TBR welcomes Rachel Brimble

TBR: Welcome to TBR, Rachel. Will you share a little bit about yourself?
Rachel: I’m a Brit living in South West England, near the historic city of Bath. I live with my husband, two young daughters and mad 8-year-old black Lab, Max.

I am lucky enough to be able to stay at home and write full-time, so I write from 8.30 to 3.30 Monday to Friday with bits in between thereafter, as well as a couple of hours on Saturday and Sunday…if possible.

When I’m not writing (which isn’t often!), I like to read, knit, watch US crime dramas, UK period dramas or see friends and family. Oh, and a glass of wine often features in there somewhere, too!

TBR: Tell us about Love’s Debt and where it's available.
Rachel: Love’s Debt is a Victorian romance novella set in the UK maritime city of Bristol. It is about two people from entirely different backgrounds fighting the effects of poverty.

Strong and optimistic, Milly and Joseph are destined to be together…

Available from The Wild Rose Press.

TBR: Please tantalize us with a story blurb or excerpt.

Rachel:

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?

TBR: Are you a plotter or pantser?

Rachel: I’m a combination of the two – although as each book is written and I recognize what works and what doesn’t, I am leaning toward the pantser. I write a two-three page synopsis first of all, trying to focus on the goal, motivation and conflicts—and then a character sketch for the hero, heroine and if I have one, the villain.

Then I free write the ‘crappy’ draft from start to finish – the hard part comes in the following drafts!

TBR: How do you develop your characters?
Rachel: See above – my characters evolve organically as I write the first draft. I slowly get to know them, see their likes and dislikes, their emotional scars and issues as I continue to write. Then when I go back to the beginning, I can add in subtle hints of their internal conflicts, what makes sense for them to do and not do in any given situation.

By the end of draft one, the characters are extremely real to me so I can add in all the little nuances in the following drafts and hopefully, make them three-dimensional and believable people.

TBR: Do you have a favorite quote you’d like to share?
Rachel: “Set it up the way you want it to be.” – Iyanla Vanzant.

TBR: Which of your characters would you most/least like to invite to dinner, and why?
Rachel: I’d love to meet all my characters in real life – both the good and bad! They are so amazingly real to me, I’m sure the conversation would be easy and natural. Plus, they could tell me a bit about themselves that they wish I would have written into their stories, lol! J

TBR: While creating your books, what was one of the most surprising things you learned?
Rachel:  That it never gets any easier! When I started out writing and used to think of Nora Roberts or Jodi Picoult, even my childhood favorite, Enid Blyton, I used to think that must find it so easy having so many books behind them. Um…no!! Every book is hard (at least for me) and I still struggle with the ‘sagging middle’. Once I hit the 30-35,000 mark, everything seems to ground to a halt and I’m filled with huge self-doubt.

The only way around it is to push through and hope you can clean it up later!

TBR: What's next for you?
Rachel: I am so unbelievably excited about 2013! I will have at least four full-length novels out next year. Two romantic suspense Superromance novels with Harlequin, a Victorian romance with Kensington and a romantic comedy with Omnific. I still have to pinch myself that this is happening – it’s a dream come true! Harlequin will release the first book, Finding Justice, in February with the others following in April, June and August. 

Finding Justice cover Copyright © 2013 by Harlequin Enterprises Limited

TBR: Who are some of your favorite authors and books? What are you reading now?
Rachel:  As I’ve already mentioned, Nora Roberts is my absolute favorite, followed by Jodi Picoult and British Victorian romance author, Jean Fullerton. Having said that, there are lots of others in between! Another particular favorite is Robyn Carr’s Virgin River series.

TBR: Where can readers find you on the web?
Rachel:

http://www.rachelbrimble.com/

http://rachelbrimble.blogspot.co.uk/

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Rachel-Brimble/181873201887441?fref=ts

https://twitter.com/RachelBrimble

TBR: Is there anything you’d like to ask our readers?
Rachel: Do you have a favorite romance sub-genre? As you can tell with my 2013 releases, I love to be versatile! Is there a sub-genre you would like to see more of??
 

TBR: Readers, Rachel Brimble will give away a free download of any of her books to one lucky commenter. She'll pick a winner on Saturday November 17th and announce the winner here. Be sure to leave your email address so she can contact you.

Thanks for visiting TBR, Rachel! All the best to you.