Author Interview with Rachel Brimble & New Release: The Mistress of Pennington’s

I am so happy to introduce today’s guest. I’ve worked with Rachel Brimble at The Wild Rose Press on a few books, and she was one of my early authors when the company first opened. I love her writing…and she’s a wonderful person! 

Welcome, Rachel. Please tell us a little about yourself, where are you from? Where do you live now? Family? Pets?

Hi, it’s so great to be here! I have been happily married to my husband (Mr B) for twenty years and we live near the famous city of Bath, England along with our two teenage daughters and mad chocolate Labrador, Tyler.

When I’m not writing, I like to read, knit, walk the beautiful English countryside and watch far too much TV.

Where did you get the idea for The Mistress Of Pennington’s?

I absolutely loved the TV series Mr Selfridge and The Paradise, but as I was watching something was always missing for me. I came to realise that I wanted more depth to the struggles women were facing during the Edwardian era. All too soon I concluded that I would write a series books with ‘female empowerment’ as the theme. Thankfully, my editor at Aria Fiction loved this book enough to offer me a four-book contract.

The Mistress of Pennington’s covers the issue of women in business, book 2 (coming early 2019) will cover women’s suffrage. I’m so excited!

 Why did you choose this genre (is it something you’ve written in before)?

I’ve previously written historical romance set in the Victorian period and was ready to learn, research and write about a different era. The Edwardian period was a time of huge change for women and I couldn’t wait to start my research. When these books are done, I am very tempted to start exploring the Georgian period.

What is the most difficult thing about writing a book?

For me, the most difficult thing is the plotting – it’s all very well to come up with a great book idea, but is it strong enough to stretch to 90,000 words? I usually struggle around the 40,000 word mark but heed my own advice and write through it. A first draft can be edited, a blank page…not so much!

What book have you read that you wish you had written?

Gone With The Wind by Margaret Mitchell or The Outlander series by Diana Galbaldon – I love to think that one day I’ll write a huge epic of a book or series. To have so much space to really explore issues of the time as well as digging deep into lead and secondary characters appeals to me on every level.

What’s the main thing that you could get rid of in your life that would give you more writing time?

Housework! I am a terrible housekeeper and would rather write, knit or watch TV than tackle dusting, vacuuming and cleaning bathrooms, lol! The only household chore I enjoy is ironing…and that’s because I can watch TV while doing it. Apparently, I’m exactly like my paternal grandmother – much to the amusement of my extended family 🙂

What do you want readers to come away with after they read The Mistress of Pennington’s?

To feel inspired, transported back in time and looking forward to book 2! The ultimate aim of this series is to remind us all how much women have struggled for the freedoms that we have today and how they manage to find love and have families along the way. The Mistress of Pennington’s is a book of hope, love and never giving up.

What actors would you like in the main roles if your book were made into a movie?

This is an easy question for me as I’m a very visual writer and start each book trawling the internet for pictures of my hero, heroine and villain (if I have one). So, for The Mistress of Pennington’s, I would love Niamh Walsh to play Elizabeth Pennington and Josh Lucas to play Joseph Carter.

What genre have you never written that you’d like to write?

I love reading crime fiction so would definitely like to try to write the genre at some point in the future. I think I’d probably go historical and set it in the Georgian or Victorian period, both for atmosphere and the fact they didn’t have as much complicated forensic procedures back then!

What is your favorite quote?

Set it up the way you want it to be – Iyanla Vanzant

What do you want your tombstone to say?

She came, she loved, she laughed and wrote a few books along the way…

What do your friends and family think of your writing?

They are all very supportive and respect that writing is my passion and always will be – a few of them are amazed I’ve written 23 books to date and have written around my children since they were 4 & 6 years old. Suffice to say, my writing time is a lot more my own now they are almost 19 & 17!

Your favorite…

Movie – Notting Hill

Music – Bruno Mars or a LOT of 80s music

Place you’ve visited – So many, but most recently Bruges

Place you’d like to visit – The Caribbean

TV show from childhood – Grange Hill

TV show from adulthood – Downton Abbey

Food – Scallops

Which do you prefer: Board games/card games or television? TV…closely followed by board games!

The Mistress of Pennington’s is available to buy now!  

1910 – A compelling tale of female empowerment in Bath’s leading department store. Perfect for the fans of the TV series Mr Selfridge and The Paradise.

Elizabeth Pennington should be the rightful heir of Bath’s premier department store through her enterprising schemes and dogged hard work. Her father, Edward Pennington, believes his daughter lacks the business acumen to run his empire and is resolute a man will succeed him.

Determined to break from her father’s iron-clad hold and prove she is worthy of inheriting the store, Elizabeth forms an unlikely alliance with ambitious and charismatic master glove-maker Joseph Carter. United they forge forward to bring Pennington’s into a new decade, embracing woman’s equality and progression whilst trying not to mix business and pleasure.

Can this dream team thwart Edward Pennington’s plans for the store? Or will Edward prove himself an unshakeable force who will ultimately ruin both Elizabeth and Joseph?

 

Buy Links:

Amazon UK: http://amzn.eu/2SvRcqp

Amazon US: http://a.co/3OFh9JK

Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-mistress-of-penningtons-rachel-brimble/1128920728?ean=9781788546508

Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/gb/en/ebook/the-mistress-of-pennington-s

Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Rachel_Brimble_The_Mistress_of_Pennington_s?id=dIFSDwAAQBAJ

Apple: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/the-mistress-of-penningtons/id1362129705?mt=11

Bio:

Rachel has had several novels published by small US presses, eight books published by Harlequin Superromance (Templeton Cove Stories) and four Victorian romances with eKensington/Lyrical.

In January 2018, she signed a four-book deal with Aria Fiction for a brand new Edwardian series set in Bath’s finest department store. The first book, The Mistress of Pennington’s released July 2018.

Rachel is a member of the Romantic Novelists Association and Romance Writers of America and was selected to mentor the Superromance finalist of So You Think You Can Write 2014 contest. When she isn’t writing, you’ll find Rachel with her head in a book or walking the beautiful English countryside with her family. 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:

Website

Blog

Twitter

Facebook

Facebook Street Team – Rachel’s Readers

Amazon Author Page:

https://www.amazon.com/Rachel-Brimble/e/B007829ZRM/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1490948101&sr=8-1

Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1806411.Rachel_Brimble

Bookbub:

https://www.bookbub.com/authors/rachel-brimble