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J.M. KEARNS BIO

J.M. Kearns grew up in Ontario, Canada where he developed a love for rivers, lakes, literature, butter tarts, and dark humour. And Muskoka: his family had a summer cottage there, and he learned that whatever else went wrong in life, the cottage would forgive his sins. His other religion was folk-rock music.

On the brink of a brilliant academic career, Kearns made the awful mistake of writing a song, then another, then it wouldn’t stop. He left Toronto, ended up in L.A. for too many years, then headed for Nashville, where he now resides. There he developed a recording studio and produced some of Nashville's most talented indie artists, while continuing to write songs and perform with his own band. He also wrote extensively for a Nashville music paper. While a counselor for two years at Nashville's Crisis Line, Kearns took a long walk in the valley of hurt and deepened his insight into the disconnect, and the irrefutable bond, that lies between men and women.

With a Ph.D. in philosophy and a degree in English literature, Kearns was fated to be a writer of prose, and eventually that happened.

First came a non-fiction book. Using his counselling experience, his own years as an “embedded reporter in the trenches of true love”, and his trained analytical mind, Kearns took a hard look at the self-help lit on relationships and found that they did a poor job of dealing with a big problem: how to find the lifetime partner who is right for you. They were also full of pessimistic myths about men and women that were blocking the solution. It was time to dispel the myths and tell the male side of the story – a surprisingly encouraging side – and that’s what he did. Why Mr Right Can't Find You was published in Canada and the U.K. in early 2007. After garnering great press on both sides of the Atlantic and achieving best-seller status in Canada, it was released in the U.S. this year. The sequel, Better Love Next Time, is coming out in January 2009.

But let’s not forget about fiction, or that summer cottage we mentioned at the start. Kearns’ first novel, ex-Cottagers in Love, was released in May 2008 by Key Porter. It’s a love story, a tale of corporate torment, a tale about the power of “home”.