BooksChatter: ℚ If I Want You

Today we have the pleasure of meeting up with author Rachel Brimble to talk about If I Want You (8 November 2017, The Wild Rose Press, Inc, 251 pages), a Contemporary Romantic Suspense.

Finding Justice - "If you are looking for a book that is full of emotion, suspense and a love between two people that never died, Finding Justice is it for you." ~ 5 stars and Recommended Read from Harlie's Book Reviews

Christmas At The Cove - "With a stunning ending, Christmas at the Cove is a fun, heart-warming & truly gratifying novel" ~ 5 stars - Reviewed The Book

What A Woman Desires - "I have added Rachel Brimble to my ever growing list of brilliant historical romance authors." ~ 5 stars - Cosmochicklitan

|| Synopsis || Trailer || Teaser: KCR Preview || Author Q&A || About the Author || Giveaway & Tour Stops ||

A very warm welcome back to fellow Brit Rachel Brimble; thank you for joining us on BooksChatter!

What was the inspiration for If I Want You?

"I am a huge fan of crime novels as well as TV dramas where there is some kind of suspense or mystery interwoven into the plot. I have wanted to write something more crime-related for a while, but I also wanted to write a relationship running through the main plot.

The idea for If I Want You came from me tapping into the worst thing that could happen to my family and all the emotions that come with it."

How much of yourself is reflected in this book, and how?

"I think there is a little bit of me in all my characters but, with IF I WANT YOU, it’s Tori Peterson (the heroine) who is more like me than any other character. Although I’ve never gone through anything as terrifying as Tori, I am a mother and her reaction to little Abby’s abduction is not far from how I would feel if I was thrown into her situation.

As I previously explained about the inspiration for this book, I wrote the entirety of this book pouring every emotion that erupted inside me as I wrote. I think this is a darker romantic suspense than my previous books but that’s because I was so completely invested in the character’s emotions and actions. It is a fast-paced novel because my heart was often racing as I was writing, lol!"

The first thing that draws me to a book is its cover. Can you tell us about your cover for If I Want You - why you chose that concept and who the artist is.

"Most of the time, authors don’t get to choose their cover (as was the case here) but, instead, we complete cover art sheets giving character descriptions, the general tone of the book and any significant objects or places.

I am thrilled with the result for IF I WANT YOU! I love the character interpretation and the red used. It suits the book and what readers can expect to find in its pages.

The wonderful artist is Kim Mendoza who also designed the other romantic suspense novels I have with The Wild Rose Press."

Why should we read If I Want You and what sets it apart from the rest?

"This book is steeped in twists, turns, steamy love scenes and glorious tension between the cast of characters I’ve created.

Set in a small English town, the setting is slightly different than what you’d normally find in books of this sub-genre.

The romance is strong, but so is the surrounding plot and I really hope my books give readers a thrilling, fast-paced tale that will stay in their minds a long time after they finished the final page."

Who would you recommend If I Want You to and what should readers be aware of (any warnings or disclaimers)?

"I would recommend this book to anyone who loves a gritty romantic suspense or even crime novels – this is a race against time story that I hope evokes an equal amount of tension and romance as the characters grow closer.

I can’t think of any warnings as readers know this is a child abduction story, but I promise I have written it with the utmost care and consideration."

If you could / wished to turn If I Want You into a movie, who would be your dream team?

"Fun! The actors I’d want is easy as I’m a very visual writer and start each book scouring the internet for pics of my hero and heroine.

I chose UK actor Harry Tressler for the hero and Darby Stanchfield (Scandal) for the heroine.

The location would be a place very close to where I grew up called Downend in the South West of England…not too sure about director, I really don’t have a preference if any production companies out there are reading this, lol!"

What do you like to write and read about? Do you stick to a particular genre or do you like to explore different ones?

"I write mainstream romance, romantic suspense and historical romance so romance is obviously my main passion but I do spread across the sub-genres. The only sub-genre I’d never write is paranormal – my imagination doesn’t stretch that far, unfortunately.

As for the subjects I choose, they are usually inspired by news stories, or something that I feel passionately about.

For my reading, I devour crime novels and biographies of past British kings and queens as well as historical fiction and, of course, romance."

What is your writing process?

"I am very much a plotter so I start each book with character sketches which usually produces the characters’ goals, motivations and conflicts. I then write a chapter plan with a brief summary of what will happen in each chapter as well as the effect on the character’s arc. From that, I can (usually) easily write a 3-4 page synopsis.

Then the writing begins. I write the first draft from start to finish without looking back – the hard part comes in the following drafts when I have the challenge of getting the frenzied writing into some sort of shape, lol!"

What is in store next?

"Next up, is book eight in my popular Templeton Cove Stories (Harlequin). All these books can be read stand-alone and set in a fictional seaside town on the South coast of England. The stories are a mix of mainstream and romantic suspense stories and feature different main characters and secondary characters. I have a cast of over thirty-five characters which can be difficult to juggle!

A Stranger In The Cove, a mainstream romance, will release January 1st 2018 and will be the final book in the series. I am super excited about this one as it revolves around the town’s matriarch, Marian Cohen, who has featured in every book except one. She is my pride and joy and I’m so excited for my devoted readers to discover her backstory."

And as a final quirky thing, to get to know you a little bit better... do you have a pet or something that is special to you that you could share with us?

"My heart and joy are my husband, kids and dogs – I lost my beloved black Labrador, Max back in 2015 and I was devastated which led to me writing Saved By The Firefighter (book 6 Templeton Cove).

I was struggling to get through my grief and so we adopted a new dog, Tyler, to help me through it. He is gorgeous and a huge part of our family. Here are pics of my family and my beloved dogs."

The Family

Rachel and Max

Max

Tyler

I always love to see pictures of your boy Max and of Tyler.
(Lots of head scratches to you, Tyler!)
And your family is simply stunning. Thank you for sharing!