#blogtour – To Rome, With Love by T A Williams @TAWilliamsBooks #guestpost
I’m delighted to be posting today as part of the blog tour for To Rome, With Love by T A Williams. I have a guest post for you but first of all you probably want to know what the book is all about.
Escape to Italy this summer with this fabulously feel-good beach read!
A summer of second chances…
Just a week before her big day, Sarah returns home to find a note from her husband-to-be – the wedding’s off! So when her boss decides to send her on an epic cycling trip, from Venice to Rome, it seems like the perfect distraction…
Although she never expected the distraction to come in the form of her oh-so-handsome, but slightly serious, cycling companion, Miles. And with still 600 miles of beautiful scenery, mouthwatering food and delicious wine yet to cover, anything could happen!
T.A. Williams (Trevor) tells us why his latest book has a guest appearance by a pair of handsome dogs.
Once upon a time there was Merlin. Not the magician with the long beard and the funny hat, but Merlin the Labrador, our much-loved rescue dog who came into our lives a good few years back and soon became a fully paid-up member of the Williams household. When he finally died at the age of 13, my wife was so upset, she refused to have another dog ever again as she couldn’t bear the heartache. So, as a tribute to him and in order to get a vicarious canine fix, I always put a black Labrador in all my books. Well, almost always.
To Rome, With Love, is a romantic comedy set on a charity bike ride in Italy, from Venice to Rome. It’s a ride I did myself a few years ago with a group of friends and I knew I had to use it for a book, sooner or later. The problem with a bike ride for somebody with a Labrador fixation, is that you don’t see many dogs on bikes. Apart, that is, from the old chap in our village who rides round on a little motor scooter with a Jack Russell in a box on the seat behind him. I toyed with the idea of putting a dog in the backup vehicle, but then dismissed it as unkind – after all, 1,000 kilometres in the baking heat of an Italian summer wouldn’t be much fun for a dog. But I knew I needed to put in a dog and so I finally hit upon Leonardo and Raffaello, the aristocratic dogs who live in a medieval castle.
The main protagonist of To Rome, With Love, is Sarah. She has just been dumped by her fiancé only a week before the wedding and, as a result, she badly needs some TLC. Apart from a choice of (inevitably) hunky men on the bike ride with her, who better to offer a bit of gratuitous affection than a big, friendly dog?
When they get to the castle, she finds the Count waiting for her at the top of the steps, flanked by the two dogs, subsequently introduced to her as Leo and Raffa (I didn’t mention it in the book, but, come to think about it, Raffa probably has a thing about tennis balls with a name like this). Raffa takes an instant liking to Sarah and the feeling is mutual. And, wouldn’t you just know it? Leo the other Lab takes an instant liking to one hunky man in the group in particular. Could this be a sign, we ask ourselves? Anyway, as an author, the decision to insert a pair of dogs in this scene served not only to let me create a little canine cameo appearance, but also push the romance along a little bit.
Dogs are great. As one of my characters says in one of my earlier books, what dogs can offer is pure, uncomplicated, love – free from all the impediments we humans manage to stick in the way. There’s a lesson there for us all, I’m sure.
Where to find To Rome, With Love
Thanks to Trevor for that lovely doggy post. And if you like the sound of his writing then here’s a very exciting giveaway to win a copy of one of his previous books, What Happens in the Alps.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
About T.A. Williams
Firstly, my name isn’t T A. It’s Trevor. I write under the androgynous name T A Williams because 65% of books are read by women. In my first book, “Dirty Minds”, one of the (female) characters suggests the imbalance is due to the fact that men spend too much time getting drunk and watching football. I couldn’t possibly comment. Ask my wife…
I’ve written all sorts: thrillers, historical novels, short stories and now I’m enjoying myself hugely writing humour and romance. Romantic comedies are what we all need from time to time. Life isn’t always very fair. It isn’t always a lot of fun, but when it is, we need to embrace it. If my books can put a smile on your face and maybe give your heartstrings a tug, then I know I’ve done my job.
I‘ve lived all over Europe, but now I live in a little village in sleepy Devon, tucked away in south west England. I love the place. That’s why you’ll find leafy lanes and thatched cottages in most of my books. Oh, yes, and a black Labrador.
I’ve been writing since I was 14 and that is half a century ago. However, underneath this bald, wrinkly exterior, there beats the heart of a youngster. My wife is convinced I will never grow up. I hope she’s right.
Where to find Trevor
