Welcome Rachel Brimble on her Release Day! #Victorian #TWRP

Welcome Guest Author

Rachel Brimble

on her Love's Debt 

RELEASE DAY!

Welcome back, Rachel!  Please share a little about yourself, your genres, any other pen names you use.

Hi Laura! Thanks for having me here today – I am a Brit living in South West England with my husband, our two young daughters and beloved black Lab, Max. I have been writing for publication for about seven years now and happy to say I am published in straight contemporary romance, romantic comedy, romantic suspense and Victorian romance. Although over the last twelve months, I’ve decided to focus purely on romantic suspense and Victorian because the ideas were beginning to take over my life, lol!

That’s awesome! Okay, now, tell us a little about your latest or upcoming release.

My latest release is out today (yay!) and is a Victorian romance novella with The Wild Rose Press. Here’s the blurb:

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?

Sounds great! Which character is your favorite and why?

It’s hard to choose between Joseph and Milly but if I have to, I would say Joseph. For me, he is a real man. Caring, strong, resilient, loving and hard-working – his is a story of riches to rags but still he carries on and with a real air of self-worth. I love him! He might even be my favorite hero so far…

Will there be any sequels or other books in the same series?

No – I told this story and I knew it was finished. Sometimes when I write a story, it turns out a secondary character that I want to spend more time with and then I’ll write a follow up. That didn’t happen with Love’s Debt unfortunately.

I totally understand what you’re saying there… What are you working on right now?

I have so many projects going on right now, life is crazy! I am finishing the line edits for my first book with Harlequin Superromance (yippee!), as well as revising a contemporary romance I recently sold to Omnific Publishing and when I have time I am working on an outline for my second contracted Victorian romance with Kensington (yippee again!). I am super, super busy but in such a fantastic way, I am not complaining AT ALL!! J

Wow! You are super, super busy! Congrats on the new sales! What happened to the first book you ever wrote?

It was published! Searching for Sophie was release by The Wild Rose Press in January 2007.

Awesome! Is there a theme or message that runs through your work?

The more books I write, the more I realize that the theme of ‘trust’ or ‘forgiveness’ seems to run through my books. Usually one of my main characters is learning to trust again after being badly hurt by a parent, a sibling, a past lover…I think this is an emotion that runs through my own life and I tend to work things out through the life of my characters. I think that is true of most writers – we have something to say.

Very interesting. Which romance book or series (or other genre, if you don’t write romance) do you wish you had written?

I adore the Chesapeake quartet by Nora Roberts, also Montana Sky by Nora Roberts, and The Three Sisters Island trilogy by Nora Roberts…basically anything by Nora Roberts, lol!

LOL! Of all the characters you’ve ever written, who is your favorite and why?

I think my favorite at the moment is Detective Inspector Cat Forrester who is the heroine in my upcoming Harlequin Superromance (Feb 2013) – she is fabulous!

Okay, now, just for fun:

Milk chocolate or dark chocolate? Milk chocolate

Salty or sweet? Sweet

Bed or kitchen table? Kitchen table

Beach or mountains? Beach

Give or receive? Give

Excerpt:

“No, I take it from here.” His jaw tightened. “I mean it, Milly. I don’t want you in there.”

“Why are we arguing about this? I thought we’d built a trust between us.”

His gaze darted over her face, lingered at her lips. “This has nothing to do with trust.”

“Then what?”

“Pride. If I haven’t got that…if I’ve stooped so low as to put a woman at risk, then there’s no point in going on at all. I won’t do it, Milly. I won’t expose you to whatever is behind that door. If you can’t stay here, then go back to the tavern. I’ll see you there shortly.”

His face was set, his shoulders stiff and Milly’s irritation grew. She poked a finger into his chest. It was like iron. She swallowed. “Have you heard the saying, pride before a fall?” He nodded. “Good, because if people don’t reach out to other people, Joseph Jacobs, they fall further than ever with nobody there to catch them.”

“Milly--”

She raised her hand. “Go. Do what you want. I’ve got more important things to worry about that a man full of so much pride, he looks fit to burst.”

Turning, Milly gripped her bag tightly in her hand and strode away. She did not look back, and she didn’t stop walking. Her stupid heart had let her down. Made her get involved in a man’s life and begin to care about him. Well, the buck stopped there. No more. If Joseph Jacobs ever needed her help again, he could take a long walk off the dock.

Blinking against the rare sting of tears, she tilted her chin and retraced her steps across town. Her shift at the tavern started in an hour’s time, but that didn’t matter; there was always plenty to be done and at least there, she was appreciated. Joseph certainly didn’t see what was right in front of his damn face.

Where can we find you on the web?

Website | Blog | Facebook| Twitter | Goodreads

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR BEING MY GUEST! Please leave Rachel some new release love! Did you have a favorite line from her excerpt?

Laura