“When a young British couple, Karen and Nick first took a holiday in the Algarve in Portugal, little did they know that 35 years on they would find themselves permanent residents and much-loved members of the local community, well-known for rescuing and housing stray animals, working alongside the local vet and even helping the local fire brigade!”.

The book also includes how “Karen lives with the aftermath of a spinal operation, gets herself through a gruelling language test hoping to gain citizenship and pursues her passion for rescuing cats and dogs, all of them characters in their own right.”

“Our Little Piece of Paradise” was written in October and follows on from “Another Day in Paradise”, “continuing the story of their life, spanning from 2004 to Christmas 2021.” Karen admitted that “the sequel was totally unexpected” as her first book was done more as a hobby and what fuelled her to write the sequel was actually readers who enjoyed the first book and would contact her asking for updates as well as a continuation of their story.

Karen is appreciative of all the lovely support from local outlets that have stocked her books including Cult n’Art Café in Alvor who have been her top-seller. Karen has two book signing events planned at Earth Café in Carvoeiro on the 12th and 13th and 26th and 27th of March from 12pm to 2pm. “The book signing is open to everyone, I will be there for a few hours for anyone would like me to sign their books or purchase a copy of “Our Little Piece of Paradise”.”

Additionally, Karen has put together a photo album on her Facebook page which brings the novels to life as they include photos of their trips and animals mentioned in the books. “Our Little Piece of Paradise” is available on Amazon and will be in local outlets this month including at Algarve Book Cellar, Direct Transport, Cult n’Art Café and Bed Warehouse. For more information and to keep up to date please see @karentellingwriter on Facebook.

Author

Following undertaking her university degree in English with American Literature in the UK, Cristina da Costa Brookes moved back to Portugal to pursue a career in Journalism, where she has worked at The Portugal News for 3 years. Cristina’s passion lies with Arts & Culture as well as sharing all important community-related news.

Cristina da Costa Brookes