Today I'm pleased to welcome author Rachel Brimble.
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I need very little motivation because for me, writing is more of a compulsion. I have to do it! If I don’t, I am cranky and kind of savage, lol! My husband and kids always tell me to get my laptop when I start biting their heads off. They either know I haven’t written anything that day or else I’m having plot problems. Not good, is it?? J
How many hours a day do you devote to writing? Do you have a set routine or do you write when the mood strikes?
In the week, I write from 9am until 2.30 pm every day with a half an hour dog walk in between. After that the time is my families. On the weekend, I write as much as possible without feeling too guilty about it. That often means on the sofa with the laptop with the TV blaring in the background. This is my promo time rather than creative time!
Who is your favorite author? And, if given the opportunity to meet them, what would you ask them?
Nora Roberts – and I would ask her (if I manage to speak at all, that is!), how she manages to keep her plots going at such an incredible pace time and time again. My biggest weakness as a writer is getting past the ‘sagging middle’ syndrome. I am waiting for it to get easier with each passing novel!
Has there been a person or influence in your life that has helped you reach your writing goals?
Two UK writers who have been very influential to me are Julie Cohen and Jean Fullerton. Julie was one of the first published writers to tell me she thinks I have a great career ahead of me and I have never forgotten that. Jean is one of the kindest, bubbliest and talented writers I have ever met. I ADORE her Victorian romances set in the Eastend of London. She too, has made me feel I am capable of anything if I work hard and believe in myself.
Do you have any words of inspiration to aspiring authors? What advice would you offer a writer trying to publish?
The one piece of advice that has helped me tremendously is “Allow yourself permission to write a crappy first draft.” I listened to this advice and now it is my mantra. If you know the first draft is about getting the words on the page, it frees your creativity. The second draft is used for editing and tweaking and changing things around. Trust me, your output will soar!
Tell us about your current release.
I tend to write across the sub-genres so my latest contemporary release is Paying The Piper and my latest Victorian romance is The Arrival of Lily Curtis. Here are the details:
Paying The Piper
Nightclub manager Grace Butler is on a mission to buy the pub where her
mother's ashes are scattered but the owner wants to sell to anyone but her. And that owner happens to be her father...who has a secret she
will do anything to discover.
Social worker and all around good guy Jimmy Betts needs funds to buy a house
for three special kids before their care home closes. Time is running out
and he's desperate for cash. He agrees to to a one-time 'job' for bad-man
Karl Butler. But in a sudden turn of events, Jimmy finds himself employed by
Karl's beautiful, funny and incredibly sexy daughter, Grace. Their lives
couldn't be more different, yet one thread binds them: they're both trying
to escape the bonds of their fathers. Maybe the only way they'll be free is
by being together, instead of alone.
The Arrival of Lily Curtis
At the mention of an arranged marriage, Elizabeth Caughley feels her life is over at the age of three and twenty….so she hatches an escape plan. She will reinvent herself as a housemaid. Overnight, Elizabeth becomes Lily…
Viscount Westrop wants nothing more than his legacy to be passed to his own son one day. Even though he feels insurmountable pity for the unborn child already, he knows how much pain a broken promise can cause and will do what is right. But with the arrival of his new housemaid, his plans are thrown into disarray. Lily is funny, feisty and the most beautiful creature on earth – Andrew is thunderstruck. But if anyone suspects how much he wants to ravish her and endlessly love her, Andrew’s lineage will be in peril. And he cannot let that happen…
Do you have any upcoming projects in the works?
I am currently working on a sexy contemporary romance that I hope to have finished by the end of October. After that, it will be another Victorian historical set in Bath and London in 1896 and linking with the book my agent is currently reading.
Where can readers connect with you?
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Thanks for joining us! Good luck with the tour:)
Ella
Lovely interview, Ella and Rachel. :-)
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by Cathie. I'm glad you like it:)
ReplyDeleteThanks for having me, Ella - it's been quiet apart from the lovely Cathie (waving madly!) but I really enjoyed the interview.
ReplyDeleteHopefully some more people will stop by today!
Best
Rachel x