Please help me welcome author Rachel Brimble to Reading with Holly! :)
Holly: Hi Rachel! Would you tell us a little bit about yourself?
Rachel Brimble: I am a Brit living in South West England, near the famous Georgian/Regency city of Bath
When I’m not writing I like to read, walk the English countryside, socialize or watch TV. Oh, and love a glass of crisp white wine whatever the occasion!
Holly: When did you realize that you would like to write and publish a book?
Rachel Brimble: I have always love writing stories ever since I was a child. I was the kid forever in the library or at home writing stories and then binding them with a hole punch and ribbon! I had ambitions of being a journalist in my early teens but eventually ended up working in a bank for 10 years.
When my second baby was born, it was ‘now or never’ moment so I started writing and submitting short stories. Six years later, I wrote and sold my first novel to The Wild Rose Press and haven’t looked back.
Holly: Can we expect more novels from you in 2012?
Rachel Brimble: Unfortunately, this will be my last release this year but 2013 will be hugely busy! I have had two books with my agent during 2012 while continuing to write so things have suddenly gone a bit mad now they’ve sold. I have signed two romantic suspense novels with Harlequin Superromance and two Victorian novels with Kensington.
I am so excited about 2013! :D
Holly: Do you think you may ever go into another genre?
Rachel Brimble: I have written and sold mainstream contemporary romance, romantic comedy (with another due for release in 2013), romantic suspense and Victorian romance. I think that’s more than enough to be going on with, lol!
If I was to try something out of the romance genre, then crime would be my next choice. I love writing suspense and sometimes feel the pull to write a gritty police procedural. I am obsessed with US crime dramas such as Rizzoli & Isles and Castle and would like to do something along those lines – serious crime mixed with humorous characters.
Holly: What is the hardest part of writing in your opinion?
Rachel Brimble: For me, it’s plotting every time. I tend to write a synopsis before I start and change it as I go along. I have to start with an outline and character sketches but I always get to around the 40,000 word mark and find myself wondering what to do next.
When I get to that point, I force myself to write through it, knowing in draft two I’ll have some work to do but at least I have a starting point!
Holly: Can you tell us a little about what attracted you to the Victorian genre?
Rachel Brimble: My love of the UK UK Greenwich London
Series such as Bleak House, Cranford, North & South and Tipping the Velvet were all hugely inspiring for me to write something set in that period. My first book, “The Arrival Of Lily Curtis” was released in 2010.
Holly: Do you have anything you would like to say to your readers?
Rachel Brimble: Yes! Thank you, thank you, thank you for all your support over the last five years. I really feel as though I have grown with each book and know I have many readers who have read my work from the start. Also, my blog is open to guest authors every Tuesday and Thursday if any writers out there would like a spot for posting or an interview J
Holly: What is your take on editing your work (pre-edits I suppose before it gets passed to an editor)—do you hate it? Is it a strong point for you?
Rachel Brimble: I love them! This is the ‘make or break’ moment of my work in progress. I tend to write a ‘crappy’ first draft from start to finish without looking back. I just get the story down on the page. The whole thing is creative and instinctive. During drafts two and three comes the real work – the polishing, deleting, adding and embellishing until I’ve got a book I can be proud of.
Then I submit it to my agent or editor and wait for the inevitable doubt about every single word to set in, lol! J
Random Quickies!
Holly: Favorite color?
Rachel Brimble: Red
Holly: Pepsi or Coke?
Rachel Brimble: Diet coke
Holly: Favorite book?
Rachel Brimble: Gone With The Wind/The Help/Lovely Bones
Holly: Cats or dogs?
Rachel Brimble: Dogs
Holly: TV Shows or Movies?
Rachel Brimble: TV shows
EXCERPT:
Joseph Jacobs closed the tavern door behind him and paused a moment to take in his surroundings. As a man used to looking over his shoulder and sensing trouble, experience taught him to be aware of others before they became aware of you. He narrowed his gaze. The meager number of patrons at the tables surprised him at an hour when he expected the bar to be fairly busy. He glanced at the clock; maybe it wasn’t time for the workers yet.
He shifted his gaze to the woman standing beneath the clock and his heart kicked. Her green-gold eyes held him where he stood. She stared and Joseph swallowed, willing some words to come forth from his frozen tongue or at least a smile to curve his paralyzed lips.
She lifted her eyebrows and slowly pulled a cloth from her shoulders. Her hair was a mass of fire-tipped curls around her oval face, her skin creamy-white and her parted lips, a soft delicate pink. Joseph cleared his throat and belatedly removed his hat.“Good evening, miss.”
Her smile slipped easily into place. “Good evening to you, sir.” Her voice was smooth, clear and full of confidence. “Are you looking to quench your thirst or just planning on soaking up the atmosphere?”
Joseph inhaled a long breath through flared nostrils as if trying to smell her. Something told him she’d smell of lavender…or maybe musk. Something to throw a man off guard, to lower his defenses.
He stepped forward. “Neither. I am looking for the landlord. Would you happen to know if he’s available?”
Her gaze lingered on his a moment longer before she looked to the four glasses at the table beside her. She grasped them expertly between her fingers and carried them behind the bar without answering his question.
Joseph couldn’t take his gaze from the natural sway of her hips beneath the deep burgundy dress she wore, the bustle a little too prominent for the current fashion showing her lack of money to afford better. Why else would a woman with the features of an artist’s model be working in a tavern unless necessity demanded it?
Author: Rachel Brimble
Publisher: The Wild Rose Press
Length: 91 pages
Genres: Historical Romance
BUY LINK(S):
BLURB:
To keep herself from the depths of poverty, Milly Shepherd needs to be appointed manager of the Red Lion Tavern. The elderly owner is in failing health and has promised her the job permanently if no one more suitable applies. Milly will fight with her entire being to make the job her own.
Joseph Jacobs needs to supplement his income to pay off his father’s creditors and save him from debtor’s prison. Though the job as manager of the local tavern looks promising, Milly is favored by both the owner and customers. Instead, Joseph swallows his pride and agrees to tend bar.
As they work together, their attraction grows, their goals cross, and both Millie and Joseph find they must face their fears …the question is whether they face them alone or together?
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
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