New interview with author Rachel Brimble

Romance author Rachel Brimble joins me today. We’re chatting about her new romantic suspense, If I Want You.

During her virtual book tour, Rachel will be awarding a $20 Amazon or Barnes and Noble (winner’s choice) gift card. To be entered for a chance to win, 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. Since 2013, she has had seven books published by Harlequin Superromance (Templeton Cove Stories) and an eighth coming in Feb 2018. She also has four Victorian romances with eKensington/Lyrical Press.

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. 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 share a little bit about your current release.

If I Want You is the first single title romantic suspense I have written for a while and I’m so excited for its release! It’s a little darker than I’ve written before but the sexual tension and mutual respect that simmers between the hero and heroine meant I had to ‘beef up’ the suspense to level things out. It revolves around a child abduction that provokes memories the heroine would rather forget about her own childhood kidnapping. She is on a mission to save the abducted little girl and has the perfect hero on hand to help her.

What inspired you to write this book?
I am a huge fan of crime novels as well as TV dramas where there is some kind of suspense or mystery interwoven into the plot. I have wanted to write something more crime-related for a while, but I also wanted to write a relationship running through the main plot. The idea for If I Want You came from me tapping into the worst thing that could happen to my family and all the emotions that come with it.

Excerpt from If I Want You:
Sensing her discomfort, he stopped and leaned against the bureau. God, did he frighten her? Surely not, or she wouldn’t be here. Or did she sense his attraction toward her and would do all she could to deflect it? He didn’t doubt for one minute his eyes gave away his appreciation whenever he looked at her.

He lifted the can to his lips. “So, what have you been thinking about?”

She tapped a peach-painted nail on the bureau. “This.”

“The bureau?”

“Principal White’s bureau.”

He frowned. “How did you know it was hers?”

“She mentioned you were working on a bureau for her when I was in the school office. I assumed this is it.”

“It is.”

“Good, because that makes it all the easier for me to give you your first assignment.”

“You want me to talk to her.”

She smiled, took a few tentative steps closer to him. “Got it in one, Watson.”

He smiled, pleased to see genuine mischief shining in her eyes. “I’m Watson?”

“Yep.”

“So that makes you Holmes. Not sure I like being anyone’s sidekick.”

Another couple of steps closer until no more than a couple of feet separated them. She met his eyes and his heart kicked. Her V-neck shirt was just the right side of professional. Yet, the way it revealed her collarbones and hugged her full breasts made him want to reach out and pull her into his arms, kiss her, taste her…

“You’re staring, Watson.”

He blinked and snapped his gaze from her breasts, rare heat hitting his face. “Sorry. You look nice.”

“Thanks.” She raised her eyebrows and nodded toward his chest. “So do you.”

He smiled. “Why don’t we go inside? It’s way too hot out here.”

What exciting story are you working on next?
I am currently revising another romantic suspense which I hope will be the start of a brand new series as well as working on the first draft of a new Edward romance which I am absolutely loving right now. I think it might even my best work so far, but we’ll see how it turns out!

When did you first consider yourself a writer?
When my first book was published back in 2007 – I think it’s very hard to for a writer or novelist to accept that’s what they are until they hold a published body of work in their hands. Of course, you’re a writer as soon as you put pen to paper or fingers to the keyboard.

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’m lucky enough to write full-time and never take that luxury for granted. I work as hard as I would in any other job. During the week, I work from 8.30am to 5.30pm with two dog walks and a short lunch break in between. At the weekend, I try not to work at all but find that impossible when I have deadline looming.

Things were a lot harder when my daughters were young, but they’re now 18 and 16 and don’t really pay a lot of attention to what mum is doing, lol!

What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?
I don’t think I have any writing quirks as such – although you might say it’s a quirk that I turn into a savage animal when I CAN’T write!

 
As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
Write – I always wrote stories for myself and my friends and then around the age of 11, I decided the only ‘real’ writing was journalism. Unfortunately, life took an unexpected turn and I had to go out to work at 16. I worked in a bank for 10 years before staying home to raise my daughters. When the youngest started school full-time, I had a ‘now or never’ moment and sat down to start my first novel. Searching for Sophie was published 18 months later.

Anything additional you want to share with the readers?
I am a social media nut so if you want to know what I’m up to work wise and personally, but sure to follow me on Twitter, Instagram etc.

Links:

Website | Blog | Twitter | Facebook | Facebook Street Team - Rachel's Readers | Amazon Author Page | Goodreads

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