Hi Jody, welcome to Reader’s Entertainment. We’re excited to be talking about your latest release SAVED BY THE MATCHMAKER. This is the second book in your A SHANAHAN MATCH series. Can you share a little bit about this story with us?
Jody Hedlund: This installment continues the Shanahan saga, an imperfect but loving family, seeking to make happy matches for each of their children. It also involves the young Irish matchmaker that made his first match in book one. Now he might just face his biggest challenge with a surly steamboat captain who doesn’t want to get married but is being pressured into it by his father. The matchmaker also has a feisty redhead who, after a failed marriage, doesn’t want anything to do with love or relationships. In spite of the challenge, this wily matchmaker seems to have a knack for bringing unlikely couples together, and I hope readers will enjoy seeing how he does it this time.
At the beginning of the book, Enya Shanahan is in quite a difficult situation, especially for a woman in the 1840s. What kind of public shame or judgment would a woman in her situation most likely face at that time?
JH: From page one, readers learn that Enya has just gotten an annulment from a marriage that she rushed into with a man she thought loved her but was not who she believed him to be. The hasty marriage caused a scandal. But when Enya finds herself pregnant, her family is rushing to cover up more scandal. In desperation, they turn to the matchmaker for help in finding Enya a spouse who is willing to raise another man’s child as his own.
As with any period in history, the mistakes of children have an impact on the rest of the family, including the family’s reputation in a community. This was especially true of the wealthy and prestigious Shanahan family. Enya’s predicament had the possibility of harming business dealings and social standing for the whole family. It would also ruin Enya’s chances of a normal future because having a baby outside the bounds of marriage was taboo and not culturally acceptable. As a single mother, she and her child would be ostracized and always looked down upon.
Sullivan O’Brien is a man on a mission, literally ferrying souls toward freedom on his steamboat. Where did he get his strong convictions and the courage to do what’s right?
JH: As a giant of a man, Sullivan has always struggled with insecurity over his appearance, especially now that he has scars from the war. In addition he’s quiet and reserved and unexciting. As a result of his inadequacies, he has a heart for helping others who feel degraded, particularly enslaved people.
As a steamboat captain, he decides he’s in a position where he can help save the lives of slaves by transporting them to freedom up the Mississippi River. Although he could face severe consequences if he’s caught aiding a slave, he’s determined to do what’s right anyway.
Both characters have trust issues they must overcome if they are to experience true love. What keeps people from being able to trust? What’s the solution, in your opinion?
JH: Both characters have been deeply hurt by people they once trusted, and as a result they each have a difficult time learning to trust again. Hurt, rejection, and lies are some of the top culprits in eroding trust.
The solution to trusting again is learning to forgive and move on, as well as taking the risk to build new relationships. There’s never a guarantee that we won’t get hurt again, but we can’t let that possibility stop us from loving others and allowing others to love us in return.
What do you think it is about matchmaking that so fascinates us, even today?
JH: We’re such an independent-minded culture, and that spills over into dating relationships. Most people want the freedom to date many people and use the dating process to discover who is most compatible. So the idea of having parents play a significant role in helping to choose a spouse is foreign. And the idea of having a matchmaker choose a spouse is even stranger.
But essentially our dating apps nowadays sort of act as a matchmaker, narrowing down the choices and bringing people together in a way that they might not have been able to do on their own.
What are you most excited for readers to experience as they pick up this historical romance?
JH: This story is a bit heavier than the first one with themes of abandonment, abuse, insecurity, and the issue of slavery taking more prominence. Even so, I’m excited for readers to meet
Sullivan, who is a patient and loving hero as he interacts with Enya and helps her reach a place of healing so that she’s ready for love.
In addition, this book showcases the Great Fire of 1849 in St. Louis; a devastating fire that started among the steamboats along the levy and then spread to the city and raged out of control for hours. I hope readers will appreciate getting a glimpse of this particular event.
What aspect of this story did you enjoy writing the most?
JH: As with the first book, I truly have enjoyed bringing the matchmaker, Bellamy McKenna, to life. He’s been such a quirky, cunning character to write. And with each book he takes even greater shape in my mind, so much so that I’m planning a love story for him!
As a romance reader yourself, are there any romance tropes in this book that you think readers will find especially entertaining?
JH: In addition to the arranged marriage trope, this book contains a very popular trope with the marriage of convenience. It also has Beauty and the Beast vibes, forced proximity, belated love realization, and emotional scars.
What are you working on next?
JH: The next Shanahan to get a love story is Kiernan. His story picks up where book two ends with the aftermath of the Great Fire, as well as the continuation of the cholera epidemic. Amidst it all, the ambitious Kiernan, who is attempting to build his own empire, has to decide what is more important: success or love.
How can readers connect with you?
JH: To stay up to date, I invite readers to join my Facebook Reader Room where I post the most relevant book news and interact with readers. Or readers can visit my website at JodyHedlund.com
Thank you very much for joining us today. Readers, here’s a quick look at SAVED BY THE MATCHMAKER:
After her annulment is finalized, Enya Shanahan finds herself caught in a web of scandal and obligation while carrying a secret that threatens to shatter her family’s reputation. Determined to find a suitable marriage for Enya, her father turns to a wily matchmaker to save them from their circumstances.
Sullivan O’Brien, a steamboat captain committed to aiding enslaved people on their path to freedom, is faced with an ultimatum from his father. Forced to marry or lose his livelihood, a marriage of convenience seems to be the only solution. As he and Enya face the trials of their pasts and a city consumed by fire, they must confront their deepest fears and learn to trust in love, even when darkness threatens to engulf them.
