In the Author Spotlight: Rachel Brimble

Cate: Please welcome Rachel Brimble. Rachel, will you please share a short bio with us?
Rachel: Of course – I live in the UK with my husband, two young daughters and black Labrador, Max. I have been writing novels since 2006 but wrote short stories for a few years before that.
My favorite pastimes are reading, socializing, knitting and cinema – probably in that order, LOL!

Cate: Tell us about Transatlantic Loving and where it's available.
Rachel: Transatlantic Loving is part of the new Class of ’85 series from The Wild Rose Press. I am thrilled to be part of a such a great concept by editor Kathy Cottrell where all the characters are invited to attend the Class of ’85 reunion – whether they attend or not and what happens is up to each contributing author.
My story is about my American hero who is now a soccer coach at the school and a visiting Brit who accompanies her friend to the party. When these two meet, sparks fly and the fun begins! I loved writing this story, the hero is delicious and the heroine just fabulous…even if I do say so myself!
Here’s the link.

Cate: Sounds fun! Please tantalize us with a story blurb or excerpt.
Rachel: Here’s the blurb:
In a desperate bid to escape the bitter reality of her children accepting her ex-husband’s new – and younger – fiancée, Lisa Cavendish travels from the UK to accompany her friend to a high school reunion. Forced to dress as Madonna in her hey day, the last thing she expects is to fall in love with the school’s coach, who seems to hold as much regard for his child as her ex did when he walked out…
Aaron Taylor can’t believe his eyes or ears when he is introduced to Lisa – sexy and funny, she has no idea how her accent enhances the heartbreaking wait he endures waiting for his daughter to call him back to the UK. But after spending just three short weeks with Lisa, he sees the answer to his pain in the eyes of the most phenomenal British lady he has ever met.

Cate: Can you tell us why we're going to love your hero?
Rachel: Aaron is sexy, funny, determined and has a heart bigger than upstate New York inside that fabulous chest of his. I adore him. He takes one look at Lisa Cavendish and want to make everything better for her. What woman could ask for more?

Cate: Tease us with one little thing about your fictional world that makes it different from others.
Rachel: Summerville is a place bursting with great and fascinating characters – their stories are woven together in a fabulous reunion where anything is possible. Older heroes and heroines chasing second chances, finding love for the first time, being as naughty as they are nice. I love Summerville and know you will too!

Cate: I love interconnected stories. What's next for you?
Rachel: My next book, a contemporary romance is due for release by my brand new publisher, Lyrical Press is January 2011. This is my first book with Lyrical but it definitely won’t be my last – I’ve loved working with them on Getting It Right This Time.
Here’s the blurb:
She’s back, but this time she’s a mother…intent on protecting her young.
Two years after her husband’s death, Kate Marshall returns home seeking security and stability for her three-year-old daughter. But when her path crosses with ‘the one who got away’…her husband’s best friend, she has to fight the desire to be with him for the sake of further heartbreak for her and her daughter.
A tough, straight talking theatrical agent, Mark Johnston is dangerously handsome, exceedingly rich, irresistibly charming – and branded by the tabloids as one of the UK’s most eligible bachelors. So even though Mark lost the girl of his dreams to his best friend, he finds no hardship in being single. Or so he thought.
Determined not to lose her a second time, Mark has to find a way to convince her they can work. But can Kate cope with the media interest and ruthless, money-hungry clients surrounding him, being anywhere near her daughter? Or accept that Mark Johnston is really the family man he claims to be?

Cate: What inspired you to draft your first story?
Rachel: I hate to admit it but I can’t even remember my first story! I started writing so many years ago now, it’s hard to think that far back. My first novel, Searching For Sophie (available from The Wild Rose Press) was inspired by my husband being adopted. I started wondering how his birth mother would feel if she knew he’d been abducted…

Cate: Do you have a writing routine?
Rachel: Yes, write as much as possible every dang day! LOL! That’s it. I have a part-time job, two young children, husband and dog who take up a lot of my time so I literally write around them and the rest of my commitments. Some days I can achieve 2,500 words, other days I’m lucky if I manage 200! But whatever I do, I write something every single day.

Cate: Great strategy! Where can readers find you on the web?
Rachel: My website is: rachelbrimble.com
My blog: rachelbrimble.blogspot.com

Cate: Is there anything you’d like to ask our readers?
Rachel: Yes, what is your favorite length of story? Novel, novella or short?

Cate: Readers, Rachel is giving away a book to a random commenter... so start commenting. She'll pick a winner on Friday, October 15th.

Thanks so much for being my guest Rachel!

In the Author Spotlight: Rachel Brimble

Cate: Please welcome Rachel Brimble. Rachel, will you please share a short bio with us?
Rachel: I am married with two daughters and live in the UK, very near the famous Georgian town of Bath. I started writing toward publication when I became pregnant with my second daughter, eight years ago. My journey started with short stories and articles before moving on to novels in 2006.
When I’m not writing I enjoy reading (everything from the back of cereal boxes to huge biographies according to my husband!), watching TV and spending time walking and talking with my family and our beloved black Labrador, Max.

Cate: Tell us about your latest release and where it's available.
Rachel: My latest release is called ‘The Arrival of Lily Curtis’ and it is published by The Wild Rose Press. It is available directly from their website at www.thewildrosepress.com or www.amazon.com.
It is a Victorian historical romance between a young girl desperate to escape the constraints of an arranged marriage and a Viscount who has an embedded fear of breaking a promise even if that promise is a figment of his imagination…

Cate: Love the title - and the cover's wonderful too. Please tantalize us with a story blurb or excerpt.
Rachel: This is a scene the hero and heroine share near the beginning of the story – the tension between them is palpable…
The clock ticked like a heartbeat behind him, the fire crackled and spat. Andrew unconsciously held his breath waiting to see what this unpredictable woman would do next. One minute she seemed so full of grace and intellect, the next full of fire and resentment. The two distinctions in her personality shouldn’t have fit but they did— inexplicitly so.
“Well, what do you say?” he pressed.
She dropped her gaze and curtsied, throwing him off-guard once again. He felt his jaw tighten as he looked at her bowed head.
“I thank you, sir,” she said. “But I know my place and to sit with you and your guests would be most unacceptable.”
He stared at her. “Unacceptable?”
“Yes, sir.”
Andrew watched her for a moment longer before slowly crossing his arms. “You have a very genteel way about you,” he said. “One would almost suspect you have been educated.”
She snapped her head up, another flash of color darkening her cheeks. “Not at all, sir. I…I try to better myself and the way I speak, that is all.”
He smiled. “Really?”
“Yes, sir.” She paused, a sudden glint in her eyes. “Of course, if it is not to your liking, I can always revert to common speech and bad manners. It comes easily to me either way.”
Andrew felt the burst of laughter bubbling beneath his diaphragm and could do nothing to stop it erupting. It burst from his mouth and reverberated around the room. Uneasy laughter rippled around the table, joining him in his amusement. He ignored them, not caring about anything else but this enigma in front of him. His friends clearly laughed because of who he was rather than their shared delight, Lily on the other hand didn’t seem to care who he was and would say just what she pleased.
“You are quite agreeable just the way you are.” He grinned. “If you wish to continue with your duties, then I will not stop you.”
He walked back to his chair and sat down. “Nicholas, another bottle of wine if you please. I have the distinct feeling a long night is ahead.”
“Of course, sir.”
Andrew tried and failed to wipe the smile from his face as Lily threw him a look of satisfaction before obediently following Nicholas from the room. He picked up his glass and took a long mouthful.
Lily Curtis may be just what Cotswold Manor needed right now.

Cate: Wonderful! Can you tell us why we're going to love your hero?
Rachel: Oooh, because Viscount Andrew Westrop is dark and brooding but also has a deep and naughty sense of humor. With his strong, athletic physique, he is a man easily capable of controlling a sixteen hand horse or lying gently with a fragile woman before he takes her over the edge…
Sorry….yes, he’s quite a nice man. I’m sure you’d like him ;)

Cate: Ooh, I love a naughty sense of humor. :) Tease us with one little thing about your fictional world that makes it different from others.
Rachel: It’s different because it’s Victorian, it’s different because my hero and heroine are different kinds of people living in a time when everything had its place. The are both rebels of opposite kinds – she doesn’t want to be dragged into an arranged marriage, he wants to run his aristocratic home in an alternative way. Together, they would be fantastic, innovative and exciting…if only they could see it that way, of course!

Cate: What's next for you?
Rachel: I have my fourth contemporary romance being released in January 2011 by Lyrical Press but this one isn’t suspense, although it does have a couple of pretty villainous characters in it! Set in the fictional town of Foxton, England, ‘Getting It Right This Time’ is a story of a mother of a young child and the man who has always loved her. This is their second chance at love but will they blow it like they did the first time? Pride is a deadly sin for a reason…

Cate: Congrats! What inspired you to draft your first story?
Rachel: I’ve wanted to write since I was a child but life took over and I never put pen to paper until I was at home with my eldest daughter. I enrolled in a distance learning course and that was it, I haven’t stopped writing since. And now I couldn’t stop if even I wanted to! My need to write is a compulsion and I truly believe I will never stop now – EVER!

Cate: Do you have a writing routine?
Rachel: I recently started working part-time so my writing routine is no more! I fit it in around work, the house, the kids and everything else that happens during the day. My output is definitely less than it used to be but I have found that even if I make sure I do at least 500 words a day, they soon add up.
That may sound like a lot to some people and nothing to others but to me it’s achievable most days, even if I have to write in 100 words stints! If you have to write, you have to write…

Cate: Exactly - whatever works. :) Where can readers find you on the web?
Rachel: I am usually blogging or interviewing somewhere on the net so feel free to ‘google’ me to find out where I am but my own site is:
www.rachelbrimble.com
My publishers:
www.thewildrosepress.com
www.eternalpress.biz
www.lyricalpress.com

Cate: Is there anything you’d like to ask our readers?
Rachel: Yes!! Especially the ones who have read my books! I am struggling to decide what to write next…please, please, please will anyone tell me their favourite book of mine?? I’d love to get an idea of what my readers enjoy the most, that way, that will make the decision of what I write next!

Cate: Very interesting! Readers, Rachel is also giving away a book to a random commenter... so start commenting, and be sure to let her know what you'd like her to write next! She'll pick a winner on August 23rd.

Thanks for being my guest Rachel! Best of luck with all your projects. :)