“Where do you get your ideas?”
It’s a question I get asked all of the time—as do many authors I know. The answer is varied. I get a lot of ideas from my research. Or from a song or a snatch of random conversation. Or just from out of the ether. But curious people often also ask if I base my characters on people I know. For the first time, I can answer: “Well, sort of.”
I have a friend whose mother is in a decline. That’s how they would have described it in the Regency. My friend is a wonderful daughter. She supports her mother, cares for her in her own home and encourages her—everything one would wish. And her situation started me to thinking about how it would have looked in the Regency.
And Miss Emily Spencer was born. Like my friend, she’s doing everything she can to support and care for her mother—but she’s seriously lacking in the resources we have today. She’s not going to let that stop her, though. She’ll step out of traditional roles, break a few rules, do anything to help her mother. So when the infamous Hestia Wright from Half Moon House comes to her with a proposition and an earl looking for a temporary betrothal—she agrees.
Of course, things don’t go as planned for Emily and the Earl of Hartford, but she works for her Happily Ever After and I had a great time giving it to her.
You can read an excerpt of The Earl’s Hired Bride at my website.
And if you’d like a chance to win a digital copy of Lady, It’s Cold Outside, a holiday novella which features Emily’s cousin as the heroine, then tell me below about the time you helped out a family member, or had one help you!
I didn’t know about this until she passed in June but my niece helped pay the extra I needed for my cataract surgery a few years ago. My husband and I were having difficulty finding the money to get the prescription lenses for my surgery.
Oh, how sweet, Diana!
I always try to help whoever I can because so many people have helped me through the years. I guess it’s a form of pass it on.
Yes, Patricia! I’ve been on the receiving end many times too. So nice to be able to pass it on!
We have let many family members live with us over the years and my husband’s best friend when he got sober. We’ve been married for 30 years and had people, besides our kids, living with us for about 23 of them. We were known as The Hillenbrand Bed and Breakfast. Lol We also try to be available to help friends and family whenever possible.