The Story Behind Close Match By Tracey Jerald

By Tracey Jerald

How many times have you ever looked at a celebrity and thought, “Wow, I bet they have a perfect life.” But I’d be willing to challenge you they’re merely playing a role when the spotlight is on them.

After all, nothing is perfect. Certainly nothing about life or love is.

Perfection, or the lack thereof, was the jumping off point for Close Match. This story is more than just a love story; it’s more than just a journey. It’s a rebirth that requires two individuals to grow separately even as they learn to love one another while life tests their emotional bonds.

And their wounds.

We’re taught “close” isn’t good enough. So, with that, I approached the idea of love, the idea of being “perfect” for someone. It led me to ask the question of whether there indeed was such a thing as a perfect match for two people?

When I write, it’s little things that start to come together. When I was online earlier this year, a woman responded to a public post dealing with body shaming. What snagged my attention was her comment that while she might be thin, would anyone be willing to trade because she’d be gloriously happy with one of their less than perfect figures so she could live since she had Stage 4 cancer.

Another day, my 73-year-old mother was practicing her performing arts dance routine in my home office. As she twirled, it reminded me of all the times she took me to Broadway shows when I was a child.

And so, Evangeline Brogan was born – a star who on the outside had it all. She is a charming, dynamic beauty who puts the love of family above everything else in her life. When long-held secrets threaten everything, she’s left more vulnerable than she’s ever been under the spotlight.

But what kind of man would get her attention? Would it be someone from her world, someone who would understand her emotional burden? Linnie sneered at me, and her co-star, when we introduced her to one.

Along the way, Linnie’s life intersects with that of Montague Parrish. Arrogant and protective, Monty’s wary of the woman who appears to seamlessly ease her way into his family’s life from stage left. But if Monty’s mind is suspicious of Linnie’s, his body is all too ready to accept her.

The things that bring them together may be the catalyst for what ends up driving them apart. After all, lies have a way of doing that, even when the only person you’re telling them to is yourself.

In this book, you’ll go from the bright lights of New York City to the comfort of a horse farm in Virginia. You’ll see their strength; you’ll feel their weakness. And in between, you’ll realize that that love comes to anyone.

Even those of us who are just close.

Tracey Jerald is the author of the new book Close Match.

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