Inspiration, Setting & My Writing Life by Rachel Brimble

September 1, 2018 | By Rachel Brimble | 1 Reply More

The Mistress of Pennington’s is my twenty-first book and the first in a brand-new Edwardian series set in Bath’s finest department store. I am SO excited for readers to grab a copy of what I hope they will find to be an enjoyable historical romance/saga series which encompasses a whole host of colourful and interesting characters.

Inspired by Mr Selfridge and The Paradise but, as much as I loved these shows, something was always missing for me. After the shows finished, they remained on my mind until I couldn’t ignore their pestering any longer. I soon worked out what had been missing and decided to write my own Edwardian department store series. So, I hear you ask, what was missing?

Female empowerment! I desperately wanted to dig deeper into the women’s issues of the time and explore the pioneering women who stepped forward to pave the way for changes we are all lucky enough to have today. Through my research, I discovered not a few but tens of women who made their mark during the early 1900s and their stories enthralled me. I knew immediately that I hadn’t just found inspiration for one book, but possibly, three or four.

Once I knew the theme of the series, I eagerly started to write and soon Elizabeth Pennington pushed herself forward as my first heroine. The Mistress of Pennington’s is about women in business, forging forward in a male-dominated world while falling in love, working with colleagues and coping with family troubles and woes. Reviewers have been describing it as fast-paced, addictive, full of romance and intrigue!

The series is set in the famous city of Bath, England which is just a short thirty-minute drive from where I live. As one of the world’s most visited tourist attractions, Bath is a beautiful Georgian and Regency town steeped in history and stunning architecture. Pennington’s Department Store is situated on Milsom Street which is in the very centre of Bath, not far from the beautiful residential streets of The Circus and Royal Crescent.

There are so many landmarks in Bath that I had a plethora of destinations to send my characters for trouble as well as places to enjoy themselves. Elizabeth and her hero, Joseph Carter, visit The Pump Rooms, Pulteney Bridge, Royal Crescent, Victoria Park and many other streets and areas. I’m blessed to live to such a wonderful city and use Bath as often as possible in my work.

So, what is a typical day of work for me?

Well, I’m lucky enough to be able to work full-time so I consciously treat my days as I would if I worked out of the home. I am usually at my computer by 8.30am and work until 5.30pm with a couple of dog walks in between. My mad chocolate Labrador is my most devoted companion and the reason I get out of the house at least twice a day. If it wasn’t for him, I’d been willingly chained to my desk all day, without a break.

I literally LOVE my job! I can’t imagine doing anything else and, over the years, writing has become a compulsion rather than something I do. I can’t NOT do it! You only need to ask my husband and children what sort of person I become when I’m away from my computer for more than two days at a time. I even take my laptop on holiday with me…just in case.

My writing process has been honed over the thirteen years I’ve been seriously writing toward publication and I can safely say I’ve found the process that works for me when plotting and writing novels. Of course, being a novelist involves a lot more than just writing books. We also do a lot of promotion work which includes blog posts, interviews, public appearances and guest workshops.

However, for the actual writing itself, I start each book trawling the internet for pictures of my heroine, heroine and villain (if I have one). As well as the main characters physicality, I like to have an idea of the homes they live in, where they work and their favourite pastimes. All these pictures are printed off and posted on the noticeboard above my desk.

As you’ve probably guessed, I am a very visual writer and these pictures keep me grounded in the story, the people and their world. Once I have all those elements in mind, I write character sketches for the main characters which often produces their goals, motivations, inner and outer conflicts. Next comes a chapter plan which involves a paragraph or two of what will happen in each chapter and this leads to a (fairly!) easily written 4-5 page synopsis.

Planning done, I dive into the writing. For me, the most productive way to write is to completely finish the first draft without looking back. The hard part comes during the following drafts when I polish and polish until I feel I’ve produced my best work.

Writing is incredibly hard work, but fun and I hope I don’t have to do anything else for many years to come.

Happy Writing (and reading!)!

Rachel x

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Rachel lives with her husband and two teenage 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 brand new Edwardian series set in Bath’s finest department store. The first book, The Mistress of Pennington’s released July 2018.

Rachel is a member of the Romantic Novelists Association and Romance Writers of America, and was selected to mentor the Superromance finalist of So You Think You Can Write 2014 contest. 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.

She likes nothing more than connecting and chatting with her readers and fellow romance writers. Rachel would love to hear from you!

Links:

Facebook Street Team – Rachel’s Readers

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

About The Mistress Of Pennington’s

1910. Elizabeth Pennington should be the rightful heir of Bath’s premier department store through her enterprising schemes and dogged hard work. Her father, Edward Pennington believes his daughter lacks the business acumen to run his empire and is resolute a man will succeed him.

Determined to break from her father’s iron-clad hold and prove she is worthy of inheriting the store, Elizabeth’s forms an unlikely alliance with ambitious and charismatic master glove-maker Joseph Carter. United they forge forward to bring Pennington’s into a new decade, embracing woman’s equality and progression whilst trying not to mix business and pleasure.

Can this dream team thwart Edward Pennington’s plans for the store? Or will Edward prove himself an unshakeable force who will ultimately ruin both Elizabeth and Joseph?

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