Chatting to Rachael Thomas

I'm delighted to be chatting to romance author Rachael Thomas on my blog today. I met Rachael in 2007, on a Relax and Write weekend run by Lois Maddox, when we were both at the start of our respective writing journeys.  Living in Wales, we've both been regular attendees on Kate Walker's fabulous writing courses at Fishguard over the years, as well as at the RNA annual conferences. I was so proud to share Rachael's Harlequin Mills & Boon 'call' moment in January 2014 - which came during a very exciting lunch-time get-together!  Since then, she has written sixteen books for HM&B and has recently embarked on a new writing venture, so read on to find out more...

Thanks for joining me on my blog today, Rachael, it’s great to have you here. Could you begin by telling my readers something about yourself?

I’m a massive fan of reading, especially romance. I’ve also written romances which have been published by Mills & Boon and I’ve also self-published too. I live and work on a farm in West Wales and juggle my time between looking after the calves (my job on the farm!) and writing. I love being in nature, walking with my faithful golden retriever, Poppy, as well as exploring the local countryside, but love an adventure too! I’ve always been intrigued by history and love the mystery of castle far more than the grandeur of a stately home but will happily spend a day in either.

What inspired you to start writing and when?

I’ve wanted to be a writer since I was about nine years old. I can’t remember a time when I didn’t have my nose in a book. Then when I was a teenager, I discovered Mills & Boon at my local library and knew that was what I wanted to write. Some twenty years after that realisation, I finally achieved my dream.

You’ve written both Mills & Boon category romance and now women’s fiction/romance– what have you found the main differences in approach? Which do you prefer writing and why?

Women’s fiction/romance has more room for exploring the protagonist as well as meeting a wider cast of characters, which I love. But then I also love the intensity of a category romance, the focus on the hero and heroine. Both explore the emotional journey, and both excite me as much as the other. Maybe I won’t be able to entirely give up writing category!

What kind of background/setting/character research do you do for your romance novels?

Primarily, my attention is focused on the characters. I love delving into their emotional background, discovering the events that have shaped who they are when they first appear in my imagination.
  

Have you a favourite among all the books you’ve written so far?  And why this one in particular?

I have two for this – the first is A Deal Before the Altar, my first M&B title in 2014. I’d just received a standard rejection on another story. Doubts crept in and I really thought I couldn’t write, so I told myself to write what I really wanted to write, what was in my heart. That book was the result and the one that turned me into a published author. Then in 2019, whilst waiting for editorial feedback on a book, which with revisions, had changed so much from the original story idea that it didn’t feel like mine, I wrote The Greek’s Outrageous Marriage Deal. Again, a story of my heart and for no other reason that to have fun with writing. It’s now my best-selling self-published category romance. So, I guess the lesson in that is, write what excites you, have fun and enjoy the process!

Describe your typical writing day...

I once read a bit of advice, write in the cracks of life, and to be honest, that’s how I tend to work now as the last few years have been so disruptive on a personal level as well as generally. I like to plan out a schedule for writing a book, then give myself a deadline and with it, a weekly wordcount. It doesn’t always work but certainly helps.

Can you tell me about your new book Starlight and Second Chances, which I believe is the first of a trio? I love the title, by the way!

This is a second chance at love story. Megan returns home to Dolphin Bay to inherit her Gran’s cottage but that means not only facing Luke, the first love she’d walked away from, but the past she’s been running from. This is the first book in a series and I’m currently writing the second in the series, Seashells and New Beginnings. 

Finally, do you have a top writing tip to share?

Write every day. Even if it’s only a few sentences and never stop believing in yourself and your dream.

Starlight & Second Chances (Dolphin Bay Book 1)

Twelve years after she left for London, an inheritance from her grandmother, sees Megan return to her childhood home of Dolphin Bay. But reuniting with old friends brings her face to face with Luke – the love she left behind. She’s not the same girl anymore, but that doesn’t stop the attraction which sizzles between them.

Luke never forgot the girl he lost his heart to all those years ago, and her return proves that his feelings for her are stronger than ever. He can see Megan has been hurt by the past and is determined to play it cool. But what he wants is to convince her to give them – and Dolphin Bay – a second chance.

 

Buy on Amazon

You can find Rachael on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter and visit her website.

https://www.facebook.com/rachaelthomasromancewriter

https://www.instagram.com/rachaelthomasromanceauthor/

https://twitter.com/rachaeldthomas

https://rachaelthomas.co.uk/

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