Guest Author Day with Rachel Brimble/Excerpt

Why don't you start with telling us a little about yourself? What genre do you write in and why?

I live in the UK with my husband of thirteen years and our two daughters. We are lucky enough to live between the gorgeous Cotswold countryside and the Georgian City of Bath so we have the best Southwest England can offer! I write across the romance genres, everything from suspense, to contemporary to Victorian historical.

Please tell us about your latest book.  What can we expect from you in the future?

Getting It Right This Time is a contemporary romance set in the fictional town of Foxton, England, published by Lyrical Press. 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?

My next book has just been contracted by Lyrical Press. It's called Paying The Piper and it's another contemporary romance but with a darker more grittier feel and underlying subject matter. It is due for release in September and I can hardly wait!

 How do we find out about you and your books?


I am usually guest blogging somewhere but here are my links:

www.rachelbrimble.com

www.rachelbrimble.blogspot.com

www.twitter.com/rachelbrimble


How much of your personality and life experiences are in your writing?


A lot - I think all writers consciously and unconsciously include their experiences/feelings within some parts of every piece of work. There might be something of your personality in every character on the page in some shape or form. The trick is not to let people who know you, recognize themselves or you!


When did you first think about writing and what prompted you to submit your first ms?

 I've always wanted to be a novelist but it was when my youngest daughter started school that I began to think, it's now or never. I knew if I didn't start a book when I had the house back to myself for a few hours every day, I never would.

Now I work part-time at an insurance brokers too but still manage to write at least 500 words a day - that's my absolute minimum.

What is your normal day like?

Up at 7am, kids sorted and out the door for school (I walk the youngest daughter with the dog!) and then back and write for an hour before getting ready for the day job. Day job 10-2pm. Hours writing. Walk dog back to school to pick up youngest. Hours writing. Dinner. Bath-time. An half hour writing. Family time (usually involving kids/TV and a sofa!)

When did you know you wanted to be a writer?

Eleven - I knew I wanted to be a journalist or novelist.

Where do you get most of the ideas for your stories?

Everywhere, but mostly TV shows or news stories. Something will catch my interest and I wonder what I would have done differently than the real or fictional characters did. And then my characters start talking to me and I'm off writing the next book.

What are some of your hobbies? 


Reading, knitting, walking - I'm quite a quiet person until I go out with hubby and/or friends and then after one or two glasses of white wine, I am the complete opposite of quiet!


Who are some of your favorite authors, and if we were to visit your home, what books would we find on your bookshelf, end table, floor or e-reader? 


Nora Roberts, Jodi Picoult, Phillipa Gregory, Jilly Cooper, Martina Cole, the list goes on. As for what you'd find, all of the above and probably fifty other authors as well. I read anything and everything.


If you could be any character of any book or movie, who would you be?

Ooh, that's a tough one! I like all of Nora Roberts heroines. I think she gives them great stories and fabulous leading men. I would happily live one of their lives and deal with all their problems and end up in bed with one of those lovely leading men!

You’re on a remote island with a handsome man, a computer, and a “mysterious” source of electricity to power your computer. What do you do?


Use him as research for my next book, of course - the question is whether I venture into the erotic romance genre or not…


Which do you prefer:

Denim or Leather on a man/woman/significant other?

Denim

Irish or Italian accent in a man?

Italian

Front seat or Back seat to make out in?

Back seat

Dark eyes or Light eyes?

Dark

Sleeping bag or Bed?

Bed

Dinner or Movie for a first date?

Movie

Coffee or Tea?

Coffee

Chiseled jaw line or Chiseled abs?

Abs

Sneak Peek into Getting It Right This Time

Available at Lyrical Press

Contemporary Romance

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?

Excerpt:

“You came.”

She lifted her eyes to his. “Didn’t you think I would?”

“No.”

“Oh.” His gaze lingered over every inch of her face, and Kate’s cheeks warmed under the soft study in his eyes. “Aren’t you going to sit down?”

He started as though remembering where he was. “You look beautiful.”

Her heart lurched in her chest as Kate forced herself to keep her eyes on the clear hazel of his. “Thank you. You don’t look too bad yourself.”

He smiled and reached for the menu. Once he was sufficiently engrossed, Kate picked up her own menu and opened it like a shield. But she didn’t read the offerings, instead she used the advantage to surreptitiously check him out. Peering over the top of the leather-bound pages, her gaze wandered over the charcoal gray suit, the open neck collar of his snow-white shirt and the casual style of his newly washed hair. He looked up and she quickly looked at the menu.

“Do you know what you want?” she asked quickly.

“I knew exactly what I wanted years ago.”

She snapped her head up, the menu slipping from her hands. His unwavering gaze burned straight through her skin and flesh to her very center. An intense heat flared behind her breastbone and between her legs simultaneously. She opened her mouth but no words came, and the only sound stretching between them was her pathetically feminine struggling gasps of breath. She couldn’t take her eyes from his and knew he would recognize her shock, her confusion…and worst of all, her desire. His fingers lightly touched hers.

“Kate, I’ve wanted to see you for so long…”

“Yet you never contacted me for five years.”