Guestpost: Shobhan Bantwal - Mismatched Soul-mates - Do Opposites Really Attract?

Mismatched Soul-mates - Do Opposites Really Attract?

Shobhan Bantwal - author of The Reluctant Matchmaker

     Haven't we all come across at least a few odd couples who just don't seem like they could possibly belong together, and yet they are as happy as the most well-coordinated twosomes? In my Indian-Hindu culture of arranged marriage, this phenomenon is more common than in America, where couples typically meet on their own, fall in love, and then marry.

     Practical considerations like family and social values, economic status, and educational levels take precedence over other factors when conservative Indians arrange a marriage for their family members. Consequently, every once in a while, two seemingly incompatible individuals may end up marrying each other. More often than not, the couple manages to find genuine joy and contentment in their relationship. This is one of the unique characteristics of arranged marriage in old-fashioned societies: strangers who are brought together in matrimony by their families forging a lasting bond based on mutual respect and love that blossoms, not before but after marriage.

     But how about when two mismatched people fall in love with each other? I have explored this very notion in my latest book, The Reluctant Matchmaker (July 1, 2012). I have paired the nuances of Indian-American culture with an unconventional romance.

     My heroine, Meena, is a very petite woman who falls in love with her exceptionally tall and slightly older boss, Prajay. So imagine her astonishment when Prajay requests her to craft a personal ad to help him find a suitable bride: a statuesque and sophisticated Indian-American woman. Meena can't refuse the odd assignment or the generous fee attached to it. Suddenly thrust into the role of "matchmaker" and "marriage consultant," Meena has to decide what is more important: her own happiness or making Prajay's marriage dreams come true. In making that crucial decision, she comes to some surprising realizations about love and tradition, and the sacrifices she will or won't make for the sake of both.

Book Trailer

About the Book

     It starts with a bizarre accident. Petite and successful Meena Shenoy's contented life turns upside down when she collides, literally, with her strikingly tall boss, Prajay Nayak, and suffers a nasty fall. But when she discovers that he's a bright, caring, family-oriented man, she's attracted to him. When he unexpectedly asks her to meet him in secret, she wonders whether he feels the same way about her.


     Meena walks into his office that evening with high romantic hopes. Imagine her shock when instead of declaring interest in her Prajay makes an astonishing request: He wants her to craft a personal ad that will help him find a suitable wife - a statuesque, sophisticated Indian-American woman who will complement his striking height.


     Despite her feelings for Prajay and the complications of balancing work and her "marriage consultant" role, Meena can't refuse the assignment, or the generous fee attached to it. While she nurses her bruised heart, Meena comes to some surprising realizations about love, tradition, and the sacrifices she will—and won't—make to fight for the man she loves.

About the Author

     Shobhan Bantwal is an award-winning author of six multicultural women's fiction books with romantic elements and numerous short stories, branded as "Bollywood in a Book." Her articles have appeared in The Writer magazine, Romantic Times, India Abroad, India Currents, and New Woman. The Reluctant Matchmaker is her latest novel. Shobhan lives with her husband in Arizona. 


    For more information: about The Reluctant Matchmaker and Shobhan Bantwal’s other books, visit http://www.shobhanbantwal.com or http://www.amazon.com/The-Reluctant-Matchmaker-Shobhan-Bantwal/dp/0758258852 to get your copy today. 
The full virtual tour schedule is available at: http://bookpromotionservices.com/2012/06/03/reluctant-matchmaker-tour
Shoban's Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/ShobhanBantwal.author