Wow! I have so many books that love and reread often, but I do have one I call my favorite, and I have read it many times. It’s my favorite because it was my first real romance that I read that was not a fairytale.

In 1980, I was bored. I was on vacation, and I wanted to read something other than the self-help books and science fiction books I had on hand. I was about to talk myself into going to the bookstore, when I remembered I had a book I had purchased at a yard sale a couple of years ago.

I bought the book because the cover caught my attention. It was a knight holding woman with his sword drawn, and the war horse rearing back on his hind legs. I looked at the back of the book to find out what it was about. Setting was the year 1066. I had not read a story set that far back in time, and it was a romance book.

I had that book for about two years without reading it because the writing was about a seven- or eight-point font, and it was 580 pages. I couldn’t deal with that.

That day, however, I was desperate for something to read. So, I decided to tackle the dreaded book of 580 pages. Let me tell you, I didn’t put that book down until I finished it. That book hooked me, and I changed to reading romance books from then on.

Oh! You want to know what book I am speaking of? Well. The book was The Wolf and the Dove written by Kathleen Woodiwiss. When I finished that book, I went to the store to see if she had others. I found out the book I read was the second of four. I bought the other three books plus some I found by other authors.

I later learned that she was called the Queen of the bodice rippers because she was the first to write a book about the hero ripping the woman’s top off her. After the success of her books, other authors started writing the same way.

Kathleen started my love of historical romance novels. I continued that love affair until 2003, when I discovered PDF ebooks. I switched to contemporary, shape shifters, vampires, aliens, and interracial books. I am still reading those books today. But about six years ago, I noticed that all the ebook publishers I bought from were going out of business because all my authors were moving to Amazon.

That meant I had to start buying my books there. I have enough books to start my own store and I am in happy land.

Now you know my favorite book is The Wolf and the Dove.  So until next time, stay safe, and keep the faith.