love, but her mom was killed when Jess was only six years old. Her dad never recovered or remarried, but he also disappeared from Jess’s life.
Soulmates is a theme Emaus weaves throughout her fantastic book. Her grandparents and her aunt and uncle are also soulmates, and that’s what Jess wants too. She thought she had it with David, but that relationship did not fulfil her. It left her scared and abandoned, and she realizes how lucky her parents were to find such an elusive love.
Janie Emaus creates a world where love and magic are masterfully intertwined into the setting, the characters, and the plot. Jessica’s search for love and the dangers that come with that search will satisfy fantasy/time-travel/romance fans and any reader looking for an thrilling weekend read or fun escape. I highly recommend The Time Traveling Matchmaker, a five-star read, for sure!
Avis M. Adams 