Today I’m delighted to welcome vampire novelist Tracey Sinclair.
“First, a disclaimer: my usual comfort read is generally Terry Pratchett, whose novels I regularly turn to if I’m feeling low or just want a bit of a ‘palette cleanse’ between reads – I’m a big fan of the humanity, humour and decency in his books and they invariably boost my mood. But Rhoda Baxter beat me to that! 
So I’m going with another choice: Dangerous Liaisons by Choderlos de Laclos – a book I love so much I named one of my characters after the author. I studied it at university in the 90s (it’s one of the few books I’ve read in French and English, back when I was capable of reading more than a menu in French!). The edition I prefer is the Penguin Classic, translated by PWK Stone. I probably go back to it every couple of years, more if I’m prompted by seeing the film on TV. I usually give myself long enough to forget the intricacies of the plot (which is far more complicated and satisfying than the movie) so I can enjoy its richness again. It’s a book to read when I want to be amused and distracted but perhaps a little more stimulated than when I turn to Pratchett (as I’ve read his so many times they nourish me, but all blur into one another slightly!).
For a classical novel, it’s actually quite gossipy and fun – it is, after all, basically a catalogue of intrigue and romantic misadventures – and the epistolary format makes it a speedy read. It’s no surprise it was updated (the splendidly trashy teen flick Cruel Intentions) because the plot, based around the hypocrisy of the rich and the double standards faced by women, remains valid today. The characters behave terribly, but you can’t help admire them at least a little.
Dangerous Liaisons/Tracey’s elevator pitch: Two aristocratic ex-lovers amuse themselves and exploit the hypocrisy of ‘polite’ society with a series of romantic schemes before becoming undone when real love enters the equation.
Tracey Sinclair’s Bio
Tracey Sinclair is a freelance writer and editor, as well as a published author and performed playwright. Her books include the rom-com The Bridesmaid Blues and the Cassandra Bick/Dark Dates series, the most recent of which are Angel Falls and A Vampire in New York and Other Stories.
Tracey Sinclair’s links
Twitter
Facebook
Website
Tracey Sinclair’s books
It isn’t easy to surprise Cassandra Bick. When you run a human-vampire dating agency, your colleague is a witch who is engaged to a shifter and your business partner is one of London’s most powerful (and sexiest) vampires, there’s no such thing as a normal day at the office. But when a mysterious Dark Dates client brings a dire warning of a new threat to the city’s supernatural community, Cass and her friends realise they are up against their deadliest foe yet – and that this time, the danger is far closer to home than they could ever have imagined.
Sexy, snarky and with more bite than a crypt full of vampires, Angel Falls is the latest in the ‘Dark Dates: Cassandra Bick’ series.
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:-
Jane Lambert
Lisa Devaney
Rosie Dean
‘Dangerous Liaisons’ by Choderlos de Laclos [UK: Penguin Classics]
And if you’d like to tweet a link to THIS post, here’s my suggested tweet:
Why does vampire author @thriftygal love DANGEROUS LIASIONS? http://wp.me/p5gEM4-250 via @SandraDanby #books
“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 
The perfect escape to the country…
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