Those Darn Farthingale Twins

When I first sat down to write the Farthingale series, I envisioned starting with the eldest sister, Rose, and moving down the line to end with a story for each twin, Lily and Daffodil (Dillie). Very orderly and traditional. But those darn twins had another thing in mind. They jumped into my head, insisting that their stories be told first and practically dictating the words and ideas to me. First and foremost, they had to be identical twins. They also had to have very different personalities.

I knew better than to go against their wishes and began to plot their stories. I thought bookish Lily would want a professorial, scholarly gentleman to marry. Goodness, no! Big yawn. She wanted a Scotsman - and he’d better be wearing a kilt in at least one scene in the book. So My Fair Lily became the story of bluestocking Lily and her Ewan, the irreverent Scot who steals her heart. Oh, and he had to have a dog. A big, lumbering sheepdog with a big, slurpy tongue. Well, Lily knew what she was talking about. My Fair Lily stayed on Amazon’s Regency historical bestseller list for three solid months, took a two-week breather, and shot back on the list again.

Since that worked out so well, I turned to Dillie and asked her who she wanted to marry. She rolled her big blue eyes, shocked that the answer wasn’t obvious. She wanted love, happiness, and someone who needed her. A man who had the confidence to consider her an equal. A man with a big heart and a lot of love to give. Clearly, that ruled out the notorious rakehell, Ian Markham, the Duke of Edgeware, or so I thought. He didn’t want love, didn’t need anyone, and he certainly never wanted to marry.  Dillie gently patted my hand and told me to think again. So I did. Thanks to Dillie and Ian, the result is The Duke I’m Going To Marry. Thanks to the incredible support from all of you, The Duke I’m Going To Marry which was released less than two weeks ago is now sitting in the top 20 on Amazon’s Regency historical bestseller list.

I’m working on Daisy’s story now, Rules For Reforming A Rake, and can’t wait for you to read it. Once again, I thank all of you for allowing me to bring the Farthingales into your home. Sign up for my newsletter and you'll be the first to see Rules for Reforming a Rake's cover!

Hugs,

Meara

PS! Don't forget to stop by The Duke I'm Going to Marry's Release Day Bash. Some of the hottest Regency authors are stopping by to mingle with all of you, and I'd hate for you to miss such a fun party! Hope to see you there.