A British author is being paid by Ford motor company to feature one of its cars in her new book to increase sales of the vehicle. The deal with Carole Matthews is believed to be the first product placement involving the motor industry. Matthews will promote the Ford Fiesta in her next two novels and also write a series of short stories featuring the car in return for an undisclosed payment. The deal is thought to be worth several thousand pounds. Anne-Marie Chatterton, a spokesman for Ford, said the motor company hoped that the deal would promote the Fiesta directly to its target market of spirited young women. These are precisely the type of readers that Matthews's novels would attract. "Young women are interested in style, fashion and the way that they look and car magazines don't cater for that," said Ms Chatterton. "We have linked up with Carole Matthews because we want to show young women what the Ford Fiesta is like and for them to consider choosing it for a car." Other authors, however, criticised the deal, saying that such payments could distort the purpose of a book and spoil readers' enjoyment. Celia Rees, an author who has been shortlisted for this year's W H Smith book awards, said she would decline any offer of payment for product placement in her novels. "I don't know any writers who would do it because it muddies the focus of the book," she said. "Is it about a product or is it about the things that books are usually about? "Product placement destroys a reader's relationship with the book and I would not like to be associated with that." Discuss.Telegraph