Extract - The Wedding Shop on Wexley St by Rachel Dove- Blog Tour

Series: Westfield village series #3

Genre: romantic fiction

Release Date: 10th August 2018

Publisher: HQ Digital

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…

A laugh-out-loud romance, perfect for fans of Holly Martin and Tilly Tennant.

EXTRACT

Two hours later, Maria found herself in Harrogate, squeezed into the red dress, heels pinching her feet, wondering why the hell she wasn't sat on Cass's couch eating ice cream and crying. She said the same to Cass as they walked on tottering heels to the nearest trendy bar, Ice, in the wine bar and posh eatery part of Harrogate's city centre, which, coincidentally, butted up against the legal quarter of Harrogate, and no doubt the two sides kept each other in business quite well too. Walking into Ice with Cassie, it was hard to ignore the stares that her friend attracted. Cassie Welburn was, let's face it, sex on a twenty nine year old stick. She was always tanned thanks to her meticulous salon treatments, plucked and shaped to perfection, and tonight, as usual, was dressed to kill. Even Maria's daring red dress looked tame in light of Cassie's black and silver dress, slashed to the thigh, combined with sparkly silver heels that make Cassie even taller than her just under six foot frame. Maria blushed and nudged Cass's elbow with her own.

"People are staring Cass." Cassie shrugged.

"Let them stare, girl. Don't worry, I've got your back." Maria belatedly realised that tonight, thanks to that ridiculous article, the stares may indeed be for her and not her glamorous friend. She cringed inwardly, and planted a smile on her face.  She took her friend by the arm, and pushing her boobs out and her chin up, she headed to the bar. "Let's get smashed," she declared.

BUY LINK

Amazon UK - https://goo.gl/5EgXqB

A WORD FROM THE AUTHOR

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

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 and is regularly in the top 100 of that 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.

My next book, The Long Walk Back, is out in January 2018 and I am currently writing the last book in the Westfield series. My first book with Manatee Books, Nice Guys Finish Lonely, is out in April 2018 in ebook and paperback. I love to write romantic fiction, both rom-com and harder hitting women's fiction.

I am also a post 16 teacher and am undertaking an MA in Creative Writing at Teesside University.

I love to chat on twitter so come say hi! @writerdove
 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RachelDoveauthor/?ref=bookmarks

Twitter: https://twitter.com/WriterDove

Goodreads Author Page:

https://goo.gl/CPJkbr

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/writerdove/

Google+ https://plus.google.com/u/0/+RachelDovewriter

GIVEAWAY

 A signed spiral bound paperback of the book plus bookmarks

(open Internationally)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Would You Rather Q&A with Rachel Dove - Blog Tour

I had a lot of fun coming up with these questions, for what may become a new regular interview series on Rachel's Random Reads.

Based on the sort of game you may play on a night out potentially after a drinks, I asked Rachel Dove a completely randomly created selection of questions, all of which start Would You Rather...?

1) Would you rather live under the sea or in space?

Ah, drowning is my worst fear, but I would hate space a bit less, so space it is!

2) Would you rather only read your genres you write in, or all other genres for the rest of your life? 

tricky. All other genres, I avoid genres similar to mine when writing anyway.

3) Would you rather ride a camel or an elephant?

Elephants are my favourite animal in the whole world, so I would pick them!

4) Would you rather eat sweet or savoury food? 

Savoury. I am a total carnivore at times. 

5) Would you rather pick all future books to read by their covers only, or their blurbs?

I often think that blurbs give too much away, so covers it is!

6) Would you rather go skiing or sit by a beach on holiday?

Beach. You can't read on skis! 

7) Would you rather go to the cinema or the theatre?

Cinema. 

8) Would you rather read ebooks, audiobooks or physical books?

Any book is a book to me, although audiobooks is something I don't really do yet. I am always a bit behind the times. 

9) Would you rather be rich but unhappy or poor and happy? 

Happiness would win every time. You can't buy it with money. 

10) Would you rather play or watch sports? 

Watch. For the legs in shorts, obvs. 

11) Would you rather always have to tell the truth, or always have to lie?

Truth, I hate lying. I always try to be honest and I teach my kids the same values. 

12) Would you rather always be late or always be unprepared?

I hate both! I am always early and prepared, so I think I would struggle to pick. 

13) Would you rather be aged 10 or 30 forever?

30 forever. Kids have a lot of pressure these days. By 30 you kind of know who you are. 

14) Would you rather look like a fish or smell like a fish?

ha ha! Good one! I guess look like a fish? With my fear of drowning, gills could come in handy!

15) Would you rather be an only child or have siblings?

Have you met my little brother? He makes Bart Simpson look like Perfect Peter. I do love him though, so siblings is a yes. (just)

16) Would you rather lose your keys or forget your mobile phone?

Mobile phone - you can live without it. 

17) Would you rather have free books for life or free food for life?

Free food for life! My two lads are like bottomless pits, and I love to buy books to support authors and publishers. 

18) Would you rather give up social media or alcohol?

Social media - it's nice to have a break now and again. Just be present at home. Plus, I love wine far too much to ever be parted from it!

Thank you so much Rachel Dove for taking part in yet another of my random set of interview questions! I hope you had as much fun answering as I did reading what you have put. 

Genre: Contemporary women's fiction

Release Date: 11^th January 2018

Publisher: HQ Digital

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?

BUY LINKS

Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/2DOfT4R

Kobo: http://bit.ly/2qbTuwm

Barnes & Noble: http://bit.ly/2CawuQ7

ABOUT RACHEL DOVE

I am a wife, mother of two boys, perpetual student, avid reader and writer of words. I sometimes sleep, always have eye bags and dream of retiring to a big white house in Cornwall, with 2 shaggy dogs, drinking wine on my seafront balcony whilst creating works of romantic fiction. All done with immaculate make up and floaty dresses.

In the meantime I nearly always remember to brush my hair, seldom have time to look in a mirror and write many, many to-do lists.

My first solo novel, Crossing Life Lines is out now in Kindle and paperback format. Look out for my horror shorts, published through Bayou Brew Publishing: The House of Sugar Blood, August 2013 and Uni Assassin, out now, and my short story, Mallow Girl, out now.

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, and the follow up novel in the series, The Flower Shop on Foxley Street.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RachelDoveauthor/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/WriterDove

Goodreads Author Page: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5831003.Rachel_Dove

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/writerdove/

Blog: https://racheldoveauthor.wordpress.com/

GIVEAWAY

A signed copy of the book (Open internationally)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Guest Post by Rachel Dove - Blog Tour

When I first started reading romance books, I fell in love. People with real flaws, hopes and dreams meet each other, and you hold your breath. Is this it? Is this the one? You can imagine pupils dilating, lips and throats going dry, fingertips tingling. I have always been a sucker for a romance, and the first ever book that really stuck in my mind was a red Mills & Boon book I borrowed from my mother. It had a lead character called Jesse in it, and a kick ass heroine and I loved it.

Years later, whilst raising my kids and teaching, writing when I could, I saw a writing competition in Prima magazine for the next Mills & Boon writer. I entered that very week, and didn't expect to hear anything. I have entered competitions for years, and never really got anywhere. I saw it as good practice, though. When I heard that I was in the top ten, I still didn't expect to win.

Now, The Chic Boutique on Baker Street was been out over a year, and The Flower Shop on Foxley Street came out in July. It's been a whirlwind of a journey, and I am still learning so much.
The best part is, now I craft the romance I love to read, for the best people in the world. Having my name alongside the Mills & Boon, and HQ Digital logo, is a dream come true. I see the romance in everything, and I can't wait to have a whole back catalogue of stories to share with people. I will keep writing books as long as people still want to read them.

With The Flower Shop on Foxley Street, I showed a bit of the darker side of romance, the heartbreak, and I really hope to show more of this in the future. Pushing the boundaries of relationships, what makes people tick. I love to people watch, and bring characters to life on the page. I plan to challenge myself with each book, and hopefully make the reader fall just a little bit in love.

The Flower Shop on Foxley St.

 by Rachel Dove

Series: Westfield series – Can be read as a standalone.

Genre: romantic fiction

Release Date: 26th July 2017

Publisher: HQ Digital/Harper Collins

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.

BUY LINKS

AMAZON UK

AMAZON US

EXTRACT

Will Singer looked every inch the thirty-two-year-old man he was. The bathroom mirror rarely did anyone any favours, but this particular winter morning it appeared to be magically channelling the mirror from Snow White in terms of stark clarity and downright truth. Who’s the hottest man of them all? Certainly not you, dude.

He had badly needed a shave. People were starting to comment on it, but the clean-shaven Will was not a great improvement. At least his dark stubble had detracted from the huge Kardashian-sized luggage wedged under his eyes. Without his hairy mask, Will felt naked, unable to hide.

Even worse was the fact that the lack of hair on his face left people free to roam over his other features, in particular the mop of hair sprouting from his head. He looked like Lionel Messi mixed with Mufasa the lion. It did well for them, but Will wasn’t sure it was such a great style for him. Any longer and he would have to buy an Alice band like Beckham. Start sporting a man bun. He was pretty sure the villagers had never seen a man bun. It might scare them enough to dust off the pitchforks and torches. He had a sudden vision of his uncle Archie dressed like Braveheart, rallying the twin set and mohair-clad villagers into action from atop a horse. ‘People of Westfield, we shall not lie down and die. The man bun must be destroyed!’

He chuckled to himself at his own humour. He would have to tell Lily that joke later.

ABOUT RACHEL DOVE

I am a wife, mother of two boys, perpetual student, avid reader and writer of words. I sometimes sleep, always have eye bags and dream of retiring to a big white house in Cornwall, with 2 shaggy dogs, drinking wine on my seafront balcony whilst creating works of romantic fiction. All done with immaculate make up and floaty dresses.

In the meantime I nearly always remember to brush my hair, seldom have time to look in a mirror and write many, many to-do lists.

My first solo novel, Crossing Life Lines is out now in Kindle and paperback format. Look out for my horror shorts, published through Bayou Brew Publishing: The House of Sugar Blood, August 2013 and Uni Assassin, out now, and my short story, Mallow Girl, out now.

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, and the follow up novel in the series, The Flower Shop on Foxley Street.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RachelDoveauthor/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/WriterDove

Goodreads Author Page: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5831003.Rachel_Dove

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/writerdove/

Blog: https://racheldoveauthor.wordpress.com/

  

Giveaway

1st Prize : Signed paperback copy of The Flower Shop on Foxley St. (open internationally)

2nd Prize:  A Signed paperback copy of The Chic Boutique on Baker St. (open internationally)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Guest Post & Giveaway - Writing Competition by Rachel Dove - Chances Fortnight

In 2015, I was a very stressed parent. My youngest son was struggling at home and at school, and I was convinced he had sensory issues. School were ringing on a near daily basis, my nights were filled with night terrors, juggling uni work and planning and marking for my teaching classes. I was working seven days a week, and although I was managing to juggle all the balls, I wasn't happy. Childcare costs were expensive, and my boys were struggling to stay in school for eight hours a day. Add in hospital appointments and helping my husband with his business, and it was all a bit too much at times.

I was writing, but it wasn't a regular thing, and I was frustrated by that too. I was due to complete my teaching qualification but still had my degree to finish and I loved my teaching job, but felt like I wasn't giving either job (teacher, mother) my best. 

2015 was the year of change for me. The first chance I took was entering the Prima magazine and Mills & Boon competition, which meant putting my submission out there into the world to go up against other hopefuls. I have entered lots of competitions over the years, but never placed anywhere before. When I won, I knew it was my chance. I always wanted to be a teacher and an author when I was a child, and I felt like I had ticked the teacher box, but now it was my turn to go for the author opportunity. 

I finished my teaching sessions and wrote The Chic Boutique on Baker Street over the summer. In December 2015, I handed my notice in to my teaching job and took the children out of childcare. 
Now, my weeks are a lot less stressful. I write full time, so I take the boys to school, run any errands I have and then write. I limit my social media a lot, because it is a huge time suck, but I do love to read blogs, and chat online with readers, blogger and authors. I have written two books since Jan 2016, and am now onto a new one. I also won the Writers Bureau Writer of the Year Award in 2016, and have had short stories published overseas. 

I work in school time, evenings and weekends, and when I am on deadline things get a bit hectic, but taking the chance to go self employed is the best thing I ever did. When the children are in high school, I will probably go back to teaching part time, as I miss it sometimes, but I love being my own boss. My house is a lot cleaner too! I am there to see my kids every day, and whilst they both have sensory issues, they are doing so much better. 

I firmly believe that we are here once in this life, so we have to go for what we want in life. Chase the dream, and make it happen. I have signed up to do my MA in Creative Writing in October too, so I need to get some more writing done to pay for it! 

This sounds all me me me, but the point I am making I guess is, that we read (and write) stories about men and women who run off to start new lives, have children, start new businesses, leave bad relationships, get over losses and find peace. We root for the character to dump the love cheat, to go for that course, or career, or dream life, but yet sometimes we are not happy in our own real lives. So perhaps our characters could inspire us to take that leap, chase that dream, and make those goals. I haven't looked back, and I can't wait to see what the future holds. 

Hopefully a lot more books! 

I know I am delighted that you took that chance Rachel, as I loved The Chic Boutique on Baker Street.

Giveaway to Win a signed copy of The Chic Boutique on Baker Street (UK Only)

In the spirit of taking Chances, Rachel Dove would love you all to take a chance and enter this giveaway to win a signed copy of her debut novel, The Chic Boutique on Baker Street, and hopes you will take a chance on a new author. 

Giveaway open to UK Only, all options are voluntary, but please do what they ask, as I will be verifying the winner. Giveaway closes 23:59 20/06/2017. Winner will be announced on twitter and emailed, and they will need to reply within 7 days, or forfeit the prize, and I will re-draw for a new winner.  Good luck everyone.

Win a signed copy of The Chic Boutique on Baker Street (UK Only)

About Rachel Dove

Rachel Dove is a former adult education teacher living in West Yorkshire with her husband and two lively boys. She is the winner of the Prima and Mills & Boon Flirty Fiction Competition 2015, which is the culmination of a lifetime of scribbling in notepads. Her debut traditionally published book, The Chic Boutique on Baker Street, reached #2 on the rural life humour chart and has been in the top #100 of the chart for a full year. Her story and work has been featured in magazines UK and abroad, newspapers and on the radio and she also won The Writers Bureau Writer of the Year Award 2017 and featured in their national ad campaign.

In between school runs and studying, Rachel writes romantic fiction novels and horror shorts with Inkslingers UK, with the proceeds going to cancer charities. Her next novel in the Westfield series is out this year and she is currently writing her fifth book. In her spare time she reads voraciously, binges on Netflix and feeds her zombie obsession.

https://www.facebook.com/RachelDoveauthor/

https://twitter.com/WriterDove

https://racheldoveauthor.wordpress.com/

Guest Post & Giveaway - Embracing Hygge by Rachel Dove - #CuteChristmas

I am going to shock you now, and tell you that Christmas is not my favourite season. I do love it, eventually, but I have to be dragged kicking and screaming into my woolly jumpers and eggnog chasers. 

I in fact, have a Christmas novel all planned out for my future writing schedule about a girl who..er...hates Christmas. I just never feel in the mood to write it, so the poor grump gets pushed to the bottom of the pile. 

This Christmas, I have decided to embrace Hygge. I now work from home as a writer full time, so I am going to embrace the season. Candles, throws, blankets (I do love blankets, year round) and all the twinkly, calm lights I can throw at my house. I shall channel my inner calm, and enjoy the festive period, and the run up. The run up is usually the part I don't like, with the dark nights and the cold right up there on my hit list. 

Christmas itself I love, for many many reasons, including gingerbread lattes ha ha! Although I love summer, when I am sat in the warmth of my house, family and fur babies curled up next to me, I shall be enjoying the season, and all that entails. Once the shopping is done, the journeys have been undertaken, and school and work are done, that's when I really love Christmas. 

And soon, next summer perhaps, when I am sat barelegged on a sunlounger in my garden, I shall write the story of the girl who doesn't like Christmas, and perhaps even she will learn to love it.

Enjoy the season everyone! 

To be in with a chance of winning a signed copy of The Chic Boutique on Baker Street read on!

Twitter @writerdove

Facebook

Website

Thank you so much Rachel for explain what Hygge is, I keep seeing it mentioned online and never knew! 

Giveaway to Win a signed copy of The Chic Boutique on Baker Street (UK Only)

Rachel Dove has kindly donated a signed copy of The Chic Boutique on Baker Street for one lucky winner. 

Giveaway open to UK only, all options are voluntary, but please do what they ask, as I will be verifying the winner. Giveaway closes 23:59 3/1/2017. Winner will be announced on twitter and emailed, and they will need to reply within 7 days, or forfeit the prize, and I will re-draw for a new winner.  Good luck everyone.

Win a signed copy of The Chic Boutique on Baker Street (UK Only)

Book Review - The Chic Boutique on Baker St. by Rachel Dove - Rachel Reads Randomly Vote #28

Amazon UK

Title: The Chic Boutique on Baker St

Author: Rachel Dove

Format reviewed: Paperback

Source: Purchased

Publisher: Mills & Boon

Publication Date: 21st April 2016

Rating: 4.5 Stars

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?

You can tell I'm a Londoner, when I first spotted this book, I was convinced based on the title that it would be about a chic clothes boutique on the famous Baker Street (home of Sherlock Holmes), and when I saw the town was Westfield, all I could think of were the two large shopping centres of that name. 

Regardless I am delighted to say that once I started the book (and read the blurb properly), I realised that I couldn't be more wrong, and that in fact Westfield is a delightful countryside village and Baker St just happens to be the name of the street where Amanda has bought a shop, after her life in London went wrong. 

The boutique in question is called A New Lease of Life and sells shabby chic items, home made items, and things that have been upcycled. However what really makes this book the brilliant story that it is, are "The Ladies". 

"The Ladies" are a group of good intention meddling women in the village, who are determined to matchmake Amanda, with the local vet, coming up with all sorts of relatively obvious schemes to get the pair together, with generally not fantastic consequences! 

With a great group of personalities as well as a keen eye for scheming, they also launch a campaign to save the local town hall, while using Amanda's shop as a base, under the guise of a craft club.  There are lots of crafty mentions, and at least one of them is always knitting, no matter what the situation is. 

I am incredibly impressed that this is a debut novel, although with the clear talent Rachel Dove possesses it is clear why she won the Prima Prize and this publishing deal. I am eagerly looking forward to see what else this author will write. 

The Chic Boutique on Baker St is a very easy read, and will have you smiling and enjoying yourself as you read it. I loved the book, and would love the various pets for myself, including Darcy, Pinky and Perky (and I'm not mentioning what animals any of those are!). 

Thank you to everyone that voted two weeks ago. It was a tie and I picked this one from the winning books, purely because Sheryl Browne voted for it, instead of her own book, and that the cover was staring at me from the pile as its so colourful. For everyone that said its great, I evidently agree, and I'm glad this didn't stay languishing in my TBR for ages. I as always look forward to seeing what you will pick for me this week. 

Truth or Lie - Month 1 Roundup

Well it has been a tightly fought first month on Truth or Lie, and I really appreciate everyone that has taken the time to read the posts, and to have a guess. And so for the moment of truth, here is the leaderboard.

Please note if you took part, guessed but didn't get any correct, then don't worry, the board resets for the new month so please come back and try for Month 2. It's all meant to be a bit of fun really!

Well it looks to me as though there is a clear winner, so...

Congratulations Ali - The Dragon Slayer you have won a paperback of your choice. Please contact me to claim your prize! 

An honorable mention has to go to Sarah Hardy, who is the only person to have a clean sweep on any given week, Her 3 points came from guessing all 3 of Alan Jones' lies correctly.

Lynda Renham of week 2 was the trickiest liar, no-one guessed any of hers correctly, although she did answer more questions than everyone else, so that probably made it a bit harder!

And finally the moment you have all been waiting for, the lies revealed for Rachel Dove, Lynda Renham, Jennifer Joyce and Alan Jones. 

Week 1 - I had Rachel Dove as my guest, and she had some realistic sounding lies. So here is the truth! 

Question 7 - What is the most annoying interview question you have ever been asked?

(LIE) If you could be a fruit, what would you be and why? Ha ha!
(TRUTH) I have been pretty lucky so far, I haven't been annoyed or stumped yet!

Question 9 - Besides reading, which I am guessing is a given, what other hobbies do you have?

(LIE) I am a bit of an adrenalin junkie, so I tend to spend a few weekends a year out there white water rafting, abseiling etc. I am yet to try base jumping. 

(TRUTH) I am pretty boring really, I like to hang out with my kids, cross stitch, bake, go on days out. My kids are amazing, we get up to all kinds of fun, and I enjoy every minute. When they are at school or sleeping, I either work, spend time with my husband or do one of my hobbies to chill out.

Question 10 - If you could only look at one view for the rest of eternity, what or where would you like to be to see this view?

(LIE) Tom Hardy's bedroom window, in a tree, with a stack of books (for when he goes out or sleeps) and a flask of tea. 

(TRUTH) The Yorkshire Dales. I would like to live in a little bolthole, and look out over the fields and flowers. 

Week 2 - I had Lynda Renham as my guest, and these are her lies uncovered!

Question 4 - What was your most memorable holiday ever?

Two idyllic weeks in the Bahamas. (this is a lie) Very relaxing and luxurious. (The truth) It would be Our trip to Cambodia this year which was very meaningful to both of us.

Question 5 - If you could be an animal what would you be and why?

A cat. I could sleep a lot and let other people take care of me. (lie) Truth is a dog and then I would have to go out for walks which I don’t do as much as I should now.

Question 17 - Did you have an invisible friend as a child? If so please tell me about them. 

Yes, his name was Fred and he went everywhere with me even to dancing school. My mum even laid a special place at the table for him at meal times (this is a lie) Truth is I never had one.

Week 3 - I had Jennifer Joyce as my guest, and she has some brilliant lies to be revealed

Question 3 - What was your most memorable holiday ever?

LIE - We went to Egypt for our honeymoon in 2012. I’ve always been fascinated by the pyramids so it was amazing to actually see them for myself. Unfortunately, my husband was pretty ill for most of the week (you don’t want any details, trust me) so it wasn’t such an amazing holiday for him!

TRUE  - We spent the Christmas of 2011 in New York and it was amazing. On Christmas Day we had a ride around Central Park in a horse-drawn carriage before going to the zoo and eating hot dogs. We didn’t have a tree in our hotel room but the giant tree at Rockefeller Center was only a short walk away!

Question 8 - Besides reading, which I am guessing is a given, what other hobbies do you have?

LIE - I’ve played the violin since I was nine, though I don’t play as much as I used to. My youngest (who’s seven) is starting to take an interest so if she starts having lessons, we can play together, which would be lovely.

TRUE - I love crafting and have various places around the house where I stash my crafty bits and pieces. If you give me some card, a pair of scissors and some double-sided tape, I’m a happy bunny.

Question 13- If you won the lottery, how would you spend the money?

LIE - I’d love to travel the world. There are so many places I’m itching to experience. Australia and New Zealand would definitely be at the top of my list as they both look like such gorgeous countries and I’ve never been that far from home before.

TRUE - I’d buy a house big enough to have its own library with a ladder on wheels. That’s the dream!

Week 4 - I had Alan Jones as my guest, and I have a feeling he may have been the trickiest yet! 

Question 10 -  Besides reading, which I am guessing is a given, what other hobbies do you have?

 I collect vintage cigarette cases. (LIE) I make Furniture (TRUTH)

Question 11 - What is your guilty pleasure when it comes to music? 

Take That. (LIE) Dusty Springfield (TRUTH)

Question 12 - What are you most scared of? 

Cats (LIE) Horses (TRUTH)

Thank you once again to all the contestants for this inaugural month of Truth or Lie? I hope that everyone is enjoying the feature and will take a look and have some guesses at the first of month two - Zara Stoneley and you never know you could be winning a paperback of your choice next month. 

Funday Friday - Truth or Lie? - Rachel Dove - Month 1 Week 1

Welcome to the first ever edition of Truth of Lie. My name is Rachel and I will be your host, for this exciting new game show. Each Friday, I will have one contestant, and they will be answering 14 questions. There is of course one small twist, 

For three of the answers, they have to lie. It is your task as the viewer to guess which three answers are lies. You are allowed 3 guesses and I want them posted into the comments field. 

Every 4 weeks, I will close the guessing, count up how many correct answers each of you has, and create a leaderboard. 

Anyone who is top of the leaderboard, will go into a draw for a paperback of the winners choice (open internationally). 

Please do include a way for me to contact you (email or twitter or similar), so that I can let you know if you have won. 

The weekend after a 4 week period closes, not only will I produce a leaderboard, and announce a winner, I will also let you know into the true answers, and which were the lies.  

Closing date for the first month is 11pm on 19th May 2016. 

So without further ado, let's meet today's contestant. 

Good morning Rachel Dove, please tell me a little bit about yourself

I am a wife and mother living in Yorkshire, with a cat and dog who don't particularly like each other, two boys who never seem to sleep, and a husband who holds us all together. I used to teach adults, but I now write full time in between school runs, errands, and time spent under blanket forts reading books and stitching. I write romantic fiction, and last year I won the Prima and Mills & Boon Flirty Fiction Competition, changing my life forever. The Chic Boutique on Baker Street is out on 21st April 2016, and I can't wait for you all to meet the characters!
Congratulations on winning Rachel, and wish you every success with the new book.  

Now onto the show, and remember everyone, Rachel hasn't been entirely truthful with three of these answers, so it is up to you to guess which ones they are (only 3 guesses per person though). 

1) Who is your favourite author?

If I absolutely had to pick one, I would have to say Emily Bronte, the writer of my favourite book, Wuthering Heights. 

2) What book do you wish you had written?

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. Love those books. Katniss Everdeen is who I want to be when I grow up.

3) Tell me about any really memorable dream or nightmare you have had

 I used to be terrified of the Thriller video from Michael Jackson. I used to have pretty terrible nightmares about the zombies when I was little, and I still can't bear to listen to the music.

4) What was your most memorable holiday ever?

Before we had children, Peter (my husband and I) went on holiday with family to Lanzarote. It was a fantastic holiday, and we were undergoing fertility treatment before we left, and I came back pregnant! I always tell Book Worm, my eldest, now 8, that we were going to call him Lanzarote Dove, like Brooklyn Beckham. He is always suitably horrified. 

5) If you could be an animal what would you be and why?

My favourite animal ever is an elephant, so that would be amazing. I love how graceful they are for their size. An elephant or a pet owned by me. Max the dog and Tilly the cat do nothing but sleep, eat and get pampered!

6) If you could be a fruit, what would you be and why?

A strawberry. Love them, and they make me think of Wimbledon, of summer. I used to pick them as a child with my grandparents, lovely memories.

7) What is the most annoying interview question you have ever been asked?

If you could be a fruit, what would you be and why? Ha ha!

8) Do you consider yourself to be an angel or a devil?

I used to be a devil, I was a bit of a wild one in my yoof! I did all kinds of jobs too, from nightclub manager to advertising sales for a newspaper. I am an angel now though, I like a nice quiet life, and I love every minute. Bring on the PJs and the woolly socks!

9) Besides reading, which I am guessing is a given, what other hobbies do you have?

I am a bit of an adrenalin junkie, so I tend to spend a few weekends a year out there white water rafting, abseiling etc. I am yet to try base jumping. 

10) If you could only look at one view for the rest of eternity, what or where would you like to be to see this view?

Tom Hardy's bedroom window, in a tree, with a stack of books (for when he goes out or sleeps) and a flask of tea. 

11) Who is the most important person in the world to you?

Aside from my kids, which is a given, I would have to say my husband. He knows me better than I know myself, scarily so at times, and he is my biggest champion. He silences my moaning and talks me off the ledge. He makes me belly laugh, and I love him to bits. 

12) Can you let us in on an embarrassing secret?

I like to watch You Tube videos of pimple popping and blackhead zapping, late at night when everyone else is in bed. I know it's gross, but I can't help it. I love them. 

13) If you won the lottery, how would you spend the money?

I would buy a place in the country with space for animals, see my family are looked after, and do some good with the rest. Plenty of charities out there needing help. A bursary for new writers would be pretty useful out there, I am sure. 

14) What are you most scared of?

Not much scares me to be honest, it's more the things not done that keeps me up at night. You get one life, so you have to get out there and do what you want to do. 

Thank you Rachel, for being our first contestant. I'm really sorry about the fruit question and yuck what a disgusting embarrassing secret, I suggest you keep that to yourself in future! 

I hope you have enjoyed this first edition of Truth or Lie? I will be back next week with another episode, and in the mean time...

Don't forget to guess the lies, to be in with a chance of a prize! 

Amazon UK

Rachel Dove can also be found on Twitter.