What is the title of your latest release?
SUMMER AT THE FRENCH BAKERY
What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book?
Set in Brittany in France. This book is about a crossroads in Juliet's life, celebrating a fresh start after recovering from illness and following her dreams to turn an old water mill on the banks of a lake into a salon du thé, a tea rooms. But before she can do that, she must agree to help the Mayor out and reopen the old boulangerie in the town. But she's going to need all the help she can get. And not everyone is pleased to see her. As a turf war begins to grow between the rival bakeries, alliances and partnerships are formed, communities reunited, lost loved ones remembered and new loves begin to blossom. But will it be enough to save the heart and soul of the little ville….and will love survive where others have lost?
How did you decide where your book was going to take place?
I wanted to write about France and French baguettes. I love the ritual of visiting the bakery early each morning. There is a wonderful sense of routine to it. The smell of the bakery. Greeting the baker and other villagers. The fresh baguette, warm and inviting and the crisp and crunch of it when you finally break into it. In France, everyone has to have access to fresh bread daily. But with more and more boulangeries closing in rural villages, they are now being replaced with vending machines! This has changed the face of many villages and towns, and I knew it was something I wanted to write about.
Would you hang out with your heroine in real life?
Absolutely. Juliet is quietly determined and doesn’t suffer fools gladly. That’s not to say she isn’t with our flaws. She’s real. She makes mistakes. But she is also fiercely determined not to be made a fool of or let others be made a fool of either.
What are three words that describe your hero?
Passionate, loyal and very attractive.
What’s something you learned while writing this book?
I learnt about milling flour, baking bread; only four ingredients in a tradional French baguette and a baguette laid upside down is bad luck. When executions still took place, the executioner would ask the baker to save them a baguette, and it would be turned upside down, to mark it was reserved. It meant an execution would take place that day.
Do you edit as you draft or wait until you are totally done?
I never edit as I go along. I will do three drafts before my editor sees the book, and then her edits will follow.
What’s your favorite foodie indulgence?
A freshly baked baguette, warm, crusty and soft like a cloud on the inside, with slightly salted butter and homemade thick cut, sweet, orange marmalade. The perfect comfort food for morning or evening.
Describe your writing space/office!
I have an office in my house, with bookshelves, a desk and red velvet chairs in it. There’s a large picture of French lavender fields and a vase of sunflowers to give it a feeling of France. But I often prefer writing at the kitchen table with the dogs at my feet and the family passing by, thinking about the meal I’m going to cook that evening. But if I need some peace and quiet, I’ll often write in my car, on the shore, next to the sea.
Who is an author you admire?
Jackie Collins, Jilly Cooper and Sophie Kinsella. All three amazing writers about life and love!
Is there a book that changed your life?
Jackie Collins Chances. What a page turning adventure!
Tell us about when you got “the call.” (when you found out your book was going to be published). Or, for indie authors, when you decided to self-publish.
My first book, THE OYSTER CATCHER, had just been released as ebook only. I didn’t think it would get much attention, but it went into the Amazon kindle top 100 charts, rising to number 2 between TWELVE YEARS A SLAVE and THE BOOK THIEF! And sat there for weeks! It was then that the traditional publishers approached me and I went to auction! Ending in the first of my four book deals. It was quite a ride!
What’s your favorite genre to read?
Romance fiction. Stories of love and the adventure of how they end up together. I think it’s the one thing we all want from life, to love and be loved. It has to have a happy ending!
What’s your favorite movie?
Love Actually…or maybe The Holiday….or The 100 Foot Journey.
What is your favorite season?
Autumn…Fall. I love the coziness it brings.
How do you like to celebrate your birthday?
Usually a BBQ with family. Sharing plates of salads, cooked meats and baguettes.
What’s a recent tv show/movie/book/podcast you highly recommend?
Ted Lasso. I love it! Also Virgin River……
What’s your favorite type of cuisine?
French. Quality ingredients, well cooked, eaten at lunchtime, with friends and family around the table.
What do you do when you have free time?
I cook. My favorite time of the week is Sunday when I cook a roast dinner for the family, beef or chicken, or sometimes both, with roast potatoes, steamed greens, and honey drizzled carrots and parsnips.
What can readers expect from you next?
My next book is out in October. LOVE FROM CHRISTMAS TREE FARM. I think it’s my coziest food romance so far, set on a Christmas tree farm in West Wales, U.K.
A new adventure is on the menu . . .
Juliet has learnt that life is too short not to chase your dreams. But when she buys an old watermill in France, her tranquil new start is quickly kneaded into something far more ambitious when the local mayor offers her a deal she can’t refuse: reopen the village’s derelict boulangerie.
With a formidable rival – the owner of the local bread vending machine – determined to crush her, Juliet faces disgruntled villagers, her own lack of baking skills, and hidden secrets within the mill itself.
But with help from her outspoken neighbour and the charming Tabac owner, Juliet battles to bring back the aroma of freshly baked bread – and with it, the heart of the community.
Can she prove that even the biggest dreams start with just a little pinch of courage?
Women's Fiction Friendship [ Macmillan UK, On Sale: June 9, 2026, Trade Paperback / e-Book / audiobook, ISBN: 9781037409479 / eISBN: 9781035077519 ]
Jo Thomas is the author of bestselling romantic fiction novels including The Oyster Catcher – which won both the RNA Joan Hessayon Award and the Festival of Romance Best eBook Award – and Escape to the French Farmhouse, which was a #1 Kindle bestseller.
Jo worked for many years as a BBC radio reporter and producer before turning her hand to writing novels.
Her kitchen in Pembrokeshire is her happy place and she can often be found at the kitchen table enjoying meals she has cooked for family and friends, or writing about food, love, laughter and community in places you’ll want to call home., Jo Thomas is the author of bestselling romantic fiction novels including The Oyster Catcher – which won both the RNA Joan Hessayon Award and the Festival of Romance Best eBook Award – and Escape to the French Farmhouse, which was a no.1 Kindle bestseller.
Jo worked for many years as a BBC radio reporter and producer before turning her hand to writing novels.
Her kitchen in Pembrokeshire is her happy place and she can often be found at the kitchen table enjoying meals she has cooked for family and friends, or writing about food, love, laughter and community in places you’ll want to call home.
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