What 5 things should readers know about you?
- I haven’t had a professional haircut for 18 years – my hair is so curly, I can get away with my husband or teenage girls giving it a trim every now and then.
- I spend WAY too much time watching US crime dramas and UK period dramas
- I read while walking my dog – I am quite famous for this around my local area!
- I was in labor for 25 hours with my first daughter & three with my second – she was a shock to the system, lol!
- I am very proud of the fact that I have had everything I’ve ever written published.
Great answers! I especially like #2 🙂
Where did the inspiration for this book come from?
It sounds a little morbid, but I wrote this book after losing my beloved black Lab, Max. At 42, I am lucky that the pain and grief I suffered after his death was my first devastation on that scale. I truly thought I’d never write again, but as the weeks went by I realized that I could write through my pain. Trent and Izzy (my hero and heroine) started to talk to me and I soon learned they were battling incredible losses of their own and if they came together, they would find happiness again. Everything else took off from there!
I love that you were able to turn your grief into something productive.
How long have you been writing, and what (or who) inspired you to start?
I have been writing since I was a young girl with long breaks in between, but when my youngest started school full-time, I had a now or never moment. The Wild Rose Press published Searching For Sophie in 2007 and I’ve had at least one novel published every year since. I hope I continue to write for as long as I am able.
That’s great!
What are you working on right now? What can readers look for from you in the next year?
I am just plotting the next book in the Templeton Cove series as well as editing a new Edwardian novel which I hope will be the first in an ongoing series. So far next year, I only have one book scheduled for release and that will be book seven in the Templeton Cove series, tentatively titled Her Healing Heart, which will be out in August 2017.
I’m intrigued by the Edwardian novel… 🙂
What are you currently reading, and what are your thoughts about it so far?
The Borgia Bride by Jeanne Kalogridis & Black Magick by Nora Roberts – I usually have two books on the go at any one time. One is usually a big book that I read in bed and the other is smaller and more portable (to read while walking the dog!).
I am enjoying learning more about the infamous Borgias and The Borgia Bride has everything a ‘big’ novel should – intrigue, sex and scandal. Fabulous! Black Magick is the third in Nora’s Cousins O’Dwyer trilogy and I am really enjoying it. It’s romance mixed with family, friends and magick. Wonderful!
The Kalogridis sounds great! Adding to my TBR now…
If you had to “sell” your book in a single Tweet, what would you say?
Saved By The Firefighter – Explosive romance, unbearable grief & the wonderful rewards of fighting through the flames to find true love
Perfect! Thanks so much, Rachel!
Rachel lives with her husband and two teenage daughters in a small town near Bath in the UK. After having several novels published by small US presses, she secured agent representation in 2011. Since 2013, she has had six books published by Harlequin Superromance (Templeton Cove Stories) and recently signed a contract for two more. She also has four Victorian romances with eKensington/Lyrical Press.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!
Izzy concentrated on selecting the appropriate lens, desperately trying to dispel the images of what Trent was doing from running through her imagination. Each image was more pornographic than the one before. Her heart skipped as the shower abruptly stopped, followed by his footsteps as he re-entered the studio.
She raised her head. Oh, for the love of God…
His black firefighter-issue trousers were tucked into steel-capped boots, red suspenders dangling, leaving his torso and chest bare. His thick, glossy hair matched the dark line running from his navel to the waistband of those stupidly, sexy trousers. Izzy licked her lips as her body hummed with arousal.
Mr. April…
The idea to douse Trent in an April shower had come to her in the middle of the night. A sexily splendid idea. She’d battled with the decision to change the design over and over––but had kept to her creative plan. How the hell was she to know how much his glistening skin would turn her on?
“You want me on the sheets, right?”
“We’ll start there, yes.”
He grinned, his eyes dancing in such a happy and sexy way, Izzy fought to maintain every ounce of willpower not to jump him there and then. Instead, she stepped forward and put her eye to the camera lens, taking in more of what her mind and body had already been exposed. Her mouth drained dry. God, he was beautiful. The golden-bronze sheen of his skin, the hardened ridge of his wide shoulders leading down to arms, sinewy with muscle and tendons. A body like his wasn’t something a woman saw on a daily basis.
She took a few shots, before pulling back and meeting his cool, green gaze. “Step toward the back a little. That’s it. I need a bit of breathing space.”
He smiled. “Got it.”
Biting back her smile, Izzy returned to the camera, her heart beating out of control. His voice––and smile––were torture as she continued with her plan of slow seduction. The plan wasn’t working in quite the way she anticipated. Trent had the benefit of being covered in water, whereas she was burning up…everywhere.
Thank you for hosting SAVED BY THE FIREFIGHTER today!
Crystal, Tasty Book Tours
My pleasure! 🙂