1. My characters can have really poignant moments with their dogs. Dogs are a real comfort and people open up and talk to dogs in a way that they don’t talk to humans. You can create some really tender moments.
Moonlight Over Muddleford Cove
2. We have a dog. His name is Roni. I wanted a dog and I wanted to call him Becks after David Beckham. My son wouldn’t let me. So in Amazing Grace, my protagonist Grace, strangely enough, has a dog called Becks. So in my books, I can call my dogs all my favourite dog names.
3. Roni is an English Setter and he’s gorgeous. I love lots of breeds of dogs. In my books Becks in Amazing Grace was a Labradoodle. Baxter from Escape to Giddywell Grange is a Cockapoo. In Sunshine and Second Chances, there is an English Setter called Hector. And in Moonlight Over Muddleford Cove, there is a Poodle. But you’ll have to read the book to find out what his name is.
4. Having a dog in a book is a great way to show some of the characters’ personalities. If they make nice gestures towards the dog, stroke them, tickle them behind the ear, bend down to their level, you know they are a good kind person. If they don’t like dogs or are cruel towards them, it can show that side of a personality, so it’s a great way to show traits without telling them.
5. Dogs are funny and you can have fun in your books with them. They snore, fart, sniff bums, eat poo, steal things and all of these things can be used to add humour into your stories which means that you can change things up from making the humans having to say funny things if you are trying to write humour into your story.
6. Love for a dog is very different to love for a human and I think it’s interesting to write about love from a different angle. The bond between a human and a dog is really special and it’s a lovely one to write about.
7. Dogs have no hidden agenda. Pleased to see you, they show you. They see that you are sad, they comfort you. They don’t play mind games with your emotions. Dogs rock!
About Kim Nash
Kim Nash is an author of uplifting, funny, heartwarming, feel-good, romantic fiction.
Her book Sunshine and Second Chances, was shortlisted for the 2020 Amazon Kindle Storyteller Award. Moonlight Over Muddleford Cove, is published today (30th March 2021). She lives in Staffordshire with son Ollie and English Setter rescue dog Roni, is Head of Publicity for publisher Bookouture (part of Hachette UK) and is a book blogger at www.kimthebookworm.co.uk. When she's not working or writing, and in non-Covid times, Kim can be found walking her dog at Cannock Chase, reading, writing, standing on the sidelines of a football pitch cheering on Ollie, and binge watching box sets on the TV. She's also quite partial to a spa day and a gin and tonic (not at the same time!) Kim also runs a book club in Cannock, Staffs and organises local and national reader/author events.
About Moonlight Over Muddleford Cove
When thirty-four-year-old Nellie Wagstaff loses her job and discovers her fiancé is a cheating scumbag in a single day, she feels like the world has come crashing down. And that’s before the solicitor’s letter, along with a request to visit a place she hasn’t thought about for a very long time. Heartbroken, Nellie escapes to the beautiful seaside town of Muddleford in Dorset, where she discovers she’s inherited more than she ever bargained for. Nellie never knew why her mother stopped talking to her sister, but now childhood memories of Muddleford come flooding back: long hot summers, the sea glistening beyond the sandy cove... and a stolen kiss with a boy called Jack. Jack, now a devilishly handsome vet, has the local pet owners swooning over him, and as Nellie and he become close once more, and she gets used to gossiping with the locals and sipping wine at her beach hut with sand between her toes, she’s sure she can feel sparks flying once more. But just as she thinks she might be able to open her heart again, her newest frenemy, the glamourous Natalia, tells her a secret about Jack that changes everything. Nellie will never know why her mother and aunt parted ways. She’ll sell the house, forget about Jack, and get back to real life. Because there’s nothing for her in Muddleford... is there? An utterly uplifting and completely hilarious summer read about learning to trust yourself and of finding love and friendship in the least expected places for fans of Jessica Redland, Heidi Swain and Holly Martin.
RELATED: Kim Nash discusses her new book Sunshine and Second Chances
I wrote the first draft of Sunshine and Second Chances in the latter part of 2019, and I finally got it ready for publication during early lockdown. At a time where we, along with so many others, were cancelling holidays left right and centre, I wanted to create a story that would let my readers feel the sun on their bodies and be transported to the rugged landscape, the charming fishing villages, and beautiful azure blue sea of The Algarve, one of my favourite holiday destinations. Life-long friends Liv, Debs, Samantha and Fiona, had all reached a crossroads in their lives. Inspiring and motivating each other, on a holiday to celebrate their 50th birthday year, they made some pretty life-changing decisions before the flight home took off!...
