Start the week with RACHEL BRIMBLE

Belatedly coming to her senses, Lily dropped her gaze and curtsied. “My lord.”

Lord Westrop coughed and cleared his throat. She watched him place his drink on a small side-table from beneath lowered lashes.

“You must be the new housemaid.” He turned and came towards her. “Lily, isn’t it?”

“Yes, sir.” Lifting her head, she met eyes as blue as a crisp winter sky.

He continued to study her. His eyes brushed over her hair, her neck, her breasts. Lily flicked a glance left and right as her body traitorously heated beneath his gaze. The other gentlemen watched, amusement twitching their lips.

“Are you ready to be seated in the dining room, my lord?” Lily said, standing a little straighter.

“I’m sorry?”

“Your meal, sir?”

Lord Westrop blinked and the tension broke. Lily held his gaze. She noticed the curiosity when he looked at her not a moment before had vanished, only to be replaced with mischief—or was it guilt?

His smile turned wolverine. “Oh, I’m more than ready to eat, Lily. I’m positively salivating.”

Lily smarted as his friends burst into a flurry of mocking laughter, but kept her eyes locked on his. The tone of Lord Westrop’s voice disguised neither the implication nor his obvious enjoyment at her expense. A flame of indignation ignited inside of her.

Her smile was slow and intentionally provocative. “I am so pleased, sir. For I would hate for you to have to endure cold soup.” Her gaze lingered down to his crotch. “After all, you are quite obviously still chilled from an afternoon of riding.”

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You just read an excerpt from:
The Arrival of Lily Curtis
by
Rachel Brimble
The Wild Rose Press
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Today, we’re here with published author, Rachel Brimble.


Linda Kage: Hi, Rachel! Tell us a little about you and what you write please.

Rachel: I live in the UK with my husband, two young daughters, a Labrador, two hamsters and a goldfish. We are happy…most of the time. When I’m not working part-time, or taking my girls here, there and everywhere or doing the housework, I find time to write romance. I am published in contemporary romance, historical romance, romantic comedy and romantic suspense. And soon, erotic romance under the pen name Rachel Leigh.

Kage: That's quite a repertoire of sub genres. What happened to the first book you ever wrote?

Rachel: I am fortunate enough to be able to say, it was published! Searching For Sophie was my very first novel and The Wild Rose Press accepted it in 2007. Up until ‘Sophie’ I had only written short stories for ezines and women’s weekly magazines as well as every contest going!

Kage: Wow, I'm jealous. So, along with Searching For Sophie, What’s your backlist and coming soon bookshelf look like?

Rachel: My published books are:
-Searching For Sophie (suspense) – The Wild Rose Press
-Reluctant Witness (suspense) – The Wild Rose Press
-The Sharp Points of a Triangle (comedy) – Eternal Press
-The Arrival of Lily Curtis (historical) – The Wild Rose Press
Coming Soon
-Transatlantic Loving (contemporary novella) coming September 29th 2010 – The Wild Rose Press
- Getting It Right This Time (contemporary) coming January 2011 – Lyrical Press

Kage: So, what story are we going to talk about today?

Rachel: My latest release is my first historical, The Arrival of Lily Curtis which was published in July by The Wild Rose Press. Here’s the blurb:

********************BLURB********************
The Arrival of Lily Curtis
by
Rachel Brimble
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…
*********************************************

Kage: What would the story be rated if it were a movie?

Rachel: PG-13 (I think - I hail from the UK, our ratings are different – it would be a 15 here!).

Kage: I had no idea there were different rating systems. I apologize; I'm so Americanized. Don't leave the farm much! But on with the interview. If you HAD to fit this story into a cliché, which one would it be?

Rachel: Voyage to discovery

Kage: Okay, now that we have a general idea which class to fit Lily Curtis under, what makes this story so unique from every other book out there?

Rachel: For me, what makes this story different than other Victorian historicals because I wanted to put a huge dose of fun and laughter as well as everything else in there. I think this quote from one of its reviews sums things up!

Ms Brimble has crafted a tale about a woman who wants independence and is willing to live a sham life to get it. I laughed, I had tummy tugs and flutters, I gasped and almost cried. Together this work was wrapped into a very pleasant package that I will be reading many times over the next several years :)
Seriously Reviewed – August 2010

Kage:Great review! What was the easiest part to write?

Rachel: Definitely the dialogue – both Lily (heroine) and Andrew (hero) spoke to me constantly. The connection is so palpable between them, their conversations ran from my fingers with very little trouble. I was sorry to say goodbye to them if I’m honest! This book ended up being at least 10,000 words longer than I planned.

Kage:What do you like most about the main character(s) and what do you like least? Did you learn anything from them?

Rachel: With Lily, the best thing is her gumption, her resolve that anything is possible – the worst? Her inability to give up her idea of independence and realize Andrew is perfect for her!

Andrew – Best is his naughty sense of humor and broody sexiness. Worst – his self-loathing before Lily opens his eyes and makes him see that past mistakes need to be learned from and forgotten.

Kage: Rachel, Thank you so much for stopping by today and gracing us with your presence. Before we go, is there anything else you’d like to say to wrap things up?

Rachel: Yes! One more thing is I’d love more readers to drop by my blog on Tuesdays and Thursdays. On these days, I have a guest authors visiting with me and it’s a great way to discover new writers and find out more about them.
Thank you so much for this opportunity, Linda – hope to meet again soon!

Now that Rachel has totally made us want to buy her work, she was kind enough to provide us with buy links for : The Arrival of Lily Curtis and The Sharp Points of a Triangle

If you're still curious about Rachel, here are other places to find her on the web :

Website: Rahcel Brimble , Rachel Leigh

Blog: http://www.rachelbrimble.blogspot.com/ and http://www.rachelleighromance.blogspot.com/