An Off-Piste Christmas

Julie Houston

Nov 2019 · Bloomsbury Publishing

About this ebook

Prepare to spend Christmas in the Italian alps...
The last thing Harriet Westmoreland wants is Christmas away from home, particularly when skiing, snow, heights and freezing her backside off are on the menu. While her own family, together with her best friend Grace's, are soon whizzing down ridiculously scary mountains in the fashionable Italian resort of Cortina d'Ampezzo, Harriet is stuck in the remedial class on the nursery slopes unable, it seems, to remain vertical.

Tired of trying to stay upright in the dunces' class, Harriet decides to overcome her fear of heights and take her bruised body off to explore the refugios in the magnificent Dolomites above Cortina. And maybe catch a glance of George Clooney, rumoured to be in town...

But what happens next triggers a totally unexpected avalanche of events which proves that, for friends Harriet and Grace and all their families, Christmas really is a time for little miracles...

A laugh-out-loud novella from the Kindle top 5 bestselling author of A Village Affair.
Praise for Julie Houston:
'A real page-turner. You'll laugh and cry, but not be able to put it down as Julie's trademark humour shines through from beginning to end' Cassam Book Blog.

'This is one of those novels that makes you want to read "just one more chapter" before you turn out the light, and that chapter turns into several more' Big Bertha, Amazon Top 500 Reviewer.

'I became so engrossed in this story I couldn't stop – kept going for just another chapter, and another, until I'd read straight through to the end. I loved it – the magic five for me, a wonderful read and one to keep for rereading' Jeannie Zelos Book Reviews.

'An absolutely briliant read. This will definitely be a book to look out for in 2016 and I, for one, will be recommending it at every opportunity' I Love Smart Books.

'A wonderful read... The prose flows effortlessly and takes the reader on a roller-coaster ride... Julie Houston is definitely an author to watch out for' Kathryn Hughes, Kindle #1 bestselling author of The Letter and The Secret.

'Stick this right at the top of your To Read List' BestChickLit.Com.

About the author

Julie Houston lives in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire where her novels are set, and her only claims to fame are that she teaches part-time at Bridget Jones author Helen Fielding's old junior school and her neighbour is Chocolat author, Joanne Harris. After university, where she studied Education and English Literature, she taught for many years as a junior school teacher. As a newly qualified teacher, broke and paying off her first mortgage, she would spend every long summer holiday working on different Kibbutzim in Israel. After teaching for a few years she decided to go to New Zealand and taught in Auckland for a year before coming back to Britain. Julie now only teaches when the phone rings asking her to go in for supply work, but still loves the buzz of teaching junior-aged children. She has been a magistrate for the past twenty years, and, when not distracted by eBay, Twitter and Ancestry, spends much of her time writing. Julie is married, with two adult children and a ridiculous Cockerpoo called Lincoln. She runs and swims because she's been told it's good for her, but would really prefer a glass of wine, a sun lounger and a jolly good book – preferably with Dev Patel in attendance. You can contact Julie via the contact page, on Twitter or on Facebook.
Twitter: @juliehouston2
Facebook.com/JulieHoustonauthor