Today, please welcome English
friend Rachel Brimble. Rachel is an amazing woman who writes wonderful
books in multiple genres.
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| Rachel and her husband at Cherhill Manor in July 2013 |
Caroline: Tell us something
about growing up and your life now.
Rachel: I have been married
to my fabulous Mr. B for nearly 16 years and we have two teenage daughters. I
grew up in the famous maritime city of Bristol and lived there until Mr. B and
I moved to a small market town in 2001. I am lucky enough to live just a short
thirty-minute drive from the beautiful, historical city of Bath which is just
THE best place to visit and why I chose to set my Victorian novels there.
As for your bookworm or jock
question….most definitely a bookworm. I considered my librarian one of my friends
growing up. It’s a miracle how little teasing I had at school––I have loved
books my whole life and still have to pinch myself that I am now a published
author.
Caroline: Lucky you. I
remember being on a hill and looking down at the sunlight shining on the city
of Bath. What a beautiful city. Who are your favorite authors and favorite
genres?
Rachel: My favorite authors
are Nora Roberts, Jill Shalvis and Robyn Carr for contemporary romance and
Philippa Gregory, Jean Fullerton and Jean Plaidy for historical novels. Romance
is my favorite genre whether that be mainstream, romantic suspense or
historical. I also love to read a lot of non-fiction and biographies about past
British monarchs. Can’t get enough of Britain’s vast royal history!
Caroline: I am an anglophile
and so admire Queen Elizabeth. What’s your favorite way to relax and recharge?
Rachel: Knitting in front of
the TV – I watch far too much TV and more often than not have loads stacked up
waiting for me. My favorite shows are US crime dramas like Rizzoli & Isles,
Castle and CSI as well as UK period dramas like Downton Abbey, Ripper Street
and Mr. Selfridge. Fabulous!
Caroline: I watch several of
those shows, but am not familiar with Ripper Street. Do you have a favorite
quote that sums up how you feel about life?
Rachel: “Set it up the way
you want it to be.” Iyanla Vanzant
Caroline: How long have you
been writing?
Rachel: I started writing
when my youngest daughter started school full time in 2005. I am proud to say
every book and novella I have written has been published. The Wild Rose Press
published the first book in 2007 and now I write contemporary novels for
Harlequin Superromance and Victorian romance for eKensington.
The dream to keep writing for
the rest of my life – it is what I love most in the world. When I haven’t
written for a couple of days, I turn savage!
Caroline: Where do you prefer
to write? Do you need quiet, music, solitude?
Rachel: I need complete
silence to write and my favorite place is on the sofa with the laptop and my
black Lab snoring beside me. In the rare warm, summer days we have here in the
UK, I always take advantage and take the laptop outside and write under the
parasol. Bliss!
Caroline: I prefer my desktop
PC to my laptop. Are you a plotter or a pantzer?
Rachel: I’m a combination of
the two – I start each book browsing the internet for pics of my hero and
heroine and then I write a two or three page synopsis and character sketches.
After that, I write the first draft without looking back. The hard work comes
in the second and third drafts! I usually hit a block around the 40,000 word
mark but have learned to write through it because things usually come good in
the end. The one thing I am certain of is this writing business never gets any
easier, lol!
Caroline: So, true. In fact,
I think it gets harder as we try to discover new twists and plots to stay
fresh. Do you use real events or persons in your stories or as an inspiration
for stories?
Rachel: As I said earlier,
Bath is the main inspiration for my Victorian romances and I fully intend to
keep writing books set in this beautiful and fascinating city. As for my
contemporary romances, I have used several real-life events in my own life as
inspiration. The most recent with my second Harlequin Superromance, FOR A MAN
LIKE HIM, I used the real life and terrifying experience of my family and I
being rescued by helicopter from a hotel roof during the 2010 French floods.
The opening chapters are almost an hour-by-hour account of what happened.
Caroline: I remember when I
learned about your terrifying experiences in that flood. You shared the
experience with readers on my blog. Do you set daily writing goals? Word count?
Number of chapters? Do you get a chance to write every day?
Rachel: Every day I
appreciate that I get to write full-time around the kids and husband – I treat
my writing like a job and work every weekday from 8.30 – 3.30pm with a dog walk
in between. Once the kids are home, it’s usually running around or grabbing
moments on the laptop before dinner. After dinner, I might allow myself an hour
before shutting down at 7pm – after that it’s family time.
Caroline: An admirable
schedule. What do you hope your writing brings to readers?
Rachel: Satisfaction/belief
in true love – I write for the romantic inside me as well as my readers. I
think it’s vital an author believes in what they are writing if they have any
chance of a reader coming along with them for the journey. The ultimate hope is
someone picking up one of my books and enjoying it so much they look for my
backlist. I love it when that happens for me with other authors…not so much the
case as far as my husband’s concerned!
Caroline: I love reading a
good book and learning the author has a long backlist, don’t you? What
long-term plans do you have for your career?
Rachel: Writing is all I want
to do for the rest of my life so the goal is to get better and better at my
craft – and in turn, hopefully earn enough money that I can support myself and
children. The best thing about having a successful writing career is surely the
option to write anywhere. A cruise liner, a café in Florence, a beach in the
Bahamas....yep, I most definitely have long-term plans ;)
Caroline: I like the way you
think. ☺Would you like to tell us what you’re working on now?
Rachel: Right now I am
working on the third novel in my series with eKensington. All my historicals novels
are set in Bath or the surrounding towns and villages. The first two books (THE
SEDUCTION OF EMILY and THE TEMPTATION OF LAURA) mainly take part in the city
itself, but this third book will mostly be played out in a real village outside
Bath called Biddestone.
The heroine, Monica, is a
secondary character in THE TEMPTATION OF LAURA but as I was writing the book, I
knew she deserved her own story. Luckily, my editor suggested it first so I
knew we were on the same wavelength J
Caroline: What advice would
you give to unpublished authors?
Rachel: Write! It really is
as simple as that – you will never get a book published unless you finish one,
first and foremost. I also recommend enrolling in as many online courses as you
can afford. The Romance Writers of America chapters offer varied courses on
dialogue, plotting, point of view etc. They certainly helped me when I was
starting out.
The final, and most
important, piece of advice – allow yourself to write a ‘crappy’ first draft!
Caroline: Good advice all
around. What is a fun fact readers wouldn’t know about you?
Rachel: I haven’t had my hair
cut professionally since my wedding day, almost 16 years ago! LOL!
My hair is so curly I can get
away with my husband (and now my eldest daughter) giving it a trim with the
kitchen scissors as and when I need it.
Caroline: How lucky, and your
hair looks lovely in your photos. Can you give readers a blurb about your book?
Rachel: Here’s the blurb for THE TEMPTATION OF LAURA:
Laura Robinson has always been dazzled by the glamour
of the stage. But perhaps acting and selling one’s favors are not so
different—for Laura must feign pleasure with the men she beds to survive. Now,
with her only friend at death’s door and a ruthless pimp at her heels, escaping
her occupation seems impossible. Hoping to attract a gentleman, she attends the
theater. Yet the man Laura captivates is no customer, but a rising star and
playwright…
Adam Lacey has been driven to
distraction since the moment he saw Laura. She is his ideal leading lady come
to irresistible life—and so much more. Certain they can make the perfect team
on and off stage, he is determined to win her heart—and discover her story. But
that is precisely what Laura fears. And she has no idea that Adam harbors
shameful secrets of his own. Will the truth free them to love—or destroy all
their dreams…?
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Caroline: How about an
excerpt?
Rachel: Certainly, here it
is:
What was she doing inside
Adam Lacey’s house, sitting upright and rigid upon a settee she could never
afford? Laura crossed and re-crossed her ankles as she glanced around his
drawing room. His home was masculine, bare of trinket or flower, but compared
to her and Bette’s place, it screamed of achievement. He’d left her to go
upstairs and change out of his wet clothes. She glanced at the wall clock. The
ten minutes she’d been alone could’ve been an hour.
She needed to leave. Get
out of there.
Standing, she stepped
toward the door just as it swung open and Adam entered. Her breath caught. The
man was ridiculously handsome. His dark blond hair was darker than usual, after
his unplanned swim, and his face scrubbed clean. Her gaze drifted, of its own
accord, to the smattering of chest hair just visible at the vee of his
open-necked shirt. The man was unfairly relaxed. Laura inhaled.
Handsome—stupidly, stupidly handsome.
He halted, his smile
dissolving. “You’re leaving?”
He moved to touch her,
seemed to think better of it and dropped his hand to his side. Their eyes
locked and silence descended. Her heart beat fast with the knowledge she
would’ve given the world to stay there. Eye to eye; toe to toe with a man who
fascinated and intrigued her.
She stepped back. It was
too dangerous. The atmosphere between them too potent. Her attraction to him
kicked and punched at her heart. It was strong enough to make her want to kiss
him, touch him and bring that dazzling smile to the surface over and over. For
little more than another breath, she would risk everything to run her fingers
over his biceps and up to the plane of his wide shoulders…
Laura blinked as her
mouth drained dry. What had she been thinking by coming here? She hadn’t been
thinking. In that moment when he asked her to accompany him back to his
home––nothing but desire had whipped through her. Nothing but interest had
leapt in her veins and obliterated her common sense. The fervor and lust in his
eyes bespoke of a man who clearly had an agenda entirely different to hers.
Laura blinked and looked
past him to the door. “I have a friend. She’s sick. She needs me and the
medicine I bought before I came upon you at the park.” She brushed past him,
through the door and into the hallway. “I shouldn’t have come here. I’m sorry.”
“Laura, wait.”
Ignoring him, she hurried
toward the closed front door. She had to get out of there. If she looked at him
again, she’d falter. Her rationale already hung on a hair’s breadth. His
footsteps sounded at lightning speed behind her and when she clasped the door
handle, his hand closed over hers. She stared at their joined hands and her
body heated.
“Laura. Please. I need to
talk to you.”
Swallowing hard, she forced herself
to meet his gaze. His dark brown eyes shone with a pleading she hadn’t
expected. How was she supposed to refuse? He was the first man in forever to
make her heart pick up speed and flourish her hope for something more. She
slowly pulled her hand from beneath his.
Caroline: How can readers learn
more about you?
Rachel: At these urls:
Caroline: Is there anything
else you’d like readers to know about you?
Rachel: As well as THE TEMPTATION
OF LAURA, the next installment of my Harlequin Superromance series is released
March 4th, yay! WHAT BELONGS TO HER is available for pre-order right now.
Caroline: Wonderful, Rachel.
Thank you so much for sharing with readers today. Best wishes for continued
success in your career.
Readers, thanks for stopping by!
6 comments:
Rachel, I'm so pleased you shared with readers of my blog. Also, I'm pleased your writing career is flourishing. I love when good things happen to nice people.
Aww, thank you so much, Caroline - and thank you for having me here today :) I'm looking forward to chatting with your visitors!
Rachel x
I enjoyed reading your interview and the excerpts. Best wishes for continued success!
I also love watching tv. Definitely a time-sucker. Crime shows are my favs. Thanks for sharing.
Rachel, So enjoyed reading about you and your writing and the beautiful city of Bath. I have a friend who moved to Arkansas from England and we have grown so close. We enjoy sharing about our lives. Your books sound so good, too. Good to read about another author who writes in multiple genres. I prefer to do that too. Best of luck with all your future plans for continuing to write.
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