Torn Between Two Lovers

by Sharon Lathan

“Torn between two lovers, feeling like a fool. Loving both of you is breaking all the rules.”

OK, raise your hand if you remember that song by Mary Macgregor? Yes, it means you are old and, if you can sing all the lyrics, probably that you weren’t very hip. Does it help if I tell you that the song was inspired by the novel Dr. Zhivago and written by Peter Yarrow of Peter, Paul, and Mary? Yeah, I thought it might. I know it helped restore a modicum of my dignity when the song popped into my head for this blog, and I found I could sing the entire chorus! I couldn’t remember the whole song, or the artist, so perhaps that means I was moderately hip when a teenager.

Nothing in the prior paragraph has anything to do with my novel, by the way. Utterly pointless. The song’s lyrics, however, do strike a nerve and capture at least a portion of the plot in Miss Darcy Falls in Love. I don’t suppose having the heroine of a romance novel finding herself drawn to two men is all that unusual. I am certain it has been done before, by someone. The fun is in how uniquely an author weaves the similar plot lines.

In the case of my story, I presented Georgiana Darcy with two decent men who love her. It wasn’t about discovering who the “bad guy” was since neither gentleman possesses major faults. Instead this is a tale of a woman learning to understand her own heart, in many different ways aside from who she loves, and then making the correct choices. Not that arriving there is easy----

Georgiana rose and began to walk about the room at a slow pace. Her eyes were clouded and her hands clenched before her breast. “Maybe I should have foreseen his declaration. I certainly was aware of his regard, so a wiser woman would wonder at my surprise. But our acquaintance is of such short duration that I never anticipated matters moving so swiftly. I did not expect it, Amanda, that is true, but if asked, I imagine I would have expressed happiness at the idea of courting him.”

She turned to her companion. “I felt the lightning bolt the first moment I saw him. My breath was squeezed from my lungs. Our hours together since have been very pleasant. I like him, I truly do. Maybe I even love him. What better way to discover the depth than to engage in a courtship? But I could not agree. And then he…” 

She sighed and quickened her pace. Her eyes flashed and voice rose angrily. “It should not be so complicated! Should it? I know I am only twenty, but why is it that every time I think I am in love something muddles up? It feels wrong while also feeling right, which makes no sense. Why must affection be false or misplaced or weak or not returned? Why do you fall in love with the one man who does not love you back?” 

She halted as if slamming into a wall. Her breathing came in harsh spurts and her cheeks blotched red. Frustration registered upon every aspect of her being as she stared blankly out of the window into the darkness. 

What will Georgiana do? Which man will she choose? Baron Caxton - the alpha male extraordinaire - or Sebastian Butler - the handsome composer? Well, I can’t tell you, now can I? Hopefully I have piqued your interest, but while waiting for your copy of Miss Darcy Falls in Love, share with me your favorite “torn between two lovers” novels. 

Comments will earn you an opportunity to win a copy! Sourcebooks has offered one copy to a lucky person (US and Canada only) picked from among those who leave a comment. The deadline is 11/12. Be sure to leave your email so I can contact you. 

Synopsis--

Noble young ladies were expected to play an instrument, but Georgiana Darcy is an accomplished musician who hungers to pursue her talents. She embarks upon a tour of Europe, ending in Paris where two very different men will ignite her heart in entirely different ways and begin a bitter rivalry to win her. But only one holds the key to her happiness.

Set in post-Napoleonic Empire France, Miss Darcy Falls in Love is a riveting love story that enters a world of passion where gentlemen know exactly how to please and a young woman learns to direct her destiny and understand her heart. 

Sharon Lathan is the best-selling author of The Darcy Saga sequel series to Jane Austen’s Pride & Prejudice. Her previously published novels are: Mr. and Mrs. Fitzwilliam Darcy: Two Shall Become One, Loving Mr. Darcy, My Dearest Mr. Darcy, In the Arms of Mr. Darcy, A Darcy Christmas, and The Trouble With Mr. Darcy. Miss Darcy Falls in Love is Georgiana’s tale of love and adventure while in France. Complete with a happy ending. In addition to her writing, Sharon works as a Registered Nurse in a Neonatal ICU. She resides with her family in Hanford, California in the sunny San Joaquin Valley. Visit Sharon on her website: www.sharonlathan.net and on Austen Authors, her group blog with 20 novelist of Austen literature: www.austenauthors.com