Today I’m delighted to welcome romance novelist Carol Warham. Her ‘Porridge & Cream’ read is The Shell Seekers by Rosamunde Pilcher.

“The paperback cover is creased and bent and its pages are yellowing, almost looking tobacco stained. But, this well-thumbed novel [below] has been on my book shelf for about twenty years. Nothing would induce me to discard my copy of The Shell Seekers by Rosamunde Pilcher, not even the offer of a brand new copy.

“This lovely story sustained me through the years of family stress and trauma – all thankfully over and everyone is very happy. When life was proving too much and I needed an escape this was my ‘go to’ book.

“The story revolves around Penelope Keeling, daughter of a well-known artist, and mother of three very different children. Olivia is both tough and vulnerable, Noel is careless and ruthless. The eldest daughter, Nancy, is embittered by greed and jealousy. Penelope’s most treasured possession is her father’s painting of ‘The Shell Seekers’ which depicts her as a child. This painting is now worth a small fortune and that knowledge throws her family into disarray.

“This gentle story follows the slightly bohemian Penelope and Antonia and Danus, the young people, who become central to her life. It moves between the beautiful county of Cornwall and busy London, as each chapter is given over to the different characters whose lives are woven around her. Eventually Penelope feels she must make the decision about the painting and where it should go.

“This is a novel, which I could escape into and gave me many hugs.”
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Carol Warham’s Bio
Writing has been Carol’s love since childhood. She started by making small comics for her dolls, progressed to training as a journalist for a short while. Once the family had grown up Carol settled down to writing and published short stories, poems and holiday articles. In recent years she has become a judge in the short story section for the HysteriaUK competition and also for the RNA’s romance novel of the year. These days she is very involved volunteering for the Huddersfield Literature Festival and writing her second novel. Carol lives in Yorkshire, surrounded by some beautiful countryside, which is ideal for her other passion of walking, often with a dog called Sam. This lovely area is the location for her first novel, Resolutions.

Carol Warham’s links
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Carol Warham’s latest book
Carly Mitchell returns to the small town of Yeardon in Yorkshire almost a year after running away on her wedding day. Now she wants to try to make amends with Steve, his family, and the townspeople who had prepared a huge party to celebrate her New Year’s Eve wedding. She intends to stay only for a few days at the Resolution Hotel. However, her plans change when Steve’s father is taken ill, and she steps in to help. This also means having to deal with Steve’s antagonism since he has never forgiven her for humiliating him. A further complication comes in the form of Ben Thornton, the local doctor, to whom Carly feels an immediate attraction. They enjoy getting to know each other and falling in love, until a famous model from Ben’s past arrives in the town, and stays at the hotel. Steve attempts to get his revenge on Carly by driving a wedge between her and Ben, and by threatening to reveal what he knows about Ben’s troubled past unless Carly leaves town. The resolution lies in Carly’s hands as she struggles between wanting to flee or staying with the man she loves.
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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.

Discover the ‘Porridge & Cream’ books of these authors:-
Julie Ryan’s choice is ‘The Magus’ by John Fowles
Simon Fairfax chooses ‘Heller with a Gun’ by Louis L’Amour
‘Night Watch’ by Terry Pratchett is chosen by Rhoda Baxter

And if you’d like to tweet a link to THIS post, here’s my suggested tweet:
Why does romance author @carol_warham re-read THE SHELL SEEKERS by Rosamunde Pilcher? #books https://wp.me/p5gEM4-3Z7 via @SandraDanby