TOBIAS is the hero of my debut novel, Mariah’s Marriage He’s everything a young lady of fashion in 1822 might dream of.
An earl. A former soldier. A one-time second son – so less stuffy than if bred to the job. He has that touch of arrogance a regency heroine delights to tame and he dresses well.
“Tilly, is Papa in the downstairs study?” she asked the maid, who was agog at the appearance of her escort. Mariah had forgotten how circumscribed their lives were. Of course Tilly would be interested in the earl’s tailored wool coat with his spotless waistcoat and carefully tied neck cloth. The men who normally visited here wore ill-fitting garments which were often stained with food. Not only that, but the earl had a clean-shaven face and the hair of his head was trimmed into a neat style that allowed his strong bones to be seen easily. Seen and admired, she thought.
In addition his name is from the Hebrew and means something like God’s goodness. What more could that young lady want?
Now, my first encounter with Tobias might well have been in the Toby of Toby jugs. Toby jugs are those much loved little , well, jugs, cast in the shape of an olde worlde gentleman with double-breasted coat and ruffles and a broad brimmed hat. People enjoy collecting them.
I’ve mentioned before how difficult it is to think of character names that stand out, but don’t betray the period. There were so few in circulation. Tobias holds lots of attraction for the romantic author, not least because it shortens admirably to Toby. That would be indicative of a growing warmth between the H & H and not of any pottery classes.
Mariah’s Marriage is available from most online book shops. A continuation of one of its characters will be published shortly by MuseItUp, Daisy’s Dilemma.
Mariah’s Marriage amazon UK http://goo.gl/4LWt1H , US http://goo.gl/JjY907 Ca http://goo.gl/n8e7Jt AU http://goo.gl/koHXW9 kobo http://goo.gl/LaFygG
Bella’s Betrothal, set in Edinburgh 1826, is on special offer till April 28th. For 99c @ AU http://goo.gl/3yj8U1 .
The rest of the world:
Amazon UK http://goo.gl/P3lmzk US http://goo.gl/7mh8FI AU http://goo.gl/3yj8U1
Kobo http://goo.gl/k0b8SN
MuseItUp http://goo.gl/f0zFKa
/apple itunes https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/id713274218
smashwords https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/355001
Novels Now 