Sharon Buchbinder: Interview with Rachel Brimble, Author of Her Hometown Redemption

Monday, September 7, 2015

Interview with Rachel Brimble, Author of Her Hometown Redemption

What made you decide to be an author?

I didn’t decide…writing decided me! I’ve written stories on and off since I was around eight years old. Once my youngest daughter started school full time in 2005, that was when I seriously began pursuing publication. The Wild Rose Press published my first novel, Searching For Sophie in 2007 and I haven’t looked back.

What do you like best about being a writer? What do you like the least?

The best part is holding the finished book in your hands…oh, and receiving those all-important five star reviews, lol!

The least is the plotting and I fear it always will be – at the start of every book, I wonder how I managed to ever write a book before. Each time is like agony to get started, but once I’m off, I love it.

How do you think your life experiences have prepared you for writing?

Ooh, difficult question! I have only used one of my own life events in one book so far (A Man Like Him – Harlequin Superromance), which was when my family and I were rescued by helicopter during the 2010 French floods. Having said that, I suppose I use a lot of my life experiences to evoke the emotion I am after – I’ve been in love, had my heartbroken, suffered bereavement and uncertainty. All emotions make for a great romance novel.

Have you ever felt as if you were being dictated to while you wrote a book--as if the words came of their own accord? If yes, which book did that happen with?

It’s difficult to name one book because this has (thankfully!) happened to me with each of my books during one scene, sometimes more – these are the moments that authors cherish and adore, lol!

You’ve written 17 novels and are working on an 18th novel. What’s your favorite time management tip?

I have 15 novels published, with 1 due out in March 2016 and another being shopped to publishers as we speak. My time management tip is not to get as stressed as I do most of the time, lol! More often than not, I am writing one book, editing another and promoting another. I am lucky enough to be able to write full-time so have absolutely no idea how authors write with full-time jobs or stay-at-home mums with little ones. What works for me is to treat my writing as a full-time job and work from 8.30am to 5.30pm five days a week. I spend an hour (sometimes two) on promtion first thing every morning and then the rest of the day editing or writing. My target is 2,000 words a day but that is not always possible!

Are you a plotter or a pantser, i.e., do you outline your books ahead of time or are you an “organic” writer?

I’m a bit of both! I start each book with a premise and then complete character sketches for my hero and heroine (and villain, if I have one). These sketches usually bring up the characters goals, motivations and conflicts. I then write a 3-4 page synopsis. With that done, I dive in and write the first draft from beginning to end without looking back. The hard work comes in the following drafts.

If you had one take away piece of advice for authors, what would it be?

This piece of advice came from one of my favorite writers, Julie Cohen – “Give yourself permission to write a crappy first draft.” Once I adopted that mindset, my output tripled!

Tell me more about Her Hometown Redemption

Blurb: She's back to right her wrongs

When Tanya Todd returns to Templeton Cove, she knows better than to expect a warm welcome. She burned a few bridges on her way out of town, and making amends won't be easy. First on her list is the man whose heart she carelessly shattered, Liam Browne.

Seeing the successful criminal lawyer after all these years, Tanya is interested in more than just Liam's forgiveness. As they work together to bring the man who hurt her sister to justice, the attraction between them sizzles. Suddenly Tanya's second chance could include a future with Liam…if she can prove she's change

How about an excerpt from Her Hometown Redemption

Hitching her bag onto her shoulder, Tanya pulled back her shoulders and approached Liam, trepidation ricocheting through her. What choice did she have but to talk to him? If she walked out without a word, things would only be harder the next time they met––and there would most definitely be a next time. There was always a next time in a place as small as Templeton.

His shoulders straightened beneath his crisp, white shirt as she neared. The music seemed to grow in volume, the beat matching her footsteps and the banging of her heart. When she was a safe distance away from him, Tanya stopped. “Hi.”

His crystal blue gaze bored into hers, his jaw tight and his mouth a thin line. The burning stares of the other patrons pricked at her skin, making her want to turn and face each of them down.

When it was clear Liam had nothing to say to her, Tanya inhaled. “Right, well, I guess I’ll see you around then.”

“Wait.”

She halted with her back to him. Let me go, Liam. Please. She briefly closed her eyes, before opening them and facing him. “What?”

“Why don’t you join me?” He waved toward the empty seat at his table. “It’s…good to see you.”

Tanya glanced at the seat, at him and then around the restaurant. Familiar faces swam in front of her. Faces she remembered from a different life, a different time. Kevin and Nick. Bianca and Ella. All people she should’ve known would still be here. People who thought they knew her and her mother, but never really knew or understood them at all.