Book Tour Stop: Love's Debt by Rachel Brimble (Interview + Giveaway)

Today we welcome Rachel Brimble, who is currently on tour for her new book, Love's Debt.

I had the pleasure of asking Rachel about books, the English countryside and her future plans:

LSTW: What's the last book you read? What's the next book you plan to read?
Rachel: The last book I read was Vision in White by Nora Roberts, the first in her Bride quartet so I am now reading book two, Bed of Roses. Nora is my favorite romance author and I’m loving this series so will definitely be finishing all four one after the other.

I’m usually reading more than one book AND one genre and right now I am also reading The Darling Strumpet by Gillian Bagwell, a novel based on the infamous lover of Charles II, Nell Gwyn. Highly recommended!

LSTW: What's your favorite thing about living on the English countryside?
Rachel: The beautiful scenery and places to walk my beloved black Labrador, Max. I am lucky enough to be within a thirty-minute drive of the Georgian city of Bath in one direction and the gorgeous countryside thirty minutes drive in the other. I truly love where I live – it is full of historical detail and landmarks, which provides a wealth of inspiration when I’m looking for my next story idea.

LSTW: You've written both contemporary and historical romance -- what's the greatest challenge about shifting time periods?
Rachel: I don’t find a challenge switching genres but there’s definitely a bigger challenge writing historical romance. I tend to focus on the emotion of the story rather than the historical detail in case I get anything wrong, lol! Love is timeless and emotions universal, so what any man or women felt in 1860 will be the same in 1960 and 2060.

I add historical flavor with setting, costume and social etiquette but the core of the story is the romance for which I can adopt the same writing method for both historical and contemporary.

LSTW: What's next for Rachel Brimble?
Rachel: I am SO excited about 2013! Firstly, I have just signed my second romantic suspense with Harlequin Superromance. The first of which will be released in February 2013. I am hoping this will be a trilogy so fingers crossed my editor will like book three enough to contract that one too!

Also, I have signed a two-book Victorian romance contract with Kensington. Unfortunately, I don’t have a confirmed release date for the first book but my editor is hoping for around May 2013. The second one is yet to be written but I completed the plan and hope to start writing in the next week or so. Wish me luck!

Congratulations on the book deal, Rachel! And, thank you, for dropping by my blog!

Rachel started her blog tour last September 24 and will be visiting blogs until October 3. Make sure to drop by her other stops! (For links, click here.)

Rachel is giving away 10 copies of her book. For a chance to win, fill out the Rafflecopter below.

* * *

About the Book:

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?

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.

Yet each step that took her across town weighed heavier and heavier. She’d seen where he and his father lived. It was little better than a hovel. She’d seen the newspapers stuffed around the window frames in an attempt to keep out the cold, the bare floorboards, and thick layers of soot from the fireplace spilling into the room. The landlady should be seeing to that, all of it. Bitter resentment furled in Milly’s stomach as her past flashed through her mind. She’d pulled her family from the gutter, and the future looked brighter than ever before.

Which didn’t help the nagging feeling that she could do more—wanted to do more to help Joseph. But she couldn’t. It would mean putting a hold on her own plans. All for a man she had hardly known more than two weeks.

She curled her hands into fists. This feeling inside her was new. This sense of wanting to fight for someone outside of her family. How had it gotten like this? To kiss him was bad enough, but to have this…this fear for him? That scared her more than anything.

* * *

A Little Bit More About Rachel Brimble:

Rachel lives with her husband and two young daughters in a small town near Bath in the UK. She started writing short stories about eight years ago but once her children were at school, she embarked on her first novel. It was published in 2007. Since then, she’s had several books published with small presses as well as securing her first contract with Harlequin Superromance in May 2012.

Represented by US agent Dawn Dowdle, of Blue Ridge Literary Agency, Rachel is a member of the Romantic Novelists Association and Romance Writers of America, 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. And in the evening? Well, a well-deserved glass of wine is never, ever refused ...

Contact Rachel at:
Website - http://www.rachelbrimble.com
Blog - http://rachelbrimble.blogspot.com
Twitter - https://www.twitter.com/rachelbrimble or @rachelbrimble
Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/pages/Rachel-Brimble/181873201887441

* * *

Giveaway!

Follow this VBT to enter the contest at each participating stop for a chance to win one of ten (10) eBook copies of "Love's Debt" by Rachel Brimble. More entries = more chances to win!

a Rafflecopter giveaway


For information on her other stops, click here.