by Rachel Brimble
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GENRE: Historical romance/saga
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BLURB:
1911 Bath. Banished from her ancestral home, passionate suffrage campaigner, Esther Stanbury works as a window dresser in Pennington’s Department Store. She has hopes and dreams for women’s progression and will do anything to help secure the vote.
Owner of the prestigious Phoenix Hotel, Lawrence Culford has what most would view as a successful life. But Lawrence is harbouring shame, resentment and an anger that threatens his future happiness.
When Esther and Lawrence meet their mutual understanding of life’s challenges unites them and they are drawn to the possibility of a life of love that neither thought existed.
With the Coronation of King-Emperor George V looming, the atmosphere in Bath is building to fever pitch, as is the suffragists’ determination to secure the vote.
Will Esther’s rebellious nature lead her to ruin or can they overcome their pasts and look to build a future together?
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Excerpt One:
His beautiful daughter beamed as she held the cricket set aloft, Nathanial standing tall and proud beside her. ‘Daddy bought me the cricket set.’
Miss Stanbury looked from Rose and Nathanial to Lawrence and back again, her face lighting with a smile. ‘Well, look at that. I’m so glad your father saw sense in the end.’ She met Lawrence’s gaze over their heads, her eyes glittering with victory. ‘That’s wonderful.’
He stared at her, his smile fixed and his heart pounding with frustration. Did the woman not see how condescending she sounded? ‘Wonderful or not. I thought it important you knew I am not the tyrant you clearly consider me.’ Dragging his gaze from hers, Lawrence looked at his children. ‘Come, Rose. Nathanial. Let’s leave the nice lady to her work.’ He took their hands before looking at Esther once more. ‘It was…interesting meeting you.’
Her gaze shadowed as she glared, her smile too bright to be sincere. ‘I hardly thought you a tyrant, Mr Culford.’
‘Good, then the matter is settled.’
He turned towards the department exit and didn’t look back…regardless of the almost overwhelming urge to do so.
The woman had infuriated him, bewildered him and left him feeling she’d ended the conversation on her terms once again. Damnation!
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Rachel lives with her husband and their two daughters in a small town near Bath in the UK. Since 2007, she 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 new Edwardian series set in Bath’s finest department store. The first book, The Mistress of Pennington’s released July 2018 with book two coming February 2019.
Rachel is a member of the Romantic Novelists Association and Romance Writers of America and has thousands of social media followers from all over the world. To sign up for her quarterly and new release newsletter, click here to go to her website: https://rachelbrimble.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rachelbrimbleauthor/?hl=en
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
Interview:
Where are you from? Tell us a little about yourself!
Thanks for having me here today! I’ve been married to my lovely husband for almost twenty-one years and we have two daughters (19 and 17). We live in a small market town near the famous city of Bath, England. My first book was published in 2007 and A Rebel At Pennington’s is my twenty-first.
When I’m not writing (which isn’t often!), I like to read, knit, watch the many crime and period dramas I love and socialize with friends.
Tell us about your book? How did it get started?
A Rebel At Pennington’s is the second book in my Pennington’s Department Store series (both books can be read stand alone) and is set against the backdrop of women’s suffrage. When I started the series, I wanted the theme to be ‘female empowerment’ and for each book to cover a women’s issue in the early 20th century.
Book 1 (The Mistress of Pennington’s) is about women struggling to be respected in business and book 3 (coming in the Autumn) will be about divorce.
How do you create your characters?
I start each book trawling the internet for pictures of my hero, heroine and villain (if I have one) and then I complete character sketches for each of them. This process usually provides me with their goals, motivations and conflicts.
This is the most important aspect of characterization – it’s an author’s job to know their characters inside out from what they like to eat, their biggest hopes and dreams to their deepest fears. More often than not, it’s the characters’ internal conflict that drives their decisions, actions and reactions so I always try to get a really good handle on that before I start writing.
Where do you write? Is there something you need in order to write (music, drinks?)
I am lucky enough to have a home office which is my haven – as I write full-time, I spend more time here than I do anywhere else in the house! I don’t have any particular needs when I write – I drink a lot of water and need silence to actually create. If I’m working on promo (blogs/interviews/social media), you’ll always find me listening to UK radio station, Magic FM, through my laptop J
How do you get your ideas for writing?
Ideas are everywhere! Setting is often a regular starting point for me – I am really inspired by buildings. Especially castles, stately homes, theatres etc. I love historical buildings! I also listen to the news for inspiration – truth is stranger than fiction, after all…
I also look to TV shows and movies and often contemplate how I would’ve written them differently – that is a regular tactic. Heck, The Pennington’s Department Store series was inspired by Mr Selfridge and The Paradise!
What would your advice to be for authors or aspiring in regards to writing?
Give yourself permission to write a crappy first draft – it’s the best writing advice I was ever given and I still stand by it with each and every book I write.
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GIVEAWAY INFORMATION and RAFFLECOPTER CODE:
Rachel Brimble will be awarding a $20 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
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