Rachel Brimble Inteview & Giveaway

Hello Rachel Brimble. Thank you to taking the time to stop by. I am honored to have you here.

To start would you mind telling the readers a little about yourself?

I live in the UK near the wonderful Georgian City of Bath with my husband, two young daughters and Labrador, Max. I work part-time with my husband and write the rest of the time (with the odd mad half an hour of housework thrown in!)

What can you tell us about The Arrival of Lily Curtis?

Most of all is how much I loved writing it! It is a fun, sensual and moving read set in 1890s England against the backdrop of a small town outside of Bath called Colerne. Here is the blurb:

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…

The Arrival of Lily Curtis is your first historical, did you find it different than writing contemporaries? Did you have to do a lot of research for it?

It was different in that my mindset was altered entirely when writing it – I became Lily back in Victorian Britain, back in a time when independent thought for a woman was frowned upon. I could hear the accents and tones of the characters’ voices, their speech came very easily to me and hope it takes the reader back to a time that I find absolutely fascinating.

The researched as I needed to with regard to costume, rituals, dos and don’ts of the time – but as this is romance, the emotion is pretty much the same as when I am writing a contemporary. Whether 1811 or 2011, love feels and can hurt in the same way.

You have some wonderful humorous scenes in The Arrival of Lily Curtis. Which is more difficult to write: the humorous or romantic scenes? Any specific reason?

I LOVE writing humor, it comes out in all my books. I always seem to have at least one funny character who pushes his or her way forward – and it’s not necessarily the hero or heroine. I enjoy writing most scenes but I must admit my humorous scenes tend to fly from my fingertips more than the others.

The reason? I think because I tend to ‘see’ the people as they are laughing or joking, or falling down, or messing up in some way. It’s a great relief from the emotion for me – and the reader.

I have to admit to being surprised at having Elizabeth’s parents willing to help her find a position and ‘let’ her try earning her own way (being the housemaid and all) instead of her having to run away from them and the forced marriage. I can’t imagine parents of this time actually going along with this plan…How/why did you think these two would?

This issue has come up several times by people who have read the book – my intention when I came up with this plot was to explore a different way of thinking. To my mind not everyone could have possibly gone along with the rules of convention otherwise how would anything have ever changed?

I wanted Lily to be strong and determined – where did this come from? Maybe her parents weren’t as set in their ways as others? Maybe she’d been encouraged and really listened to as a child and that explains their willingness to let her try her own way on the understanding if she fails, their word is final.

I really like what the little we see of the old Earl. He is much nicer than we expect (and I love that he loved Andrew’s mother). I had hoped to see more of him. Can you tell us anything more about him?

The old Earl was a surprise to me too, LOL! He was necessary cog that needed to appear in the story in order to give the reader more of Andrew’s backstory and internal motivation. I am so happy you enjoyed the scene between them!

He is a jolly soul who loves life, family and home – he is torn up at his son’s emotional revelation and encourages him to do what is in his heart. He is a warm and loving man and an absolute joy to write.

Of course I have to ask why choose to make Lily a housemaid (verses something like a governess for a cousin or such)?

Well, that part was inspired by a TV drama I was watching at the time in which I fell in love with the ‘downstairs’ staff. I knew I wanted to write a story that I could involve a cast of characters that would each bring out something different in Lily. I wanted to see how she would react being plucked from one side of society to another and then her actions when the two merged. I hope it worked!

One thing I am confused about: Elizabeth’s father is a lawyer, her family is middle class. Yet sometimes she is referred to as a Lady (i.e. low Title). Is she actually titled? If so, does that make her middle class or lower upper class? And where does all that fall in what is acceptable for a Viscount to marry?

Lily is not titled, but a daughter of a wealthy lawyer – she is a lady in that she has been educated as much as was acceptable, groomed for dancing, entertaining and running a household of her own one day. She would have been considered upper middle class and her marrying a Viscount who is so different is what the romance of the story is about. I want readers to be swept away by Lily and Andrew’s emotions when they come together, to fight with them against conventionality and cheer on their success.

Sometimes people forget that in historical romance, writers are focusing on the relationship, the romance, the fight against all odds (both external and internal) rather than focusing on the social restriction of the times. That’s for the unromantic historicals which I also love!

Andrew, the Viscount, may be the first regular (undamaged by war or such) nobleman in a historical romance I’ve read in a while that isn’t a rake (womanizer). Any reason you didn’t make him a rake?

Not really, he just didn’t come to me as one! The Arrival of Lily Curtis actually started with Andrew’s character before Lily’s. I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to take my mum for afternoon tea in a stately home near to where I live. I had never been in the house before but the moment I stepped into the drawing room, I knew I’d stepped into my new hero’s home.

Within days I knew Andrew would be a different kind of historical romance hero – a good man, a decent man, a man who wanted to love and laugh…but a man for whom all that seemed impossible.

Andrew’s friend, Charles, comes across as mean and selfish from the beginning. Is there a reason why Andrew doesn’t see his faults as a real problem? Is this part of the Aristocracy being superior or is Andrew just blind to his long-term friend?

Andrew does see his faults – but doesn’t necessarily see them as a problem. Until Lily. Lily is the first woman, the first anything that means the world to him. Yes, he respects and appreciates his lineage, wants to do right by his father and his staff but he holds things like social expectancy and etiquette in low concern. Charles’ temper tantrums and immaturity have not affected his life before because Andrew purposely mollified him. That changes when Lily become Andrew’s everything.

Along those lines: The ending was great, but felt a little opened (or in need of an epilogue). Does that mean there could be a second book or a follow up with background characters? Also do you see yourself writing more historical romances in the future?

I haven’t considered a follow up with the characters from Lily BUT I have just finished my second Victorian romance where one of the female secondary characters in that book is screaming at me to write her story so that may be next.

BUT I also have a series tip-tapping at my brain set in a country estate and revolving around the downstairs staff…

When did you know that you wanted to be a writer? Was your family and friends supportive?

It feels like I’ve known forever but I really started writing in earnest when both my daughters started at school full-time six years ago. First of all my writing was treated as a bit of a ‘hobby’ by other people (except my lovely, lovely husband!) but once I was published in novel form, that changed and now my family and friends are one hundred percent behind me and wish me huge success for the future.

What is the writing process like for you? Do you have a particular writing process or any writing rituals?

Once a character or idea comes to me, I usually sit down and write a five or six double-spaced synopsis in the first instance. This serves as my skeleton. I then write character worksheets for my hero and heroine, which often lead to tweaking the synopsis! Then I sit down and write my ‘dirty draft’.

This is just as it sounds – I write from beginning to the end without stopping. I make little notes maybe of pages and situations I’m not sure about but really I just keep going until the end. It’s at draft two the real work begins!

To paraphrase Nora Roberts, it’s easier to edit a written page than a blank one!

What are you currently working on? Anything you can share regarding your current Work in Progress?

I am working on two stories right now – one is a romantic suspense novella set in a mountainous region of North Wales and the other is a contemporary romantic comedy set in south west England involving a sex shop in a small town…

Is there anything else you would like to share with us?

Yes, I would love to see more visitors to my blog! I host guest authors every Tuesday and Thursday as well as lots of other things in between. There are often giveaways and contests as well as my all-important polls which help shape my stories.

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Giveaway: Rachel is giving away a pdf copy of The Arrival of Lily Curtis. To be entered to win please leave Rachel a question below. Contest ends March 18th at 11:50pm EST.