Hey everyone! Today Rachel Brimble stops by to talk about Reluctant Witness!
- Howdy! Please introduce yourself, tell us an interesting fact about you, and if you were an animal, what would it be?
Hi, my name is Rachel Brimble and I am a romance writer who writes across the genre from contemporary romance to historical to comedy. Interesting fact – I was rescued by helicopter from the French floods last year. If I was an animal, I would be a squirrel. Always rushing around and always busy, busy, busy!
- Tell us a bit about your book--something you wouldn't find in the blurb.
The heroine’s conflict keeping her from being the hero was inspired by a real life killing of a student by an overzealous cop.
- What was your inspiration for this story?
LOL! See question 2 – although the story itself was inspired by another news story where an elderly man was killed in a close-knit community. It made me think what a ripple effect his death would have on people and I wanted to explore that.
- Do you consider yourself a plotter or a pantser?
I used to be a plotter but for the last two books, I am becoming more of a combination. I write a synopsis and character sheets and then basically write a ‘dirty’ draft without stopping. The hard work comes in the revision…
- When diving into a new work, how much research do you do and how do you go about doing it?
I tend to research, as and when I need to – when I write my contemporaries, my research is very much based in my own experiences. For my historicals, things get a little more complicated and required a lot of hours reading!
- If you could be one character from your book, who would it be and why?
Julia (the heroine) – she is feisty and independent yet kind and loving. Most of all, she gets to kiss Daniel, who is absolutely delicious!
- And if you had to be stuck in an elevator for 42 hours with one of your characters…?
Daniel – see question 6 ; )
- What was the hardest part of writing this book?
The plotting – as it is with each book I write. I do not find plotting easy and often go back and rewrite a lot of the books in the second and third drafts. With romantic suspense, the plotting is even more intense and can become very complex. I use a lot of charts and post-it notes!
- Why romantic suspense? Do you write any other subgenres of romance?
Romantic suspense is my favourite genre to read so became the first books I wrote – however, since then I have moved on to write contemporary, Victorian historical and comedy. I love them all but do intend to write another romantic suspense after the straight contemporary I am writing right now.
- What books have most influenced your writing or your outlook on life in general?
All of Jodi Picoult’s books influenced my writing and outlook on life – I think she is a master at making the reader think about moral dilemmas. Even though I don’t write those types of books, I do like making my readers think about what they would do in the heroine’s or hero’s situation.
- Quick! The Departed, Shutter Island, or Inception?
Eek, The Departed!
- Anything I didn't ask you about that you want to shout out to the world?
Please come visit me at my website, blog and Twitter sites – I have author guests on my blog every Tuesday and Thursday with lots of opportunity to win free books. Come by and say hi!
Reluctant Witness - Blurb
Professional singer Julia Kershaw is leaving town and moving on with her life. She desperately needs an escape from her mother’s grief over the loss of Julia’s brother – shot and killed by an overzealous cop – and an ex-boyfriend who refuses to accept it’s over.
But when she becomes the sole witness to the murder of a man she has known all her life, how can she leave without helping to find his killer? But how can she work with a cop after everything the police have put her family through?
When Detective Inspector Daniel Conway is removed from the city chaos he thrives on, and sent to a sleepy seaside town, the last thing he expects is a murder case. With an impeccable record that he intends to keep that way, for both personal and professional reasons, he refuses to allow his very beautiful, sexy – and secretive to walk away from the case. Or him.
Buy Link:
http://thewildrosepress.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=89_78&products_id=1011
