I'm thrilled to have Merry Farmer here today. Merry writes historical romances set in America. Today she joins us to discuss her latest release, which is sure to gain her quite the buzz, as it is an historical Male/Male romance.
Tell us about your Montana Romance series.
On the surface, the Montana Romance series looks like any other historical western series, but actually, with this series I set out to tell stories that you don’t usually see in the western genre. To begin with, it’s set in the late 1890s, much later than most historical westerns. The frontier was pretty much settled at this point in history, the Native Americans had been forced onto reservations, the open range had ended, western cities were as sophisticated as ones back east, and life was beginning to look more like what we would consider modern.
I have always been fascinated with this time period because it teetered on the brink of the 20th century while still being part of the 19th. The other thing that makes Montana Romance different is the characters I portray. I’ve only got one cowboy (Ethan, the hero of Fool for Love). The other characters are shopkeepers, bankers, teachers, hoteliers, and even an ex-actress—in other words, the everyday citizens of an average town. I love the lives of ordinary people. They’re so rich in detail and so similar to our own. That’s what I wanted to convey with this series.
When you started it did you envision a Male Male romance?
Honestly, I knew that Phin would have a romance right from the very beginning. He was one of the first three characters I conceptualized in the series (along with Michael and Charlie). But I was hesitant to actually write his romance at first. I didn’t know how an m/m romance in the middle of a conventional would be received. It’s certainly not something that a traditional publisher would do. But in the end I knew I had to write Phin and Elliott’s story. I also knew that I had to brand it as just another book in the Montana Romance series. I think the world is ready for that!
Were you concerned about receiving any backlash about writing a MM romance?
Absolutely! It was one of my foremost concerns. I’ve seen some pretty sharp comments in reviews of m/m romance on Amazon, and those were for books that were clearly part of an m/m series. I’m also aware that at least a segment of romance readers comes from more conservative backgrounds. And because I knew from day one that I wanted to publish ALL of my books under the name Merry Farmer regardless of genre, I was concerned that readers who find me through my regular historical romance (or through the inspirational romances I’d love to publish in the future) would be turned off by an m/m romance. I had to do it though. I had to be true to my characters and their stories.
Tell us about Somebody To Love
Somebody to Love is a classic old-and-water love story with an m/m twist. Phineas Bell is a gentleman, Cold Springs’s resident banker and all-around upstanding citizen. Everyone in town intrinsically knows there’s something different about him, but because he fits into their community, they don’t question it. (Incidentally, I did a lot of historical research about gay men in the late 19th century, and this “don’t ask, don’t tell” situation was astoundingly common.) Even Phin deliberately keeps his sexuality far, far in the back of his mind…until Elliott arrives in town.
Elliott is the new sheriff, a war hero who charged up San Juan Hill with Teddy Roosevelt and the Rough Riders. He is brash and aggressive and decides it would be “fun” to seduce stuffy Phin the moment he sees him. But underneath all his bravado, Elliott is painfully insecure about his sexuality and will go to great lengths to hide it. He admires Phin’s ability to live openly, although not blatantly, but he also makes up his mind that Phin will get himself killed by being so open and he sets out to “protect” Phin by attempting to change his image with the town. Disaster ensues, but boy, once the initial barriers are breeched, the two men can’t keep their hands off of each other!
Did you face any different challenges writing this book versus the others in the series and if so what were they?
Yes. Pronouns! Ha ha. No, seriously, it’s a challenge to write long scenes of action (not just between the sheets) when both characters are men. Lots of “he”, “him”, and “his” that get incredibly confusing. I also had some reservations about being able to accurately portray the thoughts and emotions of men when I’m a woman. I still worry that if a man were to read this book he would think it was all wrong, but I’ve done my best. I love men, I love man parts, so actually it was a lot of fun to write!
What's up next for you and your books?
Believe it or not, I’m switching gears into what I call Women’s Science Fiction for the rest of the year. I will be publishing the first four books in a series called Grace’s Moon, which is about survivors of a crash on a habitable moon far away from any contact with Earth who have to figure out how to establish a civilization from scratch. It actually isn’t all that far away from my historical novels. The story may take place a couple hundred years into the future, but there is very little technology, no aliens, and the focus is on the characters and their struggles against nature and each other. After that I have a three book inspirational historical romance series based on the true history of a series of events that happened to my church in the 1880s, a short Regency series that takes place on the high seas, and a pretty epic time-travel series. I have so many stories already mapped out that I will be busy writing for the next 132 years!
Do you think you will ever write another MM romance?
You know, I think I might! I really enjoyed writing Somebody to Love and I would absolutely consider writing more historical m/m romances. I did so much research about the lives of gay men in the 19th century, and everything I learned was so different from what I expected to learn. I would love to write more stories about some of those things, like the underground societies male and female homosexuals had, men who more or less lived two lives, and even about the fascinating open acceptance of gay couples in the early days of Australia when men outnumbered women by so much! There’s a lot of material out there.
Merry's books are available on
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