During her
virtual book tour, Rachel will be awarding a $25 Amazon or Barnes and Noble
(winner’s choice) gift card to a lucky randomly drawn winner. 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.
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 brand new Edwardian
series set in Bath’s finest department store. The first book is The Mistress of Pennington’s.
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 back to Reviews and Interviews,
Rachel.
Please tell us about your newest
release.
The Mistress of Pennington’s is an Edwardian romance/saga set in
Bath’s finest department store. The theme is female empowerment and the story
is about Elizabeth Pennington’s fight to convince her father that she should
take her rightful place as heiress to Pennington’s Department Store. The story
is full of ambition, intrigue, suspense and romance…
What inspired you to write this book?
I loved the
TV series The Paradise and Mr Selfridge, but something was missing for me. I
soon realised I wanted more focus on the female characters and the women’s
issues of the day. I struggled for a long time wondering whether writing a book
in a department store was the right thing to do but when Aria Fiction offered
me a four-book deal on the basis of The Mistress Of Pennington’s, I was
convinced my instinct to write a series was right!
Excerpt from The Mistress of Pennington's:
Excerpt from The Mistress of Pennington's:
He moved to walk away, and she reached
for his arm before she could think just how dangerous such contact could be. He
halted, and even when he looked at her fingers clutched on his forearm, she did
not remove them. It suddenly felt important she touch him; that he understood
she had care for what he said or asked her.
Even though the physical contact set
her heart racing, she held her grasp. ‘Why do you ask me about your family?’
He closed his eyes and dropped his
chin to his chest.
Disquiet whispered through her. What
had caused such uncharacteristic hesitation in him?
‘Joseph…’ She slid her hand from his
arm, ignoring the pang of loss that the break of contact brought. ‘If there’s
something bothering you, please, share it with me.’
He slowly raised his head, his blue
eyes full of irritation once more. ‘I will, but not here. Not on the street.
I’d prefer to come to your office tomorrow.’
How was she supposed to wait until
tomorrow? Her curiosity was rife. It was clear something had changed between
them. Something, it seemed, of which she was the cause.
She nodded. ‘I’ll send a message to
you first thing in the morning.’
‘Thank you. Until then, I bid you
good day.’
He walked away, leaving Elizabeth
with questions and words flailing on her tongue. She stared after him, fearful
of the pull deep in her chest that Joseph’s concerns had somehow become hers.
No good could come of such caring. Her only goal should be proving her worth
and capability in Pennington’s and beyond. She could not allow one man, any
man, to have such an effect on her.
She inhaled a long breath and walked
towards Pennington’s doors.
What’s the next writing project?
I am waiting
for edits for Pennington book 2 (The Suffragette
At Pennington’s releases Jan 2019) and also writing the first draft of
Pennington’s book 3. I’ve also plotted a brand new contemporary romantic
suspense which I hope to get started on within the next month or so. Busy,
busy!
My biggest
challenge is always ensuring the plot idea I have is strong enough to stretch
to 90,000 words! I plan my books rather than just write by the seat of my pants
but every book I write seems to come to a screeching stop around the 50,000
word mark and I have to figure out what’s missing. So far, I’ve managed to find
it…often with the help of my critique partners! Writing is hard and,
unfortunately, doesn’t seem to get any easier.
If your novels require research – please
talk about the process. Do you do the research first and then write, while
you’re writing, after the novel is complete and you need to fill in the gaps?
A bit of both
– before I start a book I read a lot about the period and issue I want to
explore, if historical or the issue if I’m writing contemporary. I tend to plot
quite a bit before I start writing but once I start, I write the first draft
from beginning to end without looking back. If anything needs researching pops
up during that first draft, I’ll make a note and push on. For me, moving
forward is the best way to ensure a book is finished.
What’s your writing space like? Do you
have a particular spot to write where the muse is more active? Please tell us
about it.
I am lucky
enough to have a home office with a huge antique white desk and bookshelves as
well as two corkboards in front of me for all my story ‘visuals’. As I live in
the UK, I am more or less in my office every day because of the weather but, in
the summer months, there is nothing I love more than taking my laptop into the
garden.
What authors do you enjoy reading within
or outside of your genre?
So many! But
my favourites are Nora Roberts and Jill Shalvis for contemporary and Philippa Gregory
and Alex Grecian for historical. I read a lot of non-fiction historical stuff,
too. Especially biographies of past British kings and queens.
Anything additional you want to share
with the readers today?
Just to thank
everyone who buys my books and has followed me on my journey – I appreciate
every one of you! Oh, and my next release is Pennington’s book 2 – The Suffragette At Pennington’s is due
for release in January 2019.
Links:
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