A Rebel at Pennington's
by Rachel Brimble
GENRE: Historical romance/saga
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Blurb
1911 Bath. Banished from her ancestral home, passionate suffrage campaigner, Esther Stanbury works as a window dresser in Pennington's Department Store. She has hopes and dreams for women's progression and will do anything to help secure the vote.
Owner of the prestigious Phoenix Hotel, Lawrence Culford has what most would view as a successful life. But Lawrence is harbouring shame, resentment and an anger that threatens his future happiness.
When Esther and Lawrence meet their mutual understanding of life's challenges unites them and they are drawn to the possibility of a life of love that neither thought existed.
With the Coronation of King-Emperor George V looming, the atmosphere in Bath is building to fever pitch, as is the suffragists' determination to secure the vote.
Will Esther's rebellious nature lead her to ruin or can they overcome their pasts and look to build a future together?
Excerpt
His beautiful daughter beamed as she held the cricket set aloft, Nathanial standing tall and proud beside her. ‘Daddy bought me the cricket set.’
Miss Stanbury looked from Rose and Nathanial to Lawrence and back again, her face lighting with a smile. ‘Well, look at that. I’m so glad your father saw sense in the end.’ She met Lawrence’s gaze over their heads, her eyes glittering with victory. ‘That’s wonderful.’
He stared at her, his smile fixed and his heart pounding with frustration. Did the woman not see how condescending she sounded? ‘Wonderful or not. I thought it important you knew I am not the tyrant you clearly consider me.’ Dragging his gaze from hers, Lawrence looked at his children. ‘Come, Rose. Nathanial. Let’s leave the nice lady to her work.’ He took their hands before looking at Esther once more. ‘It was…interesting meeting you.’
Her gaze shadowed as she glared, her smile too bright to be sincere. ‘I hardly thought you a tyrant, Mr Culford.’
‘Good, then the matter is settled.’
He turned towards the department exit and didn’t look back…regardless of the almost overwhelming urge to do so.
The woman had infuriated him, bewildered him and left him feeling she’d ended the conversation on her terms once again. Damnation!
Interview with the Author
I grew up in the maritime city of Bristol, England with my parents and older brother. I loved Bristol and my family and my husband’s family still live there – I have fond memories of walking by the harbour in the city centre and going to the pantomime in the famous Hippodrome theatre. I lived there from birth to age 27 when I moved to a small market town near Bath where I still live with my husband, our two daughters and mad chocolate Labrador, Tyler.
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| The Family Brimble |
Were you the shy kid or the tomboy?
I was most definitely a tomboy – our street was full of boy playmates rather than girls so I didn’t have much choice. It was a case of dog eat dog! I met my husband in 1993 and we married five years later. We’re still very happily married, and our daughters are our pride and joy. The eldest is currently studying policing in the seaside town of Plymouth and the youngest is studying musical theatre in the prestigious Italia Conti Academy in London. I’m a very happy mummy! My family are everything to me.
When you’re not writing, what’s your favorite way to relax and recharge?
My next obsession to writing is knitting – I am literally obsessed! My mum was an avid knitter and taught me when I was young but I lost interest and didn’t pick up knitting needles again until I was in my thirties. For the last twelve years, I’ve never stopped and these days my favourite way to relax is with my knitting in front of the TV catching up with as many crime dramas, British Royal Family documentaries and period dramas as I can. Bliss!
How long have you been writing?
I started writing when my youngest daughter started school full-time in 2005. My first book was published by The Wild Rose Press in 2007 and I’ve had at least one book published every year since. I was ecstatic when Harlequin accepted Finding Justice in 2012. I went on to write a total of eight books for Harlequin (the Templeton Cove Stories). I have also written four Victorian novels for eKensington and in January 2018, I signed a four-book contract with Aria Fiction for my Pennington’s Department Store series – all my books can be read stand-alone
Where do you prefer to write? Do you need quiet, music, solitude?
I am lucky enough to have my own home office which I love – when I’m writing I need silence, but if I’m working on blog posts, interviews or social media, I have a UK radio station (Magic FM) constantly playing through my laptop. It’s mostly 80s music which I love! I am always on my laptop, but often have a pen and paper handy for ideas and work in progress changes that pop into my mind throughout the day.
Are you a plotter or a pantser?
Most definitely a plotter! I start each book trawling the internet for pics of my hero, heroine and villain (if I have one). I then complete character sketches for each which usually gives me their goals, motivations and conflicts. Then it’s onto a chapter plan and a 3-4 page synopsis.
I always give myself permission to ‘write a crappy first draft’ from beginning to end. The hard part comes in the following drafts!
Tell us about your writing schedule. Do you set goals? Do you write daily?
These days, I write full-time so I work 8.30am to 5.30pm Monday to Friday with lunch and couple of dog walks in between. I am happy if I’ve written 2,000 words a day along with a blog post or interview. That’s a productive day! I try my best not to work in the evenings and at the weekends…but if I have a deadline looming then I am back in my office for a couple of hours on Saturdays and Sundays, too. I love my job!
Tell us something about yourself that might surprise readers.
My family and I were rescued by helicopter during the 2010 French floods – it was the most terrifying time of my life as I was so afraid for the kids. We were trapped on the clubhouse roof of a holiday park for 12 hours before we were rescued. The pictures don’t tell the true horror of that night and day…
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| Waiting on top of clubhouse for rescue |
What advice would you give to unpublished authors?
See above! Give yourself permission to write a crappy first draft – once I adopted this mindset, my productivity soared, and I never looked back. Full pages can be edited, blank pages can’t. Simple.
What has helped you in your writing career?
My critique partners, for sure – I’ve worked with three wonderful partners for years now and I’d be lost without their valuable feedback during the first draft stage of my books. I think it’s imperative writers have someone else look at their work as they are going through the process.
The other thing that has helped me is planning! I set aside some time every Friday to plan next week’s work, social media posts and day-to-day things that need to be done. This keeps me focused and on track with my weekly goals.
What do you hope your writing brings to readers?
The theme that runs through many of books, but especially the Pennington’s Department Store series, is ‘female empowerment’. I set out to write books that inspire, empower and bring hope to women to reach for their personal and professional dreams. I’m a true believer that anything is possible and hope my books reflect that and inspire others.
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| Rachel Brimble, Author |
Rachel lives with her husband and their two daughters in a small town near Bath in the UK. Since 2007, she has had several novels published by small US presses, eight books published by Harlequin Superromance (Templeton Cove Stories) and four Victorian romances with eKensington/Lyrical.
In January 2018, she signed a four-book deal with Aria Fiction for a new Edwardian series set in Bath’s finest department store. The first book, The Mistress of Pennington’s released July 2018 with book two coming February 2019.
Rachel is a member of the Romantic Novelists Association and Romance Writers of America and has thousands of social media followers from all over the world. To sign up for her quarterly and new release newsletter, click here to go to her website: https://rachelbrimble.com/
Blog
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rachelbrimbleauthor/?hl=en
Amazon Author Page:
https://www.amazon.com/Rachel-Brimble/e/B007829ZRM/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1490948101&sr=8-1
Goodreads:
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1806411.Rachel_Brimble
Bookbub:
https://www.bookbub.com/authors/rachel-brimble
GIVEAWAY
Rachel Brimble will be awarding a $20 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
10 comments:
This is my kind of read. A great post thank you.
Hi Caroline, Mary & James! Thanks so much for having me here today - happy to answer any questions or comments :)
this book sounds great
Thanks for stopping by, ladies! Hope you give the book a try & good luck with the contest :)
Beautiful cover and great post, I enjoyed reading it :)
Sounds good
Love the cover and the book sounds intriguing. I remember when you were rescued from the flood in France. How frightening that must have been. Keep the good books coming, Rachel.
Sounds really great.
Thanks so much for all your lovely comments! Yes, the flood disaster was something that will never leave me, Caroline - I very much doubt it will for my daughters, either :(
Thank you for hosting!
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