Spotlight on Guest Author Carol Thomas

This week I’m joined by Carol Thomas, author of The Perfect Pet Sitter published by Ruby Fiction.

I asked Carol some questions:-

What inspired you to write The Purrfect Pet Sitter?

I wanted to write a story that explored the idea of second chances in friendship and love. Add to that, my daughter is a pet sitter, it’s a great job for meeting people, and pets who, like children, add a certain amount of unpredictability – giving rise to great opportunities when writing romantic comedy. As the creative cogs began to churn Lisa Blake and her return to her hometown as The Purrfect Pet Sitter was born.

Tell me about the settings in The Purrfect Pet Sitter.

Time wise the novel is set between September and New Year’s Eve, so ideal for reading at this time of year 😉

Much of the action takes place on the south coast of England, in and around the seaside town of Littlehampton, where I live. This setting enables Lisa to have access to the beach and local countryside, ideal for dog walking.

However, one of my favourite scenes (in terms of researching and writing) sees Lisa visiting her parents in the French Alps, where she spends a very special, snowy Christmas in the village of Samoëns.

Discover more about the sites and scenes that inspired The Purrfect Pet Sitter by visiting my Pinterest Board: https://pin.it/pfjyalfoccvhyb

A recent review of your novel said, “the sex is well written”, how do you feel about sex scenes in romance novels and at what point do you close the bedroom door?

That review surprised me because I didn’t think there was an awful lot of sex in The Purrfect Pet Sitter. To me, the review illustrated that different readers have different levels of expectation. I like to write sensual scenes, not too graphic but enough to give (a taste or flavour, hmm maybe not in this context) an idea of the level of intimacy between the couple, but I close the bedroom door before anything too graphic happens, leaving the rest to the reader’s imagination.

You are currently writing a sequel to The Purrfect Pet Sitter what can we expect from the story?

Yes, I felt I wasn’t yet ready to let go of my main characters. The sequel is a novella that has given me the opportunity to expand their story a little more. Of course, there will be appearances from the loveable supporting cast of characters from The Purrfect Pet Sitter too, along with some new additions, which I can’t wait for my readers to meet.

About The Purrfect Pet Sitter

The blurb:

Introducing Lisa Blake, the purrfect pet sitter!

When Lisa Blake’s life in London falls apart, she returns to her hometown rebranding herself as ‘the purrfect pet sitter’ – which may or may not be false advertising!

But being back where she grew up, Lisa can’t escape her past. There’s her estranged best friend Flick who she bumps into in an embarrassing encounter in a local supermarket. And her first love, Nathan Baker, who, considering their history, is sure to be even more surprised by her drunken Facebook friend request than Lisa is.

As she becomes involved in the lives of her old friends Lisa must confront the hurt she has caused, discover the truth about her mysterious leather-clad admirer, and learn how to move forward when the things she wants most are affected by the decisions of her past.

Genre: Romantic Comedy

Publisher: Ruby Fiction

If you would like to read Carol’s book The Purrfect Pet Sitter, you can use the following links to buy it.

Buying Links

Amazon:http://tinyurl.com/TPPS-AmazonUk

Kobo:https://www.kobo.com/gb/en/ebook/the-purrfect-pet-sitter

Ruby Fiction:http://www.rubyfiction.com/dd-product/the-purrfect-pet-sitter/

Carol has produced a book trailer, which is well worth a watch.

View the book trailer: http://tinyurl.com/TPPS-booktrailer

About the author:

Carol Thomas lives on the south coast of England with her husband, four children and lively young Labrador. She has been a playgroup supervisor and taught in primary schools for over fifteen years, before dedicating more of her time to writing. Carol is a regular volunteer at her local Cancer Research UK shop. She has a passion for reading, writing and people watching and can often be found loitering in local cafes working on her next book.

Carol writes contemporary romance novels, with relatable heroines whose stories are layered with emotion, sprinkled with laughter and topped with irresistible male leads.

To keep in touch with Carol follow her on her website or social media links below.

Website and Social Media Links:

Website – http://carol-thomas.co.uk

Facebook – http://facebook.com/carolthomasauthor

Twitter – @carol_thomas2

Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/carol_thomas2/

Blog – http://carol-thomas.co.uk/blog

Thank you for joining me on my blog, Carol.

I’ve actually just read and enjoyed The Purrfect Pet Sitter – my review is below:-

5 stars

I found this story delightful. The book took me on a journey from laughter to tears and made me think about life too. My favourite scenes were those about involving the wetsuit and Titanic. Lisa the heroine had very relatable insecurities and concerns and I was rooting for her from the outset. I loved the secondary characters of Dom, Mr Chung and Winnie. I can’t wait for the sequel!

 

Thank you for visiting my blog – Morton S. Gray – Author. I hope you enjoyed this post. You can also find me on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Christmas at Borteen Bay is available now as both an eBook and audio download – Amazon Kindle, Audio, Apple iBooks, Kobo and Choc Lit for other options.

The Truth Lies Buried is available from all eBook platforms – Choc Lit, Amazon Kindle, Kobo, Apple iBooks

The Girl on the Beach published by Choc Lit is available as a paperback and from all eBook platforms – Amazon Kindle, Apple iBooks, Kobo, Barnes and Noble and Google Play.