Backstory: The Duplicate Bride

When I started writing this blog, “The Story Behind the Story”, my thought was to share how I come up with ideas for my novels. Today, I’m happy to tell you about my new release from Entangled Publishing, LLC, The Duplicate Bride. This sweet romantic comedy is a twin-swap story about a busy bride-to-be who can’t make time to attend her own pre-wedding festivities in Blue Hill, Maine. After initial resistance to the plan, her twin winds up filling in for her, supposedly for one short day, to save face with the groom’s judgy family…

Then a series of disasters leads to another day and another, while the “duplicate bride” finds herself helplessly falling for the groom. It turns out that he and the original bride were entering into a loveless marriage of convenience and didn’t know each other very well. When the “duplicate bride” learns of this business-type arrangement, she’s crushed on her sister’s behalf. Reading her apparent distress, the well-intentioned groom determines to do better. And so, the fun begins! With the groom working hard to win over his soon-to-be-bride, and the faking-it fiancée freaking out while trying to avoid being alone with him since she’s falling under his spell. He’s smitten with her too, because well…she’s so different than she was before—in every single way that suits him.

The inspiration for this story came through the melding of two plot lines from different films I adore. One, as many might guess due to the twin-swap angle, is the darling remake of “The Parent Trap” starring Lindsay Lohan. The other is a super cute British movie called “The Decoy Bride”, which concerns a woman paid to substitute for a rich and famous bride in order to throw off the paparazzi. While on the run from reporters, the “decoy bride” (who had concealed her identity with a heavy veil) and the groom are surprised to discover that they’re perfect for each other.

I loved the idea of a substitute bride, then the thought occurred to me…who better to substitute than an identical twin? And what if that twin is actually the fated match for the guy her sister was supposed to marry, because the sister and her intended groom didn’t actually love each other? Adding another layer on top of that, what if the groom’s family was exactly the right fit for the duplicate bride, so she didn’t just find herself falling for him, she found herself falling for all of them, at the same time they came to love her for who she was inside? The concept for a really fun rom-com was born, and I was thrilled to sell the book and its sequel to Entangled Publishing.

I thoroughly enjoyed writing Hope and Brent’s story. I laughed, I cried, experienced moments of frustration with my characters, and had my heart warmed by their generosity and kindness. Then ultimately, I fell in love with them throughout the course of the book, as I witnessed Brent and the Hope falling in love with each other during their several swoony scenes. When I say witnessed, I mean that literally because my books typically come to me in movie form, wherein I see the story as it plays out in my mind’s eye and my fingers work furiously to type up each scene as it visually unfolds.

I’ve been so pleased to have some early reviewers liken The Duplicate Bride to romantic comedy films, notably those starring Sandra Bullock. Since she is one of my all-time favorite actresses and also who I envisioned while writing this story, these comparisons had me grinning from ear to ear! Are you a Sandra Bullock fan? If so, I’d love to know which of her romantic comedy films is your top pick. As a fun treat for readers, I’ll be giving away two signed print copies of the novel. Winners will be chosen using the app random*dot*org and announced Tuesday, September 22nd. Please check this blog page on Tuesday after 1 pm EST to see if you’re a winner!

Meanwhile, I hope you’ll reserve your mass market paperback or e-book copy of the book from your preferred vendor, and once you’ve read it—please let me know how you liked it! Feel free to add another comment here, or post a mention on Facebook or Twitter. For those leaving a review, thank you! Your taking that extra step means so much, and is helpful to other readers in finding this story. The Duplicate Bride releases everywhere on September 29, 2020. Thanks tons for your interest in this new release and happy reading!

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