An award-winning Pembrokeshire author, celebrated as the queen of escapist fiction, publishes a new book next month, much to the anticipation of her legions of fans.
Bestselling author Jo Thomas lives in Pembrokeshire with her husband and three children.
She is known for transporting readers to a new exciting location in her books and celebrating the culture, history, and importantly, the food and says that cooking and gathering around the kitchen table are a hugely important and fun part of her family's life in Pembrokeshire.
Jo's new novel, Countdown to Christmas, takes readers to Québec, Canada, where our heroine, Chloë discovers she might be entitled to a plot of land, and finds a lot more than she expected.
The story begins with Chloë dreading Christmas; her son Reuben is staying with his dad this year, and she plans to ignore the festivities all together. Her only nod to the season is the advent calendar Ruben left her, to help count down the days till he's home again.
But then, a voicemail from Berry and Brandy, Heir Hunters, changes everything: In Québec, Canada, there's a plot of land Chloë may be entitled to. Surely, it's a scam. Or could it be just the escape she needs right now? They're offering to pay for her flights, and Ruben's latest note in the advent calendar tells her to 'say yes'.
So with 22 days until Christmas, Chloë finds herself on a plane to Canada and suddenly, her new countdown to Christmas involves a log cabin in the middle of a snowy forest, a community that's worried for its future, a gruff lumberjack who gives her butterflies and a lot of pancakes with maple syrup.
'Jo sweeps you away to a better place with every book, which are always filled with warmth, love and a big spoonful of happiness,' says bestselling author Veronica Henry of Jo's writing.
Jo worked for many years as a reporter and producer, including time at Radio 4's Woman's Hour and Radio 2's The Steve Wright Show.
Her debut novel, The Oyster Catcher, was a runaway bestseller and won both the RNA Joan Hessayon Award and the Festival of Romance Best eBook Award. Her recent book Escape to the French Farmhouse was a #1 bestselling eBook.
Countdown to Christmas is published by Penguin Books on October 12 and costs £8.99. It is available as an ebook now.
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