Authors mostly get their inspiration from their heads, but sometimes – sometimes – they get ideas from outside sources. You’d think that since I write historical romance my ideas would come from dusty old tomes, possibly written in Latin.
Not so much.
There was the time I based a hero on Batman (Duke of Midnight) down to the mask, secret identity and sarcastic manservant.
And then there’s my newest book Not the Duke’s Darling which has some striking similarities to the story of a certain heroine in a tiara and wedgie boots. Shall I list them?
1. Super secret society of badass women. In Wonder Woman it was Amazons on an island I can’t pronounce. In Not the Duke’s Darling it’s the Wise Women, based in the far north of Scotland. Their mission? To help all British women and fight the patriarchy. Boo-ya! (Or whatever battle cry Amazons make.)
2. Eeeevil bad guys. Wonder Woman had Nazis (well, okay, the recent movie was set in WWI not WWII, but comic book Diana was known for fighting Nazis!) The Wise Women have the Dunkelders, religious fanatics who are convinced that the Wise Women must be witches and want to burn them at the stake. Mean!
3. Swelling music. Oh, man. I spent so much time listening to the Wonder Woman soundtrack while writing Not the Duke’s Darling. I particularly liked the music when Diana climbs out of the foxhole in the middle of battle to take control of her destiny and save some peeps. I imagine the same music when Freya, the heroine of Not the Duke’s Darling, rescues an aristocratic baby in the first chapter.
4. What I do is not up to you. Diana didn’t need permission from Steve to go into battle and Freya as a proud Wise Woman doesn’t ask for help from Christopher, her rather frustrated hero. Deal, boys!
5. Chris Pine. And speaking of the hero of the book you’ll be pleased to know that Chris Pine plays both Steve Trevor in Wonder Woman and Christopher Renshaw, the Duke of Harlowe. So when you read the book, please try and think of Chris Pine’s face (and body) when imagining Christopher.
+ 1. And finally one way in which Not the Duke’s Darling is not like Wonder Woman: (Warning! Possible spoilers if you haven’t seen Wonder Woman, although really that’s your own fault if so.)
My hero doesn’t die. 😉
