Monthly Archives: September 2018

Strictly Come Dancing with Carol Thomas

All this week on our Apricot Plots Facebook page we have been giving our readers a Strictly fix with a bookish twist by sharing dance extracts from our novels. Today it is my turn and I am delighted to share this extract from my contemporary romance, Crazy Over You.

In this scene Abby, who has split up from her husband after discovering he has had an affair, is at a friend’s wedding and finds herself in the arms of her rather lovely work colleague, Bradley Hunter. Their dance is the culmination of several flirtatious months, but with Abby still in a quandary about being in love with Simon and whether to take him back, how far will she let her intimate moment with Brad go?


As Rule The World began and Brad’s arms slipped around her like a safe, comfort blanket Abby relaxed too easily into them. If he had asked if she wanted to slow-dance she probably would have declined, but he hadn’t and once she felt herself so close to him it was too late. She succumbed too easily to feeling herself entwined with him.

Oh God, it felt so good to be held in his arms. She knew she should set her hands somewhere appropriate and safe but she couldn’t help herself. She slipped them inside his jacket and traced along the top of his belt line. She felt his taut muscles flex at her touch and inhaled when her fingertips came to rest on the dimples at the small of his back. Those dimples, the ones she had seen just above the line of his shorts, the ones she had imagined touching and trailing small kisses over just before she had dropped the hot chocolate. Blinking away how flustered she had been on that day, she allowed herself a moment to enjoy the feel of them. Beneath the thin cotton of his shirt she traced small circles around them with her manicured nails and heard his intake of breath.

She looked up; his eyes were dark and focused intently on her. She was affecting him. She could feel heat rising to his skin. She smiled a not-so-terribly-innocent smile and he bit his bottom lip. Heat rising to her cheeks, Abby wondered how it would feel to bite that lip. Unable to trust herself she looked away; focusing on his lips was not a good idea. Closing her eyes, she rested her head on his shoulder. She could feel the smooth, warm skin of his neck and the rhythmic hint of his pulse that had quickened there. He smelt delicious, of something familiar she had smelt before. She felt warmth spreading inside, awakening her nerves and causing her heart to beat faster. What are you doing? A small, sensible part of her mind was calling to her; attempting to get her to think this through. But she didn’t want to. She needed this moment. She needed him.

With her eyes closed Abby’s senses seemed to heighten. She felt Brad’s hand touch her neck and trace slowly down her back. She swallowed as his fingers hitched over her bra strap before continuing to slide down her spine and coming to rest with his other hand at the small of her back. He sighed into her, a deep, soft groan that turned her insides to liquid. They were swaying together. Abby felt the need for him building inside her and she knew he felt the same. She could feel him warm and firm up against her. Everyone and everything else in the room melted away as all Abby could think about was how much she wanted Bradley Hunter.

As they danced she could feel his muscles rippling and couldn’t help but imagine how they looked beneath his shirt. Without thinking she slowly traced her fingers along the top of his belt, allowing just her fingertips to slip slightly into the warmth at his waistband. He sucked in a deep breath and the air caught her neck as he exhaled slowly; goosebumps tingled down her side. She shuddered and moved closer into his warmth.

“Abby, you’ll have to stop, or I won’t be responsible,” he whispered. She could hear the effect she was having on him in the quiver that rippled through his deep voice. It didn’t make her want to stop. It made her want more.

Her conscience whispered “Simon” into her mind, while the word “Brad” slipped breathlessly from her mouth.

Hearing her speak his name in that tone was more than he could take.

Abby felt Brad’s muscles ripple as she spoke and swallowed as she imagined what more she could do to him. Kissing her gently on the forehead, Brad stepped back. Abby looked at him, panic in her eyes, not wanting it to end.


Sigh! Oh I am a little bit in love with Bradley Hunter myself. I hope you enjoyed the extract. If you would like to read more about Abby and discover what happens next, why not treat yourself to a copy of Crazy Over You.

And if you’ve missed the other great extracts from Apricot Plots’ authors this week, you can catch up here with extracts from: Tora Williams, Angela Barton, Morton S Gray and Caroline James.

Best wishes and happy dancing! x

Book news, Apricot Plots and more!

Wow, I can’t believe it is September and the summer holidays are over already. I love having my children home from school and for our days to be free to indulge in whatever we fancy. It does, however, mean that less writing gets done. So, now the new term is upon us, it is time to get down to it!

To encourage me on, I have some exciting things to focus on.

Firstly, I am working on a sequel to The Purrfect Pet Sitter, which I have said will be ready by the end of October, not published then, but off to the publisher by then. I am really enjoying writing it, and as I am now towards the end, I am excitedly typing towards that end scene I’ve had in my head all along. While it is a sequel, I have written it so it could also be read as a stand-alone novella (shorter than my other books), which I hope even those who haven’t read The Purrfect Pet Sitter will enjoy.

Having said that, if you haven’t read The Purrfect Pet Sitter (shock horror, what have you been waiting for) the good news is you can currently get it for 99p in the Choc Lit / Ruby Fiction autumn sale:

Amazon | Kobo

As it is set between September and New Year’s Eve, now is the purrfect time to read it, too!

Secondly, I am preparing, with fellow authors Angela Barton, Jane Cable, Caroline James, Morton S Gray, Mariam Kobras, and Tora Williams, for the official launch of @ApricotPlots. Inspired by a talk at the Romantic Novelist’s Association conference, this is a romance cross promotion group, which we hope will be a lot of fun for readers and writers alike. We intend to offer competitions and giveaways, there will also be exciting book launches and more, so why not give us a follow on Twitter or Facebook.

Finally, I am intending to launch an audio version of my first novel, Crazy Over You, and to give it a boost with a new cover. I love my original cover for the book and it won Cover Wars with a fantastic 611 votes when it was first released. But as I write and release more books, I need to ensure it represents my current brand (oo get me!). So watch this space.

Thank you as ever for reading my ramblings. Right, back to that writing business.

Oh and before I really do go, if you haven’t seen the new Christopher Robin movie, you should. It is such a sweet, lovely film that made me laugh and cry. It was another of those fab films we could go and see as a whole family. I have always had a soft spot for Winnie the Pooh (my husband thinks I get my attitude to life from the bear, but that’s another story) and I loved it!

Best wishes and remember as Christopher Robin said to Winnie the Pooh: “You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think!” xx