Today I’m delighted to welcome romance novelist Rachel Dove.

Her ‘Porridge & Cream’ read is Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris which Rachel summarizes as ‘telepathic waitress meets vampires and shapeshifters in the deep south of Bon Temps, finds love and the answers to her very existence.’ “It was 2009. My second baby in fourteen months had not long been born, and having two boys under two while my husband worked long hours was hard work. I was studying for a degree and writing in my spare time, with dreams of being an author and teacher when the children were older. My days consisted of looking after my children and the house, staying awake and reading to escape, to relax. I remember seeing an advert for the new HBO True Blood series, and seeing it was based on a book series. I immediately went online, newborn in one arm, and found the Sookie Stackhouse series by Charlaine Harris. I immediately bought the full set of what she had written so far, and devoured them. They kept me sane for weeks, and made my world feel less small, more exciting than nappy changes and nipple cream. Night feeds meant pages of vampires and shape shifters while my son fed, and the love stories and loss in the books kept me engaged. Since then, I have read all of the books in the series, and watched the series several times, and the first book is my book of choice whenever I feel bored with the mundane part of motherhood. It was my companion in those first few precious months, and it’s like coming home when I reread them. They always pull me out of my reading slump, and Sookie Stackhouse is a perfect character to lose yourself in.”

Rachel Dove’s Bio
Rachel is a wife, mother of two boys, perpetual student, qualified adult education teacher, avid reader and writer of words. She sometimes sleeps, always has eye bags and dreams of retiring to a big white house in Cornwall with two shaggy dogs where she will drink wine on her seafront balcony whilst creating works of romantic fiction. All done with immaculate make up and floaty dresses. In the meantime she nearly always remembers to brush her hair, seldom has time to look in a mirror and writes many, many to-do lists.

Rachel Dove’s links
Facebook
Twitter
Blog

Rachel Dove’s books
The perfect escape to the country…
Recently single and tired of the London rat race Amanda is determined to make her dreams of setting up an idyllic countryside boutique come true, and the picturesque village of Westfield is the perfect place to make a fresh start.
Local vet Ben is the golden boy of Westfield, especially to resident gossip Agatha Mayweather, who is determined to help Ben get his life back together after his wife left.
When a chance encounter outside the ‘chic boutique’ sets sparks flying between Amanda and Ben, Agatha is itching to set them up. But are Amanda and Ben really ready for romance?
‘The Chic Boutique on Baker Street’ by Rachel Dove [UK: Mills and Boon] 

What is a ‘Porridge & Cream’ book? It’s the book you turn to when you need a familiar read, when you are tired, ill, or out-of-sorts, where you know the story and love it. Where reading it is like slipping on your oldest, scruffiest slippers after walking for miles. Where does the name ‘Porridge & Cream’ come from? Cat Deerborn is a character in Susan Hill’s ‘Simon Serrailler’ detective series. Cat is a hard-worked GP, a widow with two children and she struggles from day-to-day. One night, after a particularly difficult day, she needs something familiar to read. From her bookshelf she selects ‘Love in A Cold Climate’ by Nancy Mitford. Do you have a favourite read which you return to again and again? If so, please send me a message via the contact form here.

Discover the ‘Porridge & Cream’ books of these authors:-
Rhoda Baxter
Shelley Weiner
JG Harlond

‘Dead Until Dark’ by Charlaine Harris [UK: Gollancz] 

And if you’d like to tweet a link to THIS post, here’s my suggested tweet:
Why does @WriterDove love DEAD UNTIL DARK by Charlaine Harris? http://wp.me/p5gEM4-24Q via @SandraDanby #reading