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Dave’s Bookshelves

to-read (7)
currently-reading (1)
read (196)
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Carina Taylor

75 books | 198 friends

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5,380 books | 530 friends

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3,940 books | 300 friends

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124 books | 4,954 friends

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373 books | 12 friends

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1,497 books | 200 friends

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258 books | 32 friends

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2025 Reading Challenge

2025

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Dave has read 9 of 12 books.

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Dave Cenker

Goodreads Author

Born

in Aurora, IL, The United States

Website

http://www.davecenker.com

Twitter

DaveCenker

Genre

Romance, Contemporary, Fiction

Influences

Jojo Moyes, Nicholas Sparks

Member Since

February 2012

URL

https://www.goodreads.com/davecenker

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DAVE CENKER is a romantic fiction author, writing stories infused with a kaleidoscope of emotions that nurture the heart while exploring elements of the human condition. He appreciates the opportunity to connect with readers through a shared emotional chord and the enchanted sentiments of a timeless love story.

Like coffee provides caffeine for the physical body, Dave's stories supply caffeine for the soul. He lives in the Sunshine State with his beautiful wife, amazing son, and three cats (the real monarchs of the house). ...more

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Popular Answered Questions

Do you think it is harder to write short stories or novels? :)

Dave Cenker Novel and short story writing each have their own unique challenges, but that’s the clichéd answer no one wants to hear, right? I could perch myself o…moreNovel and short story writing each have their own unique challenges, but that’s the clichéd answer no one wants to hear, right? I could perch myself on that fence, but everyone is bound to topple in one direction or another. For me, it’s more difficult to write novels, but not for the reason you might expect.

Novels need a plot, character arc, and proper pacing. But wait, you say, so does a short story! I couldn’t agree with you more. A short story does all this, and with fewer words.
So, why are novels harder, for me? My answer is twofold.

First, they are longer. That means more words. Lots more words. I don’t mind that part of it because I enjoy writing. It’s when it comes to the iterative editing process that I drag my feet in the proverbial mud.

I’m what people might call a recovering perfectionist. After going through the edit of a draft, I find a better way to build the prose, position the dialogue, or otherwise improve the scene. It’s hard for me to finish a draft and push it into the world. It’s tough to… let it go.

If I’ve summoned images of Elsa, Anna, Sven, and Olaf, my apologies to you. Unless you’re a Disney fanatic like me. If that’s the case, relish with me in the Frozen wonderland that is Arendelle. Alas, I digress.

Even my answer to this question has been redrafted. Ugh. See what I mean? With a novel, this process takes months, maybe years. At least with a short story, that cycle is shortened, It’s why I’ve finished so many more of them and one reason they’re “easier” for me to write.

The second factor for why novels are more difficult is subtler. Above and beyond everything else, I love to tell stories and share them with people. Although a strong bond is formed over the course of an epic novel, I feel the same can be accomplished in the shorter form of fiction.

Fewer words per story equals more stories I’m able to write, broaching a wider variety of topics, characters, themes, and messages. More stories equal more bonds between characters and readers.

Being able to do that more often with a short story makes it “easier” for me to complete them, because it gives me so many more opportunities to fulfill my wish when writing, to connect people.(less)

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What mystery in your own life could be a plot for a book?

Dave Cenker I grew up surrounded by numbers, data, logic, and analysis. Everything made sense until it didn't. I remember a writing assignment during my elementar…moreI grew up surrounded by numbers, data, logic, and analysis. Everything made sense until it didn't. I remember a writing assignment during my elementary school days where I was asked to write a one-page story about anything at all. Creating something from nothing was not a task I was accustomed to.

A switch inside me flipped on the day I completed that story. But, like a switch in the fuse box, there was too much current flowing through the circuit, tripping the breaker and resetting my position to one of controlled safety.

It took a few decades to rediscover that intense love for the written word and the desire to share it with others. Where would I be if I had ignored that breaker switch and instead ran wild along the path of storytelling in my younger days? Would I be someplace different now? Would I want to be?

There is something about the buildup and release of strong emotion over an extended period of time that makes me wonder if this is exactly how my story was supposed to play out. This very typical "what-if" scenario might be an interesting plot to pursue from an atypical vantage point.(less)

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Dave Cenker’s books

Average rating: 4.07 · 352 ratings · 52 reviews · 8 distinct works

	Fly Away Home (Pigeon Grove #0.5) 4.03 avg rating — 307 ratings — published 2017 — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Between the Lines (Pigeon Grove, #1) 3.93 avg rating — 14 ratings — published 2019 — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Splendid Chaos (Pigeon Grove #2) 4.13 avg rating — 8 ratings — published 2020 — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Second Chance 4.57 avg rating — 7 ratings — published 2018 — 6 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Homecoming 4.50 avg rating — 6 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Wanderlust 4.75 avg rating — 4 ratings — published 2016 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Opening Night (Pigeon Grove #3) 4.50 avg rating — 4 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	November Echo (Pigeon Grove, #4) it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 2 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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Series by Dave Cenker

Pigeon Grove (4 books)
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Dave Cenker (Goodreads Author)

4.04 avg rating — 335 ratings

Dave is Currently Reading

Dave is currently reading

The Great Gatsby

by F. Scott Fitzgerald

bookshelves: currently-reading, adult-fiction, classics

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Dave entered a giveaway Once and Again by Rebecca Serle (Goodreads Author) 100 copies available, ends on October 23, 2025 Enter to win »
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Dave rated a book really liked it The Wedding People by Alison Espach	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
There are many different ways to begin this review. Or to those who have come to follow these rambling thoughts of an emotional reader, it’s probably more accurate to refer to this stream of consciousness writing as my visceral experience while consu ...more
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Dave and 1 other person liked Donna Foster's review of After I Do: "This story hits close to home."
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Dave rated a book it was amazing Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
There are two novelists for which I have purchased every book published and will buy any new novel offered, sight unseen. Taylor Jenkins Reid is one of those authors. The first story I ever read by Ms. Reid encapsulates why she has found a permanent ...more
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Dave liked Christina's review of Every Summer After:
Jul 31, 2025 11:21AM · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Every Summer After by Carley Fortune. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Every Summer After by Carley Fortune <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">

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Quotes by Dave Cenker (?)

“She said nothing with her voice and everything with her caring touch.”
― Dave Cenker, Second Chance

tags: emotional-healing, hold-each-other, holding-hands, human-connection, magic-touch, open-your-heart, tender-embrace, touch

12 likes

“In those few short moments, we traveled a distance that transcends numbers.”
― Dave Cenker, Second Chance

tags: distances, emotional-connection, quiet-moments, soul-connection, time-stands-still

5 likes

“There's a much deeper and meaningful conversation being conducted in the space between the lines.”
― Dave Cenker, Second Chance

tags: between-the-lines, expression-of-true-feelings, honesty, kindred-soul, road-less-traveled, silent-communication, unspoken-words, winding-roads

4 likes

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Dave’s Quotes

“It is never too late to be what you might have been.”
― George Eliot

tags: inspirational, misattributed, source-unknown

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“A flower does not think of competing to the flower next to it. It just blooms.”
― Zen Shin

194 likes

“I learned this, at least, by my experiment: that if one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.”
― Henry David Thoreau, Walden: Or, Life in the Woods

8352 likes

“It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.”
― J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

tags: abilities

50661 likes

“Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?”
― J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Dave’s Year In Books

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2025 Reading Challenge

Dave Cenker

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