Books-n-Kisses is pleased to welcome Rachel Lyndhurst. We are talking about her new book Kidnapped by the Greek Billionaire.
Q1) Can you please share with us a little about yourself
Rachel: I live with my daughter, son and The Exec in Fareham, Hampshire, on the south coast of England and can sometimes smell the sea from my back garden.
I write full-time when my children are at school, but am still proud of my law degree and accountancy qualifications. I’ve worked in the space industry, pharmaceuticals, insurance, a supermarket, a bus station, a railway depot, and a lingerie department among others.
When not working, my hobbies include rummaging through antique shops, talking to our chocolate brown Rex rabbit and popping into Sainsbury’s. I’m also partial to the odd glass of wine and collect expensive lipstick like a maniac.
Q2) Have you always wanted to be an author?
Rachel: Not consciously. I spent my childhood wanting to be many things, including becoming a Concorde pilot, but the writing was always there. I loved writing silly stories including my friends and our imaginary adventures in the Maggot Club (don’t ask!), then there were the angsty teenage poems ridiculing boys that I fancied rotten. In my twenties the boring old office job improved when a subversive Viz-style comic came into being – it featured a character that looked like my boss quite heavily. I left that job soon after! After a decade working in as an accountant, I really did begin to think how wonderful it would be to become an author instead!
Q3) Who are some of your favorite writers? Who do you feel has influenced your writing?
Rachel: I have so many different favourite writers I’m not sure where to begin but they would include India Grey, Sue Moorcroft, George Orwell, Salman Rushdie and Howard Jacobson. No one author has influenced me, but reading 1984 by George Orwell as a teenager changed the way I looked at life for good.
Q4) How did you get into writing in this specific genre? Have you ever thought about writing in a different genre?
Rachel: I came across romance, specifically category romance, relatively recently. Being able to stuff a small paperback into my handbag and read short chunks at a time when the babies were asleep kept me sane in early motherhood. Like many aspiring authors, I read a few and thought ‘I could do this, how hard can it be?’ Six years later, here I am, it wasn’t that easy after all!
I’ve thought about writing in a different genre, yes, but I couldn’t bear a story without a happy ending or a developing emotional and physical connection between two people. I guess that narrows my choices. Oh, and I’ve never read a horror or crime novel, so that’s out. And blood, I don’t like gore. Also ghosts spook me. Actually romance suits me just fine!
Q5) What are some of your writing rituals?
Rachel: I’m not sure I actually have any rituals. I’m worried now that I should! I just try to get on with it most days, which isn’t always as easy as it sounds. I do faff about quite a bit and make lots of cups of tea…
Q6) Can you please tell us about your latest book?
Rachel: Here’s the blurb for my latest book with Entangled Indulgence, Kidnapped by the Greek Billionaire:
Kidnapped!
Or that’s what it feels like to Kizzy Dean when a business disagreement with arrogant Greek lawyer Andreas Lazarides leaves her no choice but to accompany him to the Greek Isle of Rhodes . It doesn’t help matters that this sexy brooding stranger, who is unaccustomed to the word No and the very idea of commitment, shows her what it feels like to be truly desired.
Amidst the ancient myths and alleyways, tensions run high as Kizzy feels an immediate attraction for the man she wants to both ravage and strangle.
Accustomed to gold-digging women, Andreas is mesmerized by Kizzy’s feisty nature and Gypsy beauty. Guilt and sorrow have been his only bedfellows since his sister’s death, but Kizzy stirs up a desire he’s unwilling to succumb to . . . until she makes him an offer he simply can’t refuse.
You can read the first chapter here: http://bit.ly/wLZEAC
Q7) How did you come with the idea for this story?
Rachel: The main location of the book was inspired by a holiday in historic Lindos, Rhodes. Not only was I gripped by the incredible age and architecture of the place, but also by the Greek Legends associated with it; particularly Helios the sun god and his demi-god son Phaeton. A salutary tale of what can happen if you don’t do as your father tells you. A fiery battle of disobedience and death. I wondered if I could bring the story up to date in a contemporary romance.
While considering how I could get my heroine from her grotty flat in the UK to sun-baked Rhodes , I read a poignant newspaper article about General Sir Mike Jackson’s son, Mark Jackson, who reinvented himself after injury forced him to leave the army. He gave his sculpture of a lifeless Icarus his own scars. This story moved and inspired me towards Andreas Lazarides’ dark secret.
Then a few weeks later I was suddenly whipped of to drink champagne on the London Eye in my best frock. Far too good an experience not to use, and I couldn’t wait to either; it needed to go into this book, so this is where Kidnapped by the Greek Billionaire begins.
I have also been a member of Amnesty International for many years which has raised my awareness of many issues that rarely make the daily news. They send me regular magazines and sometimes I’m brave enough to read them. In one particular issue there was an article about human rights abuse of Roma in Europe . Europe ? Surely not … I did some research on the subject and came across a photograph that still haunts me: a small boy playing an accordion, begging for money. He had to go in.
Somehow all these things became a story with a beginning, middle and an end.
Q8) Can you share with us your current work(s) in progress?
Rachel: I’m currently going through edits for my second book The Devil to Pay which will be published by the Wild Rose Press, release date to be confirmed. Briefly:
Italian mining CEO, Daniel Bracchi wants to close his loss-making Welsh quarry, but doesn’t count on feisty accountant, Rianna Peters, fighting him all the way. She’s grown used to struggling for everything in life and won’t let him destroy a community and the job that gave her self-respect.
From the green valleys of South Wales to the glitz of Portofino
My current other WIP is called The Spanish Billionaire’s Hired Bride, contracted to Entangled Publishing. You’ll have to wait for more details of that one, but it’s set in Spain and the Balearic islands and it’s going to get very, very hot!
Q9) What would you be if you were not an author?
Rachel: Being realistic I’d probably still be an accountant, which is a sobering thought, but it does pay the bills. Being unrealistic, I’d like to be a flamboyant lady antique dealer. Or marry a billionaire …
Q10) What is in your To Read Pile that you are dying to start or upcoming release you can’t wait for?
Rachel: My To Read Pile is a shocker. HUGE. And that doesn’t include all the juicy downloads on my Kindle! I’m desperate to read all the other Entangled Indulgence releases – but time isn’t on my side at the moment and I’ve only managed Jennifer Probst’s best selling The Marriage Bargain (which is fab!). I’ll be needing a treat soon though, or I will implode!
Q11) Is there anything else you would like to add?
Rachel: I’d like to thank you very much for having me here today on Books-n-Kisses. It’s been lovely! I love to hear from readers too, you can find me in the following places:
Twitter: @RachelLyndhurst
Buy links for Kidnapped by the Greek Billionaire:
Amazon.co.uk http://amzn.to/w86FU9
Amazon.com http://amzn.to/yhbd1a
Barnes & Noble http://bit.ly/zBeu77
I always enjoy seeing what authors used to do for a living, or still do other than writing. Thanks for an enjoyable post.
Sue
How lovely; I love the smell of the sea! You're so amazingly accomplished but I think your fans & the reading community are glad you decided to write instead.
What exactly is category romance tho? I've never come across this subgenre before.
I enjoyed the interview and learning more about your upcomming works. The book sounds very good.
So glad you enjoyed the post, Sue and it's wonderful to see you here. Thanks for stopping by!
Oh Linda, you're making me blush, thank you for being so kind. "Category" is a tricky one to describe;let me try. It's more to do with the length and style of the book really. I understand it to be a novel of around 50K words and about 187 pages, like the Mills & Boon Presents/Moderns, for example. Here's a link!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romance_novel#Category_romance
Thanks for commenting bn100 and good luck with the giveaway!
Good interview! I like finding out what inspires a story and I have to say the cover for Kidnapped by the Greek Billionaire is certainly yummy!
Thanks for the giveaway!
Great cover! I’ve never read a horror or crime novel either and can get enough romance, so I hear you there:) Kidnapped by the Greek Billionaire sounds like a great read and I'm jealous you were lucky enough to actually holiday in Greece… would love to go one day myself, but for now at least I can read about it:)
yadkny@hotmail.com
Love, love category romance. I might be the only one. Great interview and the cover is gorgeous.
Marika
I have this bok on my to-buy list…. Great Interview; she's definatly worked in a lot of different places, good for book themes from experience right? LOL
I like that you didn't really think about being an author from the beginning. I didn't either, but so many writers always say that they started when they were like 8 years old it makes me feel inadequate.
Great interview. The book sounds intriguing and the cover is HOT!
Ava
avarileyromance at gmail dot com
I enjoyed your interview!
robindpdx(at)yahoo(dot)com
I enjoyed the interview and learning more about your works. This book sounds good and i like cover to.
filiafantasy at gmail dot com
Oh wow! So many wonderful ladies!
Maria, I'm deeply in love with the cover too!
Yadkny, Greece is amazing, I hope you get there one day for real.:0)
Marika, I love category to bits too, so there's at least two of us!
Hilary, personal experience really does help with the writing, it gives you a certain anount of confidence. I have yet to stow away on a uyacht or marry a billionaire though. But there's still time!
Jennifer, real life has a habit of getting in the way, but never feel inadequate about what you've achieved so far outside of writing – it's all mega research!
Ava, the cover is a proper sizzler isn't it? I think I might have to get a mug made up with it on!
Robin, I'm so pleased you enjoyed the interview. :0)
Filia, thanks for stopping by and taking the time to comment. Good luck with the giveaway!
Your novel looks great! I've always wanted to go to Greece, it looks like a beautiful country!
The storyline sounds fantastic! So original and interesting!
My love of romance books started with the early Harlequin line, where I was drawn to the stories that involved characters from Greece, Spain & Italy. It's actually been awhile since I've read anything like this, so I can't wait to read something new, but familiar in a "coming home" sort of way!
Can't wait to read.
erhmsh@hotmail.com
Hi, Emily,Greece really is wonderful. Best of luck with the draw and thanks for commenting!
One of the very first Harlequins I read had a Greek hero too, Michelle! There's something about the deep blue seas,white buildings and smouldering heros that make them so memeorable for me.
Good luck with the giveaway then, Elvina! Thanks for taking the time to comment. :0)