Meredith Bond wants you to know the story behind the stories of her Merry Men Quartet. And she also wants you to know about her Facebook contest which runs from August 20 -29, with the winners announced on August 29. She's giving away one ebook copy of each of the books in the Merry Men Quartet: An Exotic Heir, A Rake's Reward, A Dandy in Disguise, and The Merry Marquis. Here's the link to the contest: https://www.facebook.com/meredithbondauthor/posts/10157703097629546
Welcome Merry!
The Story Behind the Stories
Where do stories come from? It’s usually a
very small spark. Someone says something. You see a book, a movie, a picture.
Before you realize it a story is forming in your head—a “what-if”.
It happened to me a while ago when I
mentioned my name to someone who was also a writer of Regency romances. I told
her my name was Merry. She said, off-handedly, that I should have a character
called the Merry Marquis.
I thought it was a great idea!
Being the perverse person that I am, I
immediately decided that my Merry Marquis should be a very sad man. Why,
though?
Of course, he’s mourning the loss of his
wife. But this is a romance, so he has to fall in love once again. With whom?
Well, if my Merry Marquis is called Merry,
he had to have been known as a very merry person, therefore his heroine in the
book needs the help of someone who is merry and outgoing. Again my irony
came to the rescue—he needs a heroine who is shy. For some reason, my mind came
up with a girl, Teresa, who is half-English, half-Spanish, who is shy because
she’s been plucked from the only home she’s ever known (in Madrid) and sent to
a strange country (England).
I’m proud to say that The Merry Marquis has won
a few awards since it was first published by Kensington Publishers (under the
title Miss Seton’s Sonata).
Characters grow as a writer discovers more
and more of their histories, and from the characters, grows the story. But that
isn’t all there is to a story. There has to be secondary characters.
My merry hero, if he’s such a popular guy, needs
friends. Close friends.
My husband loves comedic characters,
someone who is over the top and therefore funny. He created St. John
Fotheringay-Phipps, known to all as Fungy.
In British English, St. John is pronounced
Sinjin. Fotheringay is pronounced Fungy. So just his name, to an American ear
is funny (and odd) and will almost always be mispronounced. (When I first
published A Dandy in Disguise, Fungy’s book, a number of people complained
that his name sounded like a mushroom. Indeed, it does, and I even have other
characters laugh and comment on this in the book. It’s meant to be humorous.
Some people didn’t appreciate that, sadly.)
Fungy is a typical Regency dandy, only more
so. His fashion is over the top, but so is his kindness. Because of this he
absolutely cannot stand idly by while Rose Grace, completely naïve to the ways
of society after having been raised on an archaeological site in Greece, is
tricked by an unscrupulous gentleman. Fungy is there to save her just when he
is needed.
To contrast Fungy’s outrageousness, I
created Sin. Sinclair Stratton, Viscount Reath. He is everything Fungy is not.
Staid. Conservative. Serious (although he does have a sense of humor—he is
friends with Fungy, after all). So naturally, Sin comes across his match (in A
Rake’s Reward) when trying to get from Portsmouth to an estate he won
at cards when he was just a teenager. The American Sara Whately doesn’t care
for lords and doesn’t care a bit about their conceit, and she tells Reath so in
no uncertain terms. You know that they just need to be together.
Rounding out the group (and what oddly
enough turned into the first book of the series) is Julian Ritchie, Earl of
Huntley. Julian was born of my love of Kolkata, India (or Calcutta, as it was
known in his time). My husband is from that fascinating city and so I have
first hand knowledge of it’s beauty and quirks. Time doesn’t seem to pass in
the same way in Kolkata as it does in the rest of the world. People cling to
the old ways—fruit and vegetables are still sold by people sitting on the
ground, their stock arranged beautifully on banana leaves and in woven baskets
before them in the bazaar; traffic lights are still (mostly) pretty colored
decorations to be ignored as you drive through the city streets (traffic police
are listened to, however, and they still stand at all major intersections
making sure traffic flows smoothly); and the houses of even the middle class still
team with people cooking, cleaning and even driving for their employers (I
shouldn’t mention the sometimes horrid conditions these people return to each
night where if you own a tv or a refrigerator you are lucky).
It was easy, then, for me to imagine
Calcutta of the 18th century when Julian was born to an Indian
mother and an English earl (you can read their story in Under the Mango Tree). I
am happy to say that what Julian experienced as an Anglo-Indian isn’t common
anymore—the snubs and outright discrimination. But as a proud man and hero of a
romance novel, he wasn’t just going to take it, he wanted revenge. What he
didn’t plan on was sweet, innocent, open-hearted Cassandra Renwick who had
already been hurt once by a man. You’ll find their story in An
Exotic Heir.
Thus the Merry Men were born: the story of
four men who were close friends, each with his own tale of romance.
Author Bio:
Meredith Bond's books straddle that beautiful line between historical romance and fantasy. An award-winning author, she writes fun traditional Regency romances, medieval Arthurian romances, and Regency romances with a touch of magic. Known for her characters “who slip readily into one’s heart,” Meredith loves to take her readers on a journey they won't soon forget. She is currently living in Europe enjoying the Bohemian life.
Merry loves connecting with readers. Be sure to find her:
Website:
http://www.meredithbond.com
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/meredithbondauthor
Goodreads:
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/847484.Meredith_Bond
Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Meredith-Bond/e/B001KI1SNE/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1447638858&sr=8-2-ent
Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/meredith_bond/
Bookbub:
https://www.bookbub.com/authors/meredith-bond
Newsletter:
http://meredithbond.com/subscribe/
What happens when one of your best friends, the First Lady of the newly democratic Republic of Lodatia, appears to be an imposter? If you’re criminal defense attorney Julianna Constant, you pursue the truth like a rabid dog, then wage a battle to save your friend’s life.
When criminal defense attorney Julianna Constant travels to Washington, D.C. to join her former college roommate, Marella de la Aerelli, in celebrating her husband’s election as the first president of the newly democratic Republic of Lodatia, she is met with an unpleasant surprise. Her friend of almost 30 years not only looks unwell, she is cold and distant. After Julianna becomes convinced the woman is really an imposter, she attempts to expose the faux Marella by using a secret only she, Marella, and the sitting U.S. President share. In the process, Julianna helps to uncover an international conspiracy to seize control of the new country, using the president’s wife as a pawn in a dangerous and potentially deadly game. Will Marella be rescued before a coup takes place? Or will she become collateral damage in one tiny nation’s fight to be free?
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Falling in love can be a deadly proposition in this pulse-quickening Mission Recovery novel from the New York Times bestselling author.
Excerpt: 
If you love heart-pounding romantic suspense, books you can sink your teeth into, you'll love New York Times bestselling author Dana Marton's stories. Kirkus Reviews calls her writing “compelling and honest.” RT Book Review Magazine says, “Marton knows what makes a hero…her characters are sure to become reader favorites.” Her writing has been acclaimed by critics, called, “gripping,” “intense and chilling,” “full of action,” “a thrilling adventure,” and wholeheartedly recommended to readers. Dana is the winner of the Daphne du Maurier Award of Excellence, the Readers’ Choice Award, and the RITA Award, the highest industry award for romance.
