The Story Behind Bad Duke by Emily Bishop

Here’s my secret: the inspiration for Bad Duke my latest book actually came from a scene in Friends – you know, that kick ass TV show everybody still loves? Later on in the seasons, there’s this scene where Phoebe dates this super posh British dude and he has this discussion with Monica about cheese which is just hilarious. (Especially because Chandler is over the top jealous about it).

Basically, I wanted to take that and turn it on its head. So, Bad Duke, is what happens when you take a seriously naughty, playboy British duke, Grayson Fairfax the Second, and throw in a hard-working yet down on her luck female protag, Isabella, for fun – and remove the cheese, but not the humor or the jealousy.

Throw in some tense history between the two, an inheritance, a deadline and a fake marriage and you’ve got this story!

I’m a big fan of stories about people who hate each other, but are actually meant for each other, finding out the truth about each other this way. Gosh, I just love throwing some characters together in a pressure cooker and watching them sweat!

My favorite scene to write in this story had to be the first time these two, well, um, consummate their ‘passions’ with each other. It was just so tense and so hot, if I do say so myself. Sex is super important in a relationship – even a fake one, haha – and these two certainly didn’t slack in that department.

Hopefully, your feelings for Bad Duke will be anything but fake.

Emily Bishop is the author of the new book Bad Duke. 

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