10 Things You Didn’t Know About Duty
by Rachel Rossano
1 The book began with someone else’s opening line. To celebrate 100 blog posts on my blog, I hosted an opening line contest. The prize for the best opening line was to be a published copy of the finished short story, which brings me to the second little known fact about Duty.
2 Duty was supposed to be a short story. Originally I thought I would just start with the opening line, pen a quick short story, polish it up, and publish it. By the third chapter I realized that I was writing a novella. Later, around the halfway mark, it dawned on me that I had a novel on my hands.
3 Brielle was originally named something else. I can’t recall the exact name. What I do remember is that it started with a K, and it didn’t fit her character. I couldn’t find one that felt right. In the end, two of my readers named her Brielle Soliarus. Once I knew her name, the rest of her character fell into focus.
4 Duty was my 14th finished project. I am hoping the sequel, Honor, will be my 17th completed project, but I might get distracted by a short story before I get there. Two short stories have reached completion since Duty. They will be part of an anthology built around Lord Dentin’s backstory.
5 The plot was inspired by a bit of history. A king in ancient or medieval times (I can’t recall when) sent some of his troops to defend a border. Once they arrived and secured the area, the king ordered them to marry the women of the area and settle down. I was curious how it would feel to be one of those women and forced to marry a perfect stranger.
6 Duty was going to be a stand-alone novel until a reader asked for a sequel. Then when I suggested the sequel be a story that happened 20 years later, she was disappointed. Then another reader suggested Lord Dentin should have his own story. Now, I am about halfway through writing Lord Dentin’s story and have plans for at least two more novels.
7 Duty was written in 8 months. The fastest I have ever written a book. Before this one, The Mercenary’s Marriage held the record at 9 months and less than half the word count of Duty.
8 Brielle maybe the only POV character, but I found Lord Irvaine (Tomas) and Lord Dentin far more interesting. As much as I like Brielle, most of the book was spent on her getting to know and falling in love with Tomas. I have to admit I fell a bit too. Lord Dentin, Tomas’ best friend, was an unexpected and fun surprise. I am thoroughly enjoying spending a whole book with Dentin.
9 The friendship between Lord Irvaine (Tomas), Sir Rathenridge, and Lord Dentin was inspired by my own teenage friendships. I didn’t model Rathenridge and Dentin on them, but they helped with the mild hostility and tension or friends who weren’t quite friends.
10 Duty has four villains. In my efforts to develop better villains, I went a bit overboard.
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Genre – Fantasy, Romance
Rating – G
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