Paula Xiberras
Danielle Hawkins is a novelist who has not yet visited Tasmania, but with a best friend living here and a love for the natural beauty of our parks and mountains it may not be too long before she does.
From New Zealand, Danielle turned to writing when she found herself at home with her new baby. She decided to write a novel on something for which she was familiar that being her career as a vet.
So was cooked up ‘Chocolate Cake for Breakfast’ a title that would suggest quite rightfully a novel which is a gorgeous indulgence!
It was Danielle’s idea to focus on two people from ‘stunningly different backgrounds’, a vet and a much lauded and adored rugby player. The idea of an ordinary person, not your usual football WAG being romantically entwined with a famous rugby player was very exciting and full of possibilities.
Perhaps the meaning of her main protagonists names; For example, our hero is called Mark Tipene, Tipene being a Maori name meaning ‘crown or garland’ and the character Mark like most successful sportsmen is worshipped as a ‘king’ and as such has many symbolic ‘crowns or garlands’ for his proficiency in sport.
Our heroine Helen McNeil’s surname means ‘cloud or passionate champion’ and indeed although she may be clouded with her romantic liaisons she is ‘passionate’ about her work and a ‘champion’ vet, and as her first name ‘Helen’ would suggest she is ‘the bright one’
This brightness is demonstrated in a confronting scene when Helen takes Mark to assist her on a call. A calf that has passed away must be recovered in utero from its mother. Its startlingly honestly portrayed without embellishment, however for those not brought up in a farm environment it may be very confronting. Helen’s first date with Mark right away establishes her role and Mark’s as her assistant and how she is anything but the conventional footy WAG.
The couple’s careers cause some hiccups and with the addition of a course of antibiotics this dose of romance does not always run smooth.
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To find out if our stunningly different protagonists do have a happy ever after you can read ‘Chocolate cake for breakfast’ which is out now published by Allen and Unwin.
