Today I’m delighted to feature writer Rachel Dove who writes romantic fiction, both rom-com and harder hitting women’s fiction.

Over to Rachel:

I am a writer and teacher, living in West Yorkshire with my husband, our two sons, and our furry pets and tortoise.

In July 2015, I won the Prima magazine and Mills & Boon Flirty Fiction Competition, with my entry, The Chic Boutique on Baker Street, out now in ebook and paperback. The Flower Shop on Foxley Street followed this in 2017 and both books hit the Amazon top 200. Chic Boutique got to #2 in the rural life humour chart. In 2020, The Second Chance Hotel got to #80 on the main Amazon chart.

I am the winner of the Writers Bureau Writer of the Year Award in 2016 and I have had work published in the UK and overseas in various magazines and newspaper publications.

I am also a qualified post 16 teacher and nursery nurse, Cert EYP Practitioner and I have an MA in Creative Writing at Teesside University. I am a passionate autism awareness advocate and support families wherever I can. My eldest son, Jayden Dove published his own picture book for children in 2020, called Autistic Alfie.

Which five pieces of music/songs would you include in the soundtrack to your life and why?

Cold: Annie Lennox – a haunting beautiful song

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Someone Like You – Adele – the title of my new book, out in September 2022!

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Let me Entertain You – Robbie Williams – my late cousin, who died tragically young, loved this song. It makes me feel close to him and happy, whenever I hear it.

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Unbelievable – Craig David – my wedding song

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Just Like a Pill – Pink – I adore her and her song-writing and this reminds me of seeing her in concert in my 20s, and 30s – now I am in my 40s I need to get tour tickets again when she resumes!

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What five things (apart from family and friends) would you find it hard to live without.

Wi-fi – we use it for everything nowadays, which is scary when you think about it!

Books – life would be so drab and colourless without them

Coffee – in fact, caffeine in general 😊

Animals – I am animal mad. We just lost our beloved dog Oliver, but we still have our tortoise Speedy and cat Tilly, who is a rescue as was Oliver. When I recover from long covid, I will be rescuing another dog to keep me company at home 😊

Give five pieces of advice to your younger self?

Family is not perfect, and it’s ok to call out toxicity and move away from it.

Never stop following your dreams, and don’t listen to anyone who tries to dull your sparkle

You are gorgeous, just as you are. Embrace your flaws and enjoy your health

Reading is power, knowledge is a weapon. Use both to elevate yourself and others and do no harm

Remember you were a teenager yourself once, cut your kids some slack and scream into a pillow on a bad days haha

Tell us five things that most people don’t know about you

Well, that would be telling, wouldn’t it?

Tell us five things you’d still like to do or achieve.

I would love to travel more, see more of the world – my husband and I both want to do this

I made a pact to myself that I would publish 18 books by the time my son reaches 18, I have nearly smashed these 4 years early, so now the target is 30 😊 I have 4 years left

I would love to return to teaching eventually, and be a guest lecturer in creative writing – I have an MA and would love to give back.

Adopt more animals!

Buy a house with some land (for all the adopted animals I will take in) and for my veg garden to expand. I love gardening and pottering around growing vegetables for our tortoise etc and flowers give me joy. I am a total summer baby.

Many thanks for joining me this week Rachel and bringing some great music with you. I love a strong female voice so thanks for three fantastic tracks. Sorry to hear about Oliver, I’ve been there and know how hard it is. Hopefully you’ll soon have another rescue dog, or several, to keep you all company. You may need to bump the new house with land a bit further up the wish list! Maybe a a spare room for a library would be good too. Keep following your dreams!

Rachel’s Books

(NB This post features Affiliate links from which I earn a small commission on qualifying purchases)

Someone Like You (Due Sept 2022)

One broken marriage. One broken heart. One chance to meet someone new.

Hannah leaves her unhappy marriage with her daughter Ava and moves to the village of Leadsham to start afresh. She plans to keep a low profile, focusing on Ava and making a new life for them, far away from her violent ex-husband.

What she hadn’t counted on was Andrew Brody. A police officer with a strict moral code, he knows something’s wrong as soon as he meets Hannah, and he wants to help. But Hannah has been let down by the police – and men – before, and pushes him away.

But the more Hannah tries to ignore Brody, the more she’s drawn to him. Caring, kind and patient, he’s nothing like the man she’s running from. Can Hannah finally put her past behind her, and open her heart to someone new?

The Forever House

Emily Hendrickson is tired of being the wedding guest and never the bride. Working at her local paper as a wedding columnist, she can’t wait to write her own happy-ever-after.

When she bumps into her childhood sweetheart Calvin Albright, her world is knocked off balance. Calvin has returned to the quiet town of Hebblestone desperate for a fresh start. After his wife tragically died two years ago, he wants nothing more than to find a new home and settle down with his son, Isaac.

Isaac can see how lonely his dad is – he’s determined to help him find love again and complete their family…

Uploading a video to his blog in search of a new girlfriend for his dad, he convinces Emily to use the local paper to make the video viral and sift through the potential candidates.

But as the letters to Calvin begin to flood in, could the promise of love be closer to home than they think?

Meet Me at Fir Tree Lodge

Escape to Fir Tree Lodge, where new beginnings come with a fresh blanket of snow…

Rebecca Atkins has everything she could hope for – the perfect fiancé, fabulous friends and a career as a professional skier. But when an accident on the slopes brings her crashing down in the snow with a catastrophic thud, everything changes. Her career is over, and her fiancé turns out to be, well, not so perfect.

With the chance to start afresh, Rebecca does what anyone else in her position would do… She turns to baking and manages the Alpine Bites café, nestled in the French Alps.

But when handsome stranger Luke Sommersby becomes Rebecca’s unexpected lodger, her plan to completely forget about love is thrown into jeopardy. Guarding her heart since the accident, Fir Tree Lodge is strictly a man-free-zone.

Luke is kind, caring and gorgeous, but the emotional scars from her fall still run deep, and she fights to keep the sparks catching her heart at bay.

Will Rebecca be able to find a second chance in the snow and step into a bright new future with Luke by her side?

The Second Chance Hotel

April Statham had it all – until her husband left her for a blonde ten years her junior. Now she’s thirty-five, single, and starting again. So she does what anyone in her position would do: she impulsively invests her life savings in the chalet park she used to visit as a child, on the beautiful Cornish Coast.

The Shady Pines Chalet Park is… ramshackle. But it has one big advantage – it is as far as physically possible from April’s ex, his new fiancée, and her old life. With gorgeous handyman Cillian O’Leary, April is looking forward to the challenge.

As visitors arrive, April realises that Shady Pines isn’t just a second chance for her, it gives Cillian another shot at happiness too.

But when he moves into the chalet next door, April’s painful past starts to catch up with her, and she struggles to reconcile her feelings for Cillian.

Is April’s new beginning destined to end in failure – or will she find new friends, a new life and new love at her second chance hotel?

The Fire House on Honeysuckle St.

Lucy is looking for a fresh start. Sam is in search of his past. But what they both need most might turn out to be each other…

The picturesque village of Westfield is about to welcome some new residents.

Sam has transferred from London to the local Fire Brigade, but his move has more to it than a desire to escape city life. There are answers Sam needs to find and the village is the place to look.

Lucy is at the end of her tether. Between her marriage falling apart and single-handedly dealing with her son’s special needs, Lucy knows something needs to change. Could Westfield be the new beginning she needs?

The Wedding Shop on Wexley St.

Maria is ready to say ‘Yes, to the dress’!

As owner of Happy Ever After, Maria Mallory is Westfield’s resident wedding planner, spending her days making dreams come true for future brides.

Maria even has her own perfect day planned out too, she just needs to find the right man. So when she falls in love with local celeb Darcy Burgess she can’t believe her luck – it was finally her turn for her Happy Ever After. Or so she thought.

Jilted at the altar, Maria can’t believe that her fairytale ending hasn’t come true. She’s ready to give up on love once and for all. But little does she know that once you stop looking for it, love has a way of surprising you…

The Flower Shop on Foxley St.

A new love could be about to bloom for Lily in this bright, warm women’s fiction title that fans of Holly Hepburn and Cathy Bramley will love.

Lily Rose Baxter loves her little flower shop on Foxley Street and the freedom and independence from her family that it represents.

Lily can’t help but feel that something is missing from her life…, but when mysterious stranger Will Singer comes into her shop looking for the perfect bouquet of roses, all that could be about to change.

The Chic Boutique on Baker St.

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 West¬field, 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 is the debut novel from Rachel Dove, winner of The Prima Flirty Fiction Competition. You won’t be able to resist this heart-warming romantic story set in an idyllic Yorkshire village, full of lovable characters and laugh-out-loud moments…as Amanda finds her way to a second chance at life and love. This is the reading escape you’ve been looking for!

The Long Walk Back

Does everyone deserve a second chance?

As an army trauma surgeon Kate knows how to keep her cool in the most high pressure of situations. Although back at home in England her marriage is falling apart, out in the desert she’s happy knowing that she’s saving lives.

Until she meets Cooper. It’s up to Kate to make a split-second decision to save Cooper’s life. Yet Cooper doesn’t want to be saved. Can Kate convince him to give his life a second chance even though its turning out dramatically different from how he planned?

This is Where I Leave You

Ever woken up and thought about what might have been, or what still could?
Cady Stokes is 29, and suddenly thrust into a new life, one she never expected, but was the old life really good for her?
Georgina Elliott is steadfastly single, career minded to the end, till she meets Ben on a work assignment.
Richard is dealing with a major life change too; can he make amends for his past?

Once some life lines are crossed, they cannot be undone…and would you want to if you could?
This is Rachel Dove’s debut self published novel, dealing with life, love, loss and all the moments inbetween. Previously published as Crossing Life Lines in 2013.

Falling for the Village Vet

Keeping her distance…

…is harder than she first thought!

After a painful divorce, hospice nurse Susannah Harkin finds solace in a Yorkshire village with rescue pup, Hendrix by her side. Until Dr Chris Jennings disturbs her peace. Straight-talking Susannah clashes with the brooding new vet, and the fallout has the locals gossiping for weeks! Then, thrown together to host a charity drive, their sparks of anger turn to flames of attraction. Can Susannah’s sunny nature thaw out Chris’s guarded heart?

The Paramedic’s Secret Son

He thought he had to leave…

…Now he has two reasons to stay!

Eight years ago, paramedic Harry walked away from Annabel, knowing it would break both of their hearts, but staying would only hurt her more. Now Harry has returned to discover that Annabel wasn’t the only one he left behind – he has a seven-year-old son! Knowing he’s a father makes him even more determined to win Annabel – and little Aidan – back…

Fighting for the Trauma Doc’s Heart

From professional rivals –
To a family of three?

Ex-army doc Jacob Peterson is still adjusting to life as a single dad when his job is threatened by returning trauma doc Michelle Forbes. The sparks of animosity with the smart, sassy doc soon turn to attraction. But there’s only room in Jacob’s life for one girl – his daughter – and he can’t risk her heart, or his, again. Resisting his growing bond with Michelle will be the fight of his life!