Today we have author Rachel Brimble visiting. Welcome!
What would you like to tell readers about yourself?
* Rachel lives with her husband and two teenage 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. Since 2013, she has had seven books published by Harlequin Superromance (Templeton Cove Stories) and an eighth coming in Feb 2018. She also has four Victorian romances with eKensington/Lyrical Press.
* 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!
Today Rachel Brimble will be talking about the best writing advice she ever received and how it helped her.
“Give yourself permission to write a ‘crappy’ first draft…” Julie Cohen
* This was it! This single line of advice changed my career and output in one glorious blow. I was at a resident writing course and the tutor (and fabulous women’s fiction author!), Julie Cohen said this to her avid students and the lightbulb didn’t just go off in my head, it darn near exploded!
* By nature, I am a worrier of ridiculous proportions – added to the often introvert nature of most writers, and I was struggling to move forward with my work. Instead, I was constantly battling the continuing self-doubt that the writing was good enough…that I was good enough.
* I think I received this advice in 2010 and since then I’ve heard it been given many times in one form or another. So, what does it really mean and how did it help me?
* Well, it’s not exactly encouraging you to write a ‘crappy’ first draft – what it is encouraging is freedom. Liberty to write how you want, what you want, and go with the characters action/reactions/wants/desires. Once I started writing this way and finally destroyed that pesky internal editor once and for all, not only did I fall in love with writing again, but my output quadrupled overnight.
* That first draft is still my favourite place to be – I am a plotter, I make character sketches, chapter plans and even write a synopsis before I start the actual writing. However, once I start, I really start. Bells, whistles, foghorns, you name it, everything pours out of me in that first draft and if things turn away from my plan, I run with it. After all, my characters know themselves better than I do!
* So, several weeks later I’m done. The first draft is in the bag. THE END is written.
* What next?
* The hard part, of course! Did I say writing was easy? Did I say the ‘crappy’ first draft means you’ll never sweat, cry or bleed again? Nope. Writing is hard, will always be hard and there’s no shortcut to getting it right, BUT this is a great way to produce a finished book, to get to that all-important end so you have pages and pages of good (and not so good) material to edit, tweak and change.
* It’s a process – one that I absolutely love and, God willing, I won’t have to do anything for a living ever again.
* Happy writing!
* Rachel x
A look into…
~ Blurb ~
* When local journalist, Tori Peterson, fails to prevent a child abduction outside her niece’s school, her horror and guilt sparks a vow to do whatever it takes to get little Abby Brady home to her parents.
* While Tori battles the vile memories of her own kidnapping as a child, she accepts the help of widowed father, Mark Bolton. As he and Tori join forces with the local police, their attraction and intimacy grows…along with their fears for Abby.
* Links are uncovered between Abby’s disappearance and Tori’s kidnapping, and Tori is forced to accept the monster who held her captive is back. But this time, Tori is all grown up, and there is no way she will let him hurt another little girl.
~ Excerpt ~
* Sensing her discomfort, he stopped and leaned against the bureau. God, did he frighten her? Surely not, or she wouldn’t be here. Or did she sense his attraction toward her and would do all she could to deflect it? He didn’t doubt for one minute his eyes gave away his appreciation whenever he looked at her.
* He lifted the can to his lips. “So, what have you been thinking about?”
* She tapped a peach-painted nail on the bureau. “This.”
* “The bureau?”
* “Principal White’s bureau.”
* He frowned. “How did you know it was hers?”
* “She mentioned you were working on a bureau for her when I was in the school office. I assumed this is it.”
* “It is.”
* “Good, because that makes it all the easier for me to give you your first assignment.”
* “You want me to talk to her.”
* She smiled, took a few tentative steps closer to him. “Got it in one, Watson.”
* He smiled, pleased to see genuine mischief shining in her eyes. “I’m Watson?”
* “Yep.”
* “So that makes you Holmes. Not sure I like being anyone’s sidekick.”
* Another couple of steps closer until no more than a couple of feet separated them. She met his eyes and his heart kicked. Her V-neck shirt was just the right side of professional. Yet, the way it revealed her collarbones and hugged her full breasts made him want to reach out and pull her into his arms, kiss her, taste her…
* “You’re staring, Watson.”
* He blinked and snapped his gaze from her breasts, rare heat hitting his face. “Sorry. You look nice.”
* “Thanks.” She raised her eyebrows and nodded toward his chest. “So do you.”
* He smiled. “Why don’t we go inside? It’s way too hot out here.”
Buy If I Want You here…
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Wild Rose Press
Find Rachel Brimble here…
Amazon Author Page | Blog | Facebook | Facebook Street Team | Goodreads | Twitter | Website
Thank you for joining us here today, Rachel Brimble! It was a pleasure getting to know you and your story.
ANNOUNCEMENT! Rachel Brimble will be awarding a $20 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour! So be sure to leave a comment AND use this RAFFLECOPTER LINK to enter the drawing. Also, visit the other tour stops for a greater chance of winning!
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