Author Secrets: The Heir And The Spare

A fellow author once suggested putting a bit of myself into each character, as a way to make them seem more real to me, and thus to the reader. So…

Lady Palmerston was given my love of gossip magazines. Like LP, I can effortlessly remember every bit of gossip I have ever read or heard, particularly if it involves celebrities. With the exception of quiz night at my local pub, this has never proven to be a useful skill.

Emilia was given my clumsiness. But writing her trips and falls made me even more clumsy. Within the span of a week, I:

• Totally wiped out on the sidewalk, ripping a hole in my favorite jeans (sob).
• Broke a vase in a store (thankfully, they didn’t make me pay for it!).
• Walked face first into a clear glass door (I had to laugh at myself for this one).

The original first sentence was “Emilia Highhart listened at the library door.” Boring, right? You can see why I changed it.

In early drafts, Phillip, the evil twin, died at the end of the novel. On his deathbed, he and Devon reconcile. Even though this scene put tears in my mum’s eyes, I cut it because I thought of a delicious story for him.

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