Interview with Victorian romance author Rachel Brimble

Author Rachel Brimble is here today to chat about her new Victorian romance novel, What a Woman Desires.

During her virtual book tour, Rachel will be awarding a signed paperback copy of What a Woman Desires and a tote bag to a lucky randomly drawn winner. To be entered for a chance to win these prizes, use the form below. To increase your chances of winning, feel free to visit her other tour stops and enter there, too.

Bio:

Rachel lives with her husband and two teenage daughters in a small town near Bath in the UK. After having several novels published by small US presses, she secured agent representation in 2011. In 2012, she sold two books to Harlequin Superromance and a further three in 2013. She also writes Victorian romance for Kensington--her debut was released in April 2013, followed by a second in January 2014 and the third is released Jan 2015.

Rachel is a member of the Romantic Novelists Association and Romance Writers of America, and was selected to mentor the Superromance finalist of So You Think You Can Write 2014 contest. When she isn’t writing, you’ll find Rachel with her head in a book or walking the beautiful English countryside with her family and beloved black Lab, Max. Her dream place to live is Bourton-on-the-Water in South West England.

She likes nothing more than connecting and chatting with her readers and fellow romance writers. Rachel would love to hear from you!

Welcome, Rachel. Please tell us about your current release.
What a Woman Desires is the third book in my Victorian series with eKensington/Lyrical Press––although all the books can be read stand alone. Set in Bath and the Wiltshire village of Biddestone, What a Woman Desires is a reunion story between upper-middle class heiress turned actress, Monica Danes and her family’s groom, Thomas Ashby. Not happy at home, Monica fled to Bath to pursue her dream of becoming an actress five years before the book opens - a family tragedy means she has to return home…whether she wants to or not…

What inspired you to write this book?
During the writing of the previous book, The Temptation of Laura, Monica pushed herself forward even though I only ever meant for her to remain a secondary character. I heard her voice so strongly and knew her history and story were worth telling. I plotted most of What a Woman Desires while writing the preceding book, it was most inconvenient!

Excerpt from What a Woman Desires:

Thomas clenched his jaw as Monica tightened her arms around his waist. He longed to feel the weight of her head on his back, too, but knew well enough she would not lean on him considering the dark cloud under which he left Marksville the night before. He purposely kept Jake at a slow walk, wanting this closeness between him and Monica to last as long as possible. He’d been foolish enough to wake this morning, thinking the night apart had strengthened his resolve and he would be strong enough to accept her as his employer and nothing else.

Now he was with her, the notion was laughable—but one he must adhere to.

He needed to play nice and convince her staying at Marksville wouldn’t mean the future she dreaded. If he could do that, he would keep his father’s legacy intact and maybe, one day, his son would take the reins and become a groom to the Danes family as two generations had before him. She had to understand positions like his and Mrs. Seton’s weren’t just jobs, they were a livelihood, a lifestyle, and treasured way of life.

He’d come out of the stable yard astride Jake, and as soon as he had seen Monica standing alone, her head back and her breasts thrust forward, nothing of his job entered his mind. Only pure, unadulterated attraction had surged through him. The sun glowed on her dark hair like a million dancing lights and, with her hands on her hips, her delicate figure taunted him with forbidden possibility that had lingered in his subconscious forever. Even in mourning, the woman was beautiful.

What exciting story are you working on next?
I have just finished the fourth and final book in the series and sent it to my agent. Once she has read it, I will send to my editor and pray he likes it! This story is Jane’s story (younger sister of Monica) and focuses on her need to sever the bonds of the unrequited love of Biddestone’s squire, Matthew Cleaves…things don’t go quite as she planned.

When did you first consider yourself a writer?
I would like to say it was when the Wild Rose Press published by first book, Searching for Sophie in 2007, but I still couldn’t tell people confidently that I was an author. It wasn’t until I signed with Harlequin Superromance in 2011, that I truly believed in myself and started to imagine a life doing what I love. Since then, I have gone on to sign five books with Harlequin and four with eKensington. I am a very happy lady!

Do you write full-time? If so, what's your work day like? If not, what do you do other than write and how do you find time to write?
I am lucky enough to be a stay at home mum to two teenage girls – I pretty much write from 8.30 to 5.30pm (with an enforced lunch hour) during the week and then as much as possible on the weekend. Writing is my oxygen, I can’t function without working.

What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?
I’m not sure that I have one! I need silence to create but can edit with background noise. As for where I write, I can write anywhere – at my desk, the garden, cafes, coffee shops…

As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
I didn’t know it for many years, but in retrospect, I always wanted to be an author. I was avid reader as a child and used to write stories where I would bind the pages together with ribbon. As I got older, I decided I wanted to be a journalist but personal circumstance at home meant I left school and got a ‘proper job’ as an insurance broker. It wasn’t until my youngest daughter started school that I had my ‘now or never’ moment. I haven’t looked back since.

Anything additional you want to share with the readers?
Yes! Look out for my next Harlequin Superromance, Her Hometown Redemption, coming in September. LOVED writing this book!

Links:

Website | Blog | Twitter | Facebook | Facebook Street Team - Rachel's Readers 

Thank you for being here today, Rachel!

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