Author Bio
USA Today Bestselling author Merry Farmer lives in suburban Philadelphia with her two cats, Justine and Peter. She has been writing since she was ten years old and realized she didn’t have to wait for the teacher to assign a creative writing project to write something. It was the best day of her life. Her books have reached the top of Amazon’s charts, and have been named finalists for several prestigious awards, including the RONE Award for indie romance.
*** Merry’s Quirky Questions***
Holly: Describe yourself using… (choose one: a food, a book, a song, a movie, an animal, a drink, a place etc)
Merry: As a song, I’m definitely “I Did It My Way”. And I’d like to think I’m a cat, but I’m probably more like some kind of rare and clueless squirrel or something.
Holly: Do you have any strange writing habits or rituals?
Merry: I don’t know if it’s strange, but I cut my fingernails before starting each new book. Not only does that feel like a good way to mark the beginning of something, it makes typing so much easier!
Holly: If you could create a new holiday, what would it be? Why?
Merry: I’d definitely create Travel Day…where everyone is required to go somewhere new to experience something they’ve never experienced before.
Holly: If you were stuck on a desert island all alone with only three things, what would they be?
Merry: My laptop, for sure. (I’m going to assume there is some mythical power source on this island) Some sort of source for music. And a never-ending supply of sock yarn and my knitting needles.
Holly: If you could change your name to anything what would it be and why?
Merry: I actually really like my name. I don’t have a middle name, though. When I was born, my mom’s conservative mom said “Girls don’t have middle names, they grow up and get married, and their maiden name becomes their middle name.” I never did get married. But one of the middle names my dad wanted to give me was Jolene. Which I absolutely hated…until I heard the Dolly Parton song. Now, I would totally take that name!
Holly: Do you have any morning rituals? What are they?
Merry: I’m really good at keeping to routine and schedules. I get up at 5:30 every morning (and make my bed as soon as I get up), feed the cats, sit down at the computer and check my numbers from the day before, write one chapter, shower and get breakfast, write another chapter, and once that’s done, I do whatever else I have planned for the day.
Holly: When did you first call yourself a writer?
Merry: So, I’ve been writing since I was 10 years old. But I started calling myself a writer after meeting the wife of a cousin of mine, who is an Academy Award-winning screenplay writer. I told her “I want to be a writer someday”. And she looked me dead in the eyes (she was an incredibly scary woman) and said, “You either are a writer or you aren’t. And if you are, call yourself a writer and write.” BOOM! Ever since that day, I called myself a writer.
Holly: Do you play music while you write — and, if so, what’s your favorite?
Merry: I listen to classical music in the mornings when I write. I was raised with classical music and played the violin as a kid (so, so badly), so it’s kind of a part of me now.
Holly: Name an underappreciated novel that you love. What is it about this book that you adore?
Merry: That would absolutely have to be Taylor J. Gray’s Street Boys series. It’s raw and intense and emotional, and it’s definitely not for everyone. But Taylor has the most amazing sense of character and worldbuilding! She really understands the deepest, darkest parts of human emotions. I love the world she’s created and find it to be so real. I am highly emotionally invested in her characters!
Holly: Tell me something from your bucket list.
Merry: Someday, I will 100% go on Royal Caribbean’s Ultimate World Cruise! It’s 271 days with over 120 ports of call, and it goes to every continent, including Antarctica!
About this Book (the book that comes out on April 14th is What a Rake Requires, the fourth book in my Brotherhood: Origin series, but I also have the first book in a new spinoff series from my Peter and the Wolves world, Fathers and Sons, coming out in April as well)
Holly: What secondary character would you like to explore more? Tell me about them.
Merry: From The Brotherhood: Origins series, I am definitely going to have more to say about the character of Derrek Talboys. He’s a police officer with the Metropolitan Police, and he’s helped a lot of the characters in this series with their troubles. But I have a lot of things in mind for him as well.
Holly: Who has been your favorite character to write and why?
Merry: From all of my books ever? That would totally have to be Magnus Gravlock from my Peter and the Wolves series! Magnus is amazing and deep and wonderful. He has been through so much in his life, and he’s still determined to make the perfect world for the people he loves. He’s the most powerful person on the frontier in this world I’ve created with these books.
Besides that, I talk to Magnus all the time and tell him my problems to get his advice. He’s become such a real person to me!
Holly: What was the weirdest thing you had to Google for your story?
Merry: Psht! Everything! Please don’t check my browser history! Since I write a lot of Historical Romance, even though I have two degrees in History, I’ve frequently had to look up things like “What did men use as lube in the early 19th century” and “Victorian sex toys”. Fun things like that! P.S. Anyone who thinks people in History were all prim and proper and came out of a Jane Austen novel…dude, they were off the charts nasty most of the time!
Holly: Let’s talk to your characters for a minute – what’s it like to work for such a demanding writer?
Merry: Okay, the first character that jumped up with an answer to this is Peter from my Peter and the Wolves series….
Peter: Working for Merry is ridiculous. She keeps making all these horrible things happen to me and the people I love! You wouldn’t believe half the stuff she puts us through. But at the same time, I get to have a LOT of really “interesting” sex when she’s in charge. A LOT. And I know she has my best interests at heart and that she would never let anything really bad happen to me. But sometimes I wonder….
Holly: What do you do if you get a brilliant idea at a bad time?
Merry: I’m not sure there is such a thing as a bad time. I get ideas almost constantly. If they’re truly good ideas, they keep coming back to me and I think about them over and over enough so that they show up when it’s a good time. And then I write that shit down!
Holly: How long have you been writing?
Merry: I’ve been writing since that day in 3rd grade, when I was 10 years old, when it dawned on me that I didn’t have to wait for the teacher to assign a creative writing assignment, I could just write something! I haven’t stopped since then. I started publishing in around 2011, with the advent of self-publishing. I love being an indie author. I wouldn’t have it any other way. I flirted with the traditional publishing world, and let’s just say it was not to my taste. I’ve turned down three contracts with publishers since then, and it would take a miracle to convince me to do anything but self-publish now.
Holly: Are you a full-time or part-time writer? How does that affect your writing?
Merry: I’m a full-time author, and it’s amazing and wonderful! Best job ever. But it requires a lot of self-starter motivation and discipline. I definitely treat it like a job, and I’ve never worked harder at anything in my life. I work 6 days a week, from about 6am to 5pm most days (though it’s not always drafting books or editing all the time).
Holly: Are you a plotter or a pantster?
Merry: I am the plottiest plotter who ever plotted! I used to be a pantser, but then I realized that if I wanted to write as fast as I needed to (back in the day) to publish enough to make a living from my writing, I needed to be more organized every day. For me, plotting is a great way to know exactly what I need to write each time I sit down at my computer.
EXCEPT for my Peter books. I totally pants those babies. Mostly because I started writing Peter just for fun, during the pandemic lockdown, when I needed something to escape with. I never intended to publish those books, but I showed the first one to a friend…and they loved it…and a few other friends loved them…and they all told me I had to publish them. So I did, and now Peter has a huge cult following. I’ve thought about switching to plotting those books, but I think it would change the feel of those stories. So pantsing it is!
Holly: How many books are you usually working on at the same time? How many unfinished WIPs do you have?
Merry: I used to work on a lot of books at once, but I’ve tried to make myself slow down in the last year or so. I really just work on one at a time (except Peter, which I don’t count as work). That being said, I am always jotting down ideas and daydreaming about future books and characters.
Author Bio:
Toby Wise is a stay at home parent who hails from a tiny town in Wisconsin. Contrary to popular Wisconsin stereotypes, he’s not a cheese-head who loves football but rather an introvert who spends all his time on the internet, drinking coffee, spending time with his kid, and cooing about his adorable cat, Pikachu.
In April of 2019, A Collection of Strays was born after the world of fanfiction drew him back into his love of writing. Now he’s writing all things omegaverse as long as it includes silly moments and found family.
***Toby’s Quirky Questions***
What’s your drink of choice?
My morning drink is always a warm cup of coffee, but at night you can never go wrong with a cold Pepsi.
What’s the most read book on your bookshelf?
When I was a teenager I went through a pretty strong Hunger Games phase. I could NOT put that trilogy down. I spent an entire summer rereading that series about fifty times!
What is the most meaningful thing a reader has said to you?
After releasing Fate’s Perfect Timing which features a non-binary character, I had a lot of readers reach out and tell me what Isaiah’s story meant to them. They mentioned how they had a better understanding of what non-binary meant and a few of them expressed that they felt similar to Isaiah. That meant so much to me.
Which scene in this book was the most fun to write?
I have so much fun writing the smut scenes in my books! In this book in particular, there’s an oral knotting scene and OH MY GOD! It was soooo much fun and so so hot!!
What would you and your MCs talk about if you went out for coffee?
In this book, Ben is a trans alpha. As a trans man, I’d love to sit down with him and just chat about being queer. We’d compare our HRT routines and laugh about all the weird changes we weren’t expecting but actually love. And I’d love to sit down with Ryder in general because he’s SUCH a funny guy. I have a feeling we’d get along like two trouble making peas in a pod!
Blurb:
Could a road trip change Ben and Ryder’s life forever?
Ryder has always known he was head over heels in love with Ben. Through the ups and downs of life, moving across the country, and finding jobs at Studio C, the two were inseparable but Ryder always longed for more.
After leaving his hometown, Ben was finally able to transition. Ben always worried that people wouldn’t be able to see him as the alpha he truly was, but finding the guys at Studio C made him realize that once he accepted himself, everyone else would follow suit.
On their way across the country for Ryder’s sister’s baby shower, these two best friends finally talk about things they’ve been holding back since they were teenagers. Will these confessions come too late? Or is it finally their time?
Our Time is the fifth and final book in the Studio C series. This story features a road trip, late night confessions, a trans alpha, mpreg, self-acceptance, found family and of course, a happily ever after.
CW: This book explores transness through the lens of omegaverse. It does contain talks of HRT, past memories of dysphoria, and medical transitioning.
Teaser:
“I wish I had known,” Ben confesses, nodding his head, “but I can’t fault you for your reaction. I was so upset back then. How could you have known I wouldn’t react badly? You loved me and wanted to protect me. I can understand that.”
“Loved? No, Ben, you misunderstand,” I whisper, my voice shaking. “I love you. That feeling never went away. I did everything in my power to keep you close because if I couldn’t be your mate, at least I could be your best friend. But that longing for more never stopped even if I hid it well.”
The tears gathering in Ben’s tears finally fall, sliding down his cheeks. He stares at me for a long moment, like he’s trying to fully process what I’ve just told him. He takes in my words before finally breaking. Ben makes a wounded noise as he squeezes me tight around my waist. He pulls me down for a kiss.
We’re kissing. That’s a good sign, right? He can’t hate me if we’re actively kissing.
I pull back, leaning close so our noses are barely touching still. “Ben?”
“I love you too. I have since we were teenagers. I was holding myself back because I had it in my head that you should find a better alpha for yourself.”
“You’re an idiot,” I whisper breathlessly, barely believing what I’m hearing. “No alpha could ever be better for me than my alpha.”
Toby’s Follow Me Links
Spotlight this week!
Lisa Oliver’s New Release An Article of Lies! Another one of those MM Crown Prince Arranged Marriage books!
Crown Prince Xavier of Balenborn had waited ten years to marry Prince Remy and he wasn’t going to be thwarted by the knowledge that his intended might not like him very much. Many marriages were conducted between royal and society families, where the couple didn’t know each other very well, and as far as he was concerned, he and Remy could learn about each other over time. The marriage contract was the only way Xavier could let Remy know how serious he was about him.
Initially things went well, but unlike Remy, Xavier had led a public life. One suspicious word in the wrong place, and his reputation was suddenly in tatters. Will Remy stand by his man, or will the social class expectations relating to royal families pull them apart?
This is part of the Arranged Marriage world I’ve created, although this story can be read as a standalone. The Epilogue sets the scene for the next book in this series.
Thank you all so much for getting to know some more of our incredible authors. Next week, we have Jax Stuart and Pat Henshaw!
