Tuesday, 4 March 2014
Brook Cottage Books is thrilled to welcome Rachel Brimble to the blog with a great guest post AND a giveaway at the end of the post. The giveaway is for 1 x signed copy of What Belongs to Her
plus a tote bag featuring the cover of The
Temptation of Laura.
A UK Writer Writing for the
US…
I often get asked why, and
how, I ended up writing for the US market when I am a Brit who has had a single
trip to New York. What do I know about America? The answer is simple: I
couldn’t find a UK agent or publisher who liked my work.
After 35 agent rejections,
I began to wonder if I was dreaming an impossible dream of becoming a published
romance author. Could I write? Did I even have a voice? Was it time for me to
face the truth and get a ‘real job’? All these questions depressed and stripped
me of motivation, but still I couldn’t shake off the soul-deep need to
write.
I was very close to giving
up but every time I read a great romance, or heard of another author’s success
in a magazine or online, it pushed me forward. I attended some fantastic
courses both in person and online and each time, the little voice in my head
telling me I can succeed was reawakened.
Then in 2006, a US online
friend suggested I try a new romance publisher, The Wild Rose Press. I
submitted my completed 65,000 word novel and it was accepted within five weeks.
I was ecstatic! Tears, laughter, dancing and screaming doesn’t even cover the
state I was in that wonderful day!
Knowing I would soon see my
novel in print was all the motivation I needed to carry on. Five novels
followed and were all published by small US presses over four years. In 2010, I
saw another long-time online friend in the US had secured an agent. Could I try
a US agent with book seven?
I could and I did!
In 2011, I secured an
American agent as well as pitching a novel to Harlequin at a conference here in
the UK – when the editor told me I had a ‘global voice’ and was more suited to
the US market rather than the UK, my determination was secured and I was
finally happy with letting the UK market go. Some things are just not meant to
be!
Since then, I have signed
five books with Harlequin Superromance and four books with Kensington. I am
proud and happy. What more does a writer want?
What Belongs To Her is the
third book in my ongoing series with Harlequin. Set in the fictional UK seaside
town of Templeton Cove, with an entirely British cast of characters, it proves
aspiring writers must write what they love and believe some day, their baby or
babies will find a home. Mine did!
1st March 2013
She's ready to take back what's hers.
Since
the moment a local crime boss claimed ownership of her family's fairground,
Sasha Todd has dreamed of righting the wrong. Now it's time to act, and backing
down from the man's estranged son is definitely
not an option. After all, giving up her legacy to hot-blooded John Jordon means
losing the chance to finally heal the wounds in her past.
Stopping John in his tracks—and resisting the
sizzle between them—is Sasha's best defense. But there's more to him than she
thought, which changes everything. With what matters most at stake, she'll have
to risk a brand-new future with John, or walk away from the man whose heart
belongs to her.
Excerpt
The machine
rumbled to life and John froze.
What the hell??
Gripping the
lap bar, he hauled it up and stood. Sasha Todd gracefully skipped up onto the steel
platform beneath the carriages. She was dressed in white shorts that revealed
her long slender legs and a simple red T-shirt. His breath caught. Did she have
any idea how stunning she was?
She smiled,
mischief glinting in her black eyes. “Sit down, John. Let’s take a ride.”
He blinked.
“Are you crazy?”
“What’s the
matter? Don’t you like rides?”
He tried and
failed to muster some semblance of authority as the machine started to move.
“No. Turn this thing off.”
She quirked
an eyebrow and curved her fingers over the back of the carriage. “Yet you want
to run this place? You can’t do that without knowing the fairground inside out.
That includes the rides. Move over, I’m jumping onboard.”
Their eyes
locked and once again, his tongue stuck to the roof of his mouth. Why the hell
did the woman managing the fairground have to be so physically arresting? God,
he wanted to write about her. Describe her in words in a vain attempt to let
the damn world know how unnervingly beautiful she was.
He lowered
into the seat, steadfastly avoiding her gaze. He concentrated on keeping his
pride in place and not giving in to the temptation to grip the bar again. The
ride picked up speed and the carriage shifted as she hauled herself up and sat
down next to him, pulling the lap bar down with her.
The distinct
smell of something musky and sexy drifted as she tossed her long hair over her
shoulders. The tendrils whispered across his cheek and John closed his mouth,
trapping the inconceivable urge to groan.
She wriggled
her behind deeper into the seat and settled back with a sigh. “So…what’s the
plan today? Enjoy the fair? Cook the books? Fire me?”
Attraction
gave way to irritation, fueled by the nonchalance in her voice. “You do realize
this thing is moving, right?”
She shrugged
and glanced around before focusing entirely on him. “Sure. Now is as good a
time as any to get acquainted, don’t you think?”
John
swallowed. Jesus, her eyes are ebony
black, like two huge pieces of jet. He snapped his face forward. “Do you
know something?” He slid his arm across the back of the carriage above her
shoulders. “If you want to play some stupid game in a bid to annoy me, that’s
fine. I’m the one in control here, whether you like it or not.”
Rachel lives with her husband and two young
daughters in a small town near Bath in the UK.
After having several novels published by small US presses, she secured
agent representation in 2011. In 2012, she sold two books to Harlequin
Superromance and a further three in 2013. She also writes Victorian romance for
Kensington--her debut was released in April 2013 and she has since signed for
three more.
Rachel is a member of the Romantic Novelists
Association and Romance Writers of America. When she isn’t writing, you’ll find
Rachel with her head in a book or walking the beautiful English countryside
with her family and beloved black Lab, Max. 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!
Links:
a Rafflecopter giveaway
It's great to see a British author writing for Harlequin featuring British characters and set in a British seaside town. Congrats Rachel.
Hi Manda!
Thanks for being here and your kind comment - as far as I know I am the first ever for Superromance to write British characters in a British setting. I am very proud!
Good luck with the contest :)
Rachel x
Thank you for hosting on tour today JB.
Shaz